The hot topic in the UIM F1 H2O World Championship paddock this week isn't all about Frenchman Philippe Chiappe's second straight title, or the seven drivers still deadlocked to win the "runner-up" award at the 16th Annual Grand Prix of Sharjah, but about a select few drivers, who are crossing thresholds of history, marking a milestone in their career at this, the final round of the 2015 championship season.
Firstly, Italian Francesco Cantando of Motorglass F1 Team is running headlong into his 155th career start on the 16th anniversary of his 2000 victory and pole position at the inaugural Grand Prix of Sharjah on the Khaled Lagoon.
The 40 year-old driver from Milan, Italy raced on the tour for the first time back in the 1996 campaign in China and holds down 12 career Grand Prix victories. Currently, second on the all-time points list of drivers with 919.5 points earned in 19 seasons of racing.
"To think that Sharjah was my place for my first ever pole position and to win the first race here is a real thrill and a good memory," said Francesco. "The circuit has changed so much since that first year. Then, it was shaped like the letter "L" and now it's a five pin very fast race circuit. For years, it had two right-hand turns in it but that was taken away and now the speeds are really rising making it fun for us again to race."
While Francesco looks at his 155 mark, two-time World Champion Sami Selio of the Mad-Croc Baba Team is staring down on his 130th start this weekend hoping to add to his most successful four pole positions here including wins in 2007 and again in 2009.
"We have done really well in qualifying here," stated the Finn. "As a matter of fact, nobody has reached our mark of four pole positions yet and I want to add on that on Thursday," said the driver from Helsinki. "We had a heart breaking technical problem last week in Abu Dhabi and now we want to end the season on a positive note with a victory here in the lagoon on Friday."
Sami is in his 17th season and like Cantando has 12 career victories and almost as many podium finishes with 40 to Francesco's 42, but has 23 career pole positions to Cantando's four.
Portuguese driver Duarte Benavente arrives ready to start his 125th race since joining the tour back in 1999 still looking for his first pole and first victory for the likeable driver from Lisbon.
"We have come close so many times to both marks and here in Sharjah I'm still trying to improve on my first race result in 2000 when I was fifth here at the finish," said Duarte. "Tomorrow we will push to the limit on a race circuit I truly enjoy and feel comfortable with, so let's see what happens."
It's not always an automatic "gimme" to say that the more races you run the better the chance you'll have in winning. But, that idea was proven to be true by Chiappe when the veteran driver from Rouen struggled past 80 race starts to capture his first win in Kyiv back in 2013.
Since that time, Philippe has won four more in his last seven and now has solidified his name in the history of the sport, marking him as the seventh all-time multiple time world champion.
On the opposite side of the spectrum Kuwait's Youssef Al-Rubayan of the F1 GC Atlantic Team who earned his first ever grand prix victory in Evian, France this past June is beginning just ready to mark his 25th career start for the one-time speed champion of F2.
Other relative newcomers are trying to make their mark in the sport are Filip Roms of Finland as the 21 year old driver with the Mad-Croc Baba Team looks for his second career podium after completing his 20th race start last week in Abu Dhabi and Sweden's Erik Stark driving for the Emirates Team has a pair of podiums in his just his first 11 races.
The final meeting of the 2015 UIM F1 H2O World Championship for powerboating takes off on Thursday the 17th of December with official qualifying for pole position and the starting grid off the dock begins at 15:30 local (11:30 UTC) and 06:30 EST on the East Coast of North America.
The 16th annual Grand Prix of Sharjah will take place on Friday, the 18th of December at 15:45 local (11:45 UTC) and 06:45 EST in North America.
Both official qualifying and the Grand Prix can be followed by going to the tours official website at www.f1h2o.com and viewed as well on the site by clicking on and watching the world television broadcast feed beginning at 15:30 thursday and 15:45 local time on Friday.
Seven drivers will be fighting for the coveted "runner-up" position in the championship standings as well as the always dramatic Team Championship as well.
Be In The Know - With F1 H2O!
