ABU DHABI - Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - It's been over two decades, 23 years and this season marks the 24th Grand Prix but the city of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates has been hosting events on the UIM F1 H2O World Championship tour longer than anyone else in the history of the sport and has earned the moniker as the "Grandaddy Of Them All" when it comes to Grand Prix events.
Ten different drivers from six various nations have taken victory and reached the top step of the podium over that time span and many of these events have determined the ultimate reward in the sport, being declared F1 H2O World Champion!
No one has started more races in Abu Dhabi than Italian Francesco Cantando, who is a two time winner along the corniche taking back to back victories in 2000 and 2001. The dynamic driver from Milan will once again be in the starting line-up driving for his Motorglass Team hoping for a hat-trick of success having not won since Shenzhen, China back in 2010.
No driver has more victories than Italian legend Guido Cappellini, as the Hall-of-Fame driver has five wins and nine podium appearances in his 17 race starts. He'll be hoping this year he can turn the bad "voodoo" around for Team Abu Dhabi, who has only once, in 2005, had a driver win on their home waters in almost a decade and one-half of racing for the club.
Current Team Abu Dhabi pilot Alex Carella has back to back victories in 2011 and again in 2012 but that was when he was racing for the now abandoned Qatar Team. His teammate Thani Al Qamzi has three victories up the road at the season's ending event at Sharjah but not at his residence in Abu Dhabi in 13 previous races. Both drivers will be under pressure to break their teams "bad luck" on the 11th of December at the season's fifth grand prix event.
French pilot Philippe Chiappe, who is the defending World Champion and who is also the Abu Dhabi races defending champion after taking his first victory last season from pole position in a "must win" situation. The veteran driver from Rouen will start in Abu Dhabi for the 13th time looking to sow up another title. Currently, he sits in a comfortable position holding a margin of 16 points with just 40 points remaining to be earned.
The man chasing him for the title is American Shaun Torrente of the local Victory Team out of Dubai. This organization, who have dipped their toes into the sport full time for the first time this season, has a wonderful reputation after being so successful in offshore racing and perpetual champions almost yearly for the past 10 seasons.
The driver from Florida won the opening round in Doha and has led the championship for most of the season until Chiappe's recent dominating performances and back to back wins in Porto, Portugal and Liuzhou, China has powered the CTIC China Team driver into a position to capture another title in his 13th season of racing.
Torrente will need some luck, but his crew is working hard on preparing new updates to the team and their drivers so you can never count out this organization until the curtain closes on the season.
Kuwait's Youssef Al Rubayan leads the class of "new stars" on the F1 H2O scene. He currently is still very much in the mix in chasing a title with 36 points in third place in the drivers championship for his F1 GC Atlantic Team. He is looking for his first podium result in his fifth start along the corniche.
Another newcomer coming back from injuries suffered in his qualifying accident in China is second year driver Erik Stark of the hometown Emirates Team. The young Swede is loaded with talent and hopes to turn around his series of recent back luck happenings into something positive and a third trip to the podium this season as well for his boss Scott Gillman who was a two-time winner at this event back in 1997 and again in 2005.
A long shot for the title this season, Sami Selio of the Mad Croc Baba Team has done extremely well along the waters just inside the Gulf. The driver from Helsinki has the second most race starts with 15 and has won three of these and made it to the top-three podium five times in his career. He'll need some magic this time while sitting in a three way tie for seventh in the drivers championship with 19 points.
Abu Dhabi has become the "anchor" for all race sites on the UIM F1 H2O World Championship with now three decades of racing dating back to 1993 with so much history and so much drama attached to it.
This race is also a place were drivers seem to get on winning streaks as well.
American Felix Serralles started it all when he won back to back events in 1993 and 1994. Francesco Cantando was perfect doing so in 2000 and 2001. Saudi Arabian driver Laith Pharaon won two of his career three Grand Prix's when he accomplished the feat in 2002 and 2003. Most recently Alex Carella used his back to back wins in 2011 and 2012 to power his way to world titles. Could this be the year it happens again?
If it does, it will give Philippe Chiappe he best opportunity to become only the seventh multiple time world champion in the 32 year history of the sport as he starts his 97th Grand Prix race.
Let's see if the good times keep on rolling for the French pilot in 2015.
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