Torrente claims Grand Prix victory as Team Abu Dhabi make perfect start in France

Team Abu Dhabi enjoyed a perfect start to the 2022 UIM F1H2O World Championship on Sunday as Shaun Torrente won the 60-lap Grand Prix of France ahead of teammate Thani Al-Qemzi.

Torrente, world champion in 2018 and 2019, claimed a 10th career Grand Prix success when Team Sharjah’s Sami Selio dramatically came to a halt on the 37th lap after leading from pole position.

The two Abu Dhabi drivers had set off in second and third positions with the aim of piling the pressure on Selio. The Finnish two-time world champion was ultimately denied a first Grand Prix win since 2016 by mechanical problems.

It was a second successive one-two start to a F1H2O season by Team Abu Dhabi, following Al-Qemzi’s victory from Torrente in Italy last year.

The result underlined their status as overwhelming favorites for a fifth world team title, and suggested that the two teammates could go on to battle it out to decide this year’s individual F1H2O driver’s crown.

Peter Morin of the China CTIC Team took third place to become the first Frenchman to secure a podium finish in his home Grand Prix event.

With tens of thousands of spectators lining the banks of the Saone River circuit in Macon, Selio made a confident start in his pursuit of a 13th career Grand Prix win.

Portugal’s Duarte Benavente became the first race casualty when he went out with mechanical problems on the 17th lap, and 20 laps later Selio’s departure saw Torrente move into a lead which he never looked like surrendering.

Philippe Chiappe, one of only three drivers in F1H2O history to have claimed a hat trick of world titles, was another to endure frustration on the day as he plummeted down the field with a broken propeller on the 51st lap.

Next stop for the F1H2O World