Torrente and Al-Qemzi complete impressive 1-2 finish for Team Abu Dhabi in Portugal

23 May 2018 (WAM) / Team Abu Dhabi’s Shaun Torrente and Thani Al-Qemzi delivered stunning performances at Sunday evening’s Grand Prix of Portugal to claim first and second positions for their team running out of the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club, ADIMSC.

The American and the Emirati had qualified in first and second positions and held their nerve, despite a yellow-flag situation in the opening lap, to give the defending UIM Teams’ Championship winners a superb start to the season. Torrente’s 2.09-second victory on the Arada River in Portim?o was the Miami driver’s first since the 2016 Grand Prix of Sharjah. Rashed Al-Qemzi finished 13th in the third Team Abu Dhabi boat.

A delighted Torrente said, “This was a perfect weekend for the team with a 1-2 finish. We had perfect preparation, everything went according to plan, all the hard work paid off and the boat was fantastic. Now I am going to go home and hope that this wonderful start to the season was not a dream!”

Three-time world champion Philippe Chiappe shadowed Italy’s four-time world champion Alex Carella for the majority of the race and managed to find a way past the Italian with 13 laps to run. The Frenchman then went on a charge to try and hunt down Thani Al-Qemzi and reached the finish a mere 1.45 seconds behind the runner-up in third place.

Carella, driving for the Victory Team, suffered trim issues and came under pressure from Chiappe’s CTIC China Team colleague, Peter Morin, and held on to a slender advantage to seal fourth place. His Victory Team colleague, Ahmed Al-Hameli, rounded off the top six.

Team Abu Dhabi’s Mohammed Al-Mehairbi finished fourth in the second of the F4 Trophy races, where victory fell to young Frenchman Tom Chiappe.

Etihad Airways is the official carrier for Team Abu Dhabi that is also supported by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and runs under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Khalifa Al-Nahyan, Advisor to the Head of State and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club, and under the guidance of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Sultan Bin Khalifa Al-Nahyan, Vice President and CEO of the ADIMSC. The racing team runs under the umbrella of the ADIMSC, Board Member and General Manager, Salem Al-Remeithi, and team manager, Guido Cappellini.