Class One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Welmax on pole

by Nigel Quilter on 25 Nov 2010 Class One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix,

Norwegians Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tandberg have one hand firmly on the Edox Pole Position Championship after taking their fourth straight win in qualifying to put their Mercury V8-powered Welmax on pole position for race 1 of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

'That was the result we came to Abu Dhabi looking for,' said wheelman, Selmer. 'Our strategy was to focus on a major Championship that we knew we had a chance of winning and we have now put ourselves in a great position.'

The all-Norwegian pairing waited to see what marker their arch-rivals Fazza laid down before taking their first flying lap, eclipsing their time by over two seconds and then improving on their second and final flying lap to post the fastest time of 2mins 15.48secs around the 4Nm course.

Today's result moves Selmer and Tandberg into a commanding and almost unassailable position in the Edox Pole Position Championship, 15 points clear of Fazza, with the final round in Dubai in two weeks time.

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Despite improving on their first flying lap and a last ditch effort before the session ended, Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi had to settle for second quickest, posting a time of 2mins 17.18secs, to put themselves clear in second place overall ahead of teammates Abullah Al Mehairbi and Talib Al Sayed in Skydive Dubai, but Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi know that hopes of completing the Grand Slam this season appear to be fading. 'We knew Welmax would go out like a rocket today, but now we will focus on the race and extending our lead in the World Championship.' said Nadir Bin Hendi.

Team Abu Dhabi's Rashed Al Tayer and John Tomlinson left it late before grabbing the final podium position, leapfrogging Victory 2010, posting their fastest time, 2mins19.96secs on their final lap. 'It is great to be on the podium at our home Grand Prix,' said Rashed Al Tayer. 'We had a very good set-up today but our first run was not the best so we waited till all the boats had completed their laps and then went again. We are now in a good position for today's race and will be looking to get on the podium again.'

Mohammed Al Marri and Giorgio Manuzzi produced an impressive showing in their first qualifying session together in Victory 2010 to finish ahead of Skydive Dubai, with Relekta's Paul Gaiser and Christian Zaborowski improving on their practice sessions to finish in the top six.

ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX, EDOX POLE POSITION - Results

1. Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) - 02.15,48
2. Fazza - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) - 02.17,18
3. Team Abu Dhabi - R Al Tayer (UAE) / J Tomlinson (USA) - 02.19,98
4. Victory 2010 - G Manuzzi (SMR) / M Al Marri - 02.20,48
5. Skydive Dubai - A Al Mehairbi (UAE) / S Al Tayeb (UAE) - 02.20,56
6. Relekta - P Gaiser (BRA) / C Zaborowski (NOR) - 02.22,62
7. Negotiator - L Formilli Fendi (ITA) / G Carpitella (ITA) - 02.25,84
8. GiorgiOffshore - S Sardelli (ITA) / N Giorgi (ITA) - 02.31,28
9. GSG Ceramic Design - G Cappellini (ITA) / G Montavoci (ITA) - DNS

EDOX POLE POSITION CHAMPIONSHIP - after round 5 of 6

1. Welmax - 95pts 2. Fazza - 80pts 3. Skydive Dubai - 42pts 4. Negotiator - 35pts 5. Team Abu Dhabi - 24pts 6. Relekta - 23pts 7. GSG Ceramic Design - 19pts 8. GiorgiOffshore - 15pts 9. Victory 2010 - 9pts 10. Welmax Alianza - 7pts 11. Foresti & Suardi SCAM - 5pts

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