Shaun Torrente joins U.I.M. F1 World Championship

by Philippe Stiernon on 14 Nov 2007 F1 ChampBoat Grand Prix Series young star Shaun Torrente of Miami, Florida will be making his first appearance on the U.I.M. F1 World Championship tour at the final two races of 2007 at both the Grand Prix’s of Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates on the 7th and 14th of December.

The 2006 'Rookie-of-the-Year' in the North American series with the California Gold Racing Team and became one-half of the now notorious 'East-West Express' has a sparkling record of accomplishments in his 14 years of racing. The one-time Florida State University student is a multi-time National Champion and has been elected to the very select American Power Boat Association (APBA) Hall of Champions.

Shaun is a two time national title holder in the SST-120 (F2) class in 2001 & 2003 and a 3-time SST-45 class champion before coming to the ChampBoat series full time last season.

'This is such a great opportunity for me and I’ve been dreaming to do this for many years and now Fabrizio Bocca and many others are giving me my chance to race on the world stage,' said Shaun. 'With the help of my father and David DeWald I am hoping to have some fun while learning at the same time.'

Shaun has started 19 races in his 2.5 seasons on the F1-ChampBoat Grand Prix Series, winning once while having a string of hard luck despite leading many of these events only to fail to finish in 10 of these races.

Italian Fabrizio Bocca, who is a World Champion in his own right by winning the title in 1992, is known for giving American drivers an opportunity to join his Rainbow Racing Team and the world of U.I.M. F1 racing. In 1997 he added Californian Scott Gillman a three time winner in North America. Scott would go on to win the title that year and eventually become a 4-time title holder including being the current World Champion.

'I’ve heard a lot about Shaun and I know he is a gifted driver who needed an avenue to get into our series and I’m glad to be a part of effort to join our family,' said Fabrizio. 'My wife and I have friends in Florida and now I’m adding more with Shaun and me becoming teammates.'

The final races in the United Arab Emirates have become a background for many American drivers to join the series with Felix Serralles coming and winning in Abu Dhabi in the early 1990’s while Jay Price tried his hand for the first time in 2002 followed by Chris Fairchild in 2005. Shaun hopes he can have the same success. We’ll soon get a look at America’s newest challenger of the U.I.M. F1 World Championship.

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