Han Ximin
CTIC China Team thrilled the crowd with a historic breakthrough at the U.I.M. F1 H20 Powerboat World Championships that ended at Shenzhen Bay Inner Lake Park in Nanshan District yesterday.
China team s Philippe Chiappe took second place only 1.95 seconds behind the champion, Singha Beer s Francesco Cantando of Italy. Chiappe, a French powerboat driver, now ranks eighth on the points table this season. China Team s other driver, Swede Pierre Lundin, won third, ranking sixth on the points table.
The result is very satisfactory, especially for Philippe Chiappe who had lost races for mechanical failures this season, and this is a good day for the China team, team manager Chen Huaming said after the race.
Though Chiappe is French, he felt at home competing for the China team in Shenzhen, this being the fourth year he has attended the grand prix in the city.
During the race, Lundin said he had the chance to pass Chiappe, but didn t want to risk a collision.
I concentrated on following Philippe Chiappe all the way and felt great that we two could stand on the podium. It was really a tough race because the circuit is very short and it was difficult to overtake other drivers, Lundin, who accumulated 63 points, said at the news conference.
Shenzhen is the third leg of the China Grand Prix after the first leg was held in Linyi, Shandong Province, and second leg in Liuzhou, Guangxi, earlier this month. Shenzhen has held the event since 2007 in cooperation with Union International Motonautique, established in Monaco in 1922. The championship was inaugurated in 1981 and is held at about 10 stops around the world every year. Since 2006, the China Grand Prix had been held in Chengdu, Xi an Shenzhen and Liuzhou.
