Italian driver Alex Carella of the Qatar Team controlled the race and controlled his own destiny leading every second of the 38-lap Grand Prix of Sharjah (UAE) in front of tens of thousands of race fans along the Khalid Lagoon at the sixth and final round of the 2013 Union Internationale Motonautique F1 H20 World Championship.
Edging out his American teammate, Shaun Torrente, for the top spot in the overall points standings, the 28 year-old driver captured his third-straight world championship and joins fellow Italian legend Guido Cappellini as the only two drivers to win three straight seasons. Cappellini captured four straight titles from 1993 to 1996.
Knowing he had to hold off Torrente, the Florida driver who came into the event with two more points than him and two behind Finland's Sami Selio of the Mad Croc team, Carella got a clean start and held his lane through the commitment buoy with Torrente shadowing for two-thirds of the event either two or three seconds back.
Meanwhile, French driver Philippe Chiappe of the CTIC China Team, who needed both Qatar boats to drop out of the Grand Prix to have any chance at a title, passed Torrente and eventually closed to two seconds behind Carella. Chiappe's second-place finish gave him third overall in the championship.
