FORMULA 2000 UIM CHAMPIONSHIP
Round 4 – Grand Prix of Latvia – Riga, August 21st-22nd
For immediate release
Sunday, August 22nd, 2004
QATAR TEAM TAKES SECOND
PLACE IN GP OF LATVIA
Qatar’s Jay Price wins Speed Record and leads Match Race Championship;
Match Race victory for Britain’s Owen Jelf in a Molgaard; GP win for Sweden’s Andersson
RIGA (Latvia): The Qatar Team enjoyed a successful weekend of Formula 2000 UIM Championship action on the River Dougava in Riga, when team driver Jay Price won the Speed Record competition, consolidated his overall lead in the Match Race Championship and finished second overall in the Boat GP of Latvia, which finished on Sunday afternoon.
New Orleans-based Price arrived in the picturesque Baltic State determined to bounce back from withdrawing from the recent Grand Prix of Italy, where poor octane fuel had denied him a start on the grid for the Milan-based third round of the series last month.
With his 2.0-litre DAC now back on full song again, Price steered his Qatar Team boat to the runner-up position in Saturday’s Match Race, after being pipped by Britain’s Owen Jelf to the winner’s laurels. Price set a time of 58.01s, but it was bettered by Jelf’s Molgaard with a winning time of 56.87s. Price had the consolation of maintaining his lead in the Match Race Championship and he also moved ahead of his rivals in the Speed Record competition with a winning speed of 180.1 km/h.
Second in the Speed Record fell to the Italian Ivan Brigada, although Price’s arch rival slipped to second position in the championship standings. Latvia’s Uvis Slakteris delighted a massive local crowd of in excess of 40,000 people, who had lined the bridges and frontages of the River Dougava in Riga, by setting the third fastest time, ahead of the UAE’s fourth-placed Arif Al-Zafeen, Owen Jelf and the leading Frenchman Bruno Corsin.
Price’s 40-year-old Qatar team mate Mohamad Al-Ali finished 13th in the Match Race Competition and was classified 16th overall in the Speed Record test with a recorded speed of 164 km/h.
~After the disappointment of withdrawing from the Italian meeting, this was a fabulous result for the Qatar Team this weekend,~ said Team Manager Mohamed Al-Jaidah. ~Jay raced superbly on Saturday to win the Speed Record and finish just behind the Jelf Racing boat in the Match Race. The meeting was also a good opportunity for Mohamad to gain more experience in a GP environment.~
The Molgaard boats were the fastest in qualifying for the main Boat Grand Prix event on Sunday, with the Jelf brothers of Colin and Owen taking the top two positions on the grid. Sweden’s Jonas Andersson started in third position and pressed on to take his second GP victory of the season in his Molgaard. The Swede pipped the Qatar Team’s Jay Price by over three seconds with a winning time of 45m 21.12s over the 45-lap, five-pin course in Riga.
Owen Jelf completed the podium places with third position, the UAE’s Arif Al-Zafeen was fourth and Colin Jelf finished fifth overall. Italy’s Ivan Brigada continues to lead the Formula 2000 Championship with 52 points, despite a non-finish in Latvia, although Andersson closes the gap on his rival to three points and Price is now only 10 points behind the Italian. Price’s Qatar team mate Mohamad Al-Ali failed to finish in Latvia.
Time trials, free practice, the Speed Record and Match Race took place on Saturday before the GP of Latvia got underway on Sunday afternoon. Twenty-two entrants from 10 countries took part in the weekend’s race action. The Qatar Team returns to the Formula 2000 UIM Championship with the new GP of Russia in Dubna at the start of September.
FORMULA 2000 UIM CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS – AFTER ROUND 4:
Formula 2000 (unofficial)
1. Ivan Brigada (I) 52 pts
2. Jonas Andersson (S) 49 pts
3. Jay Price (QA) 42 pts
4. Owen Jelf (GB) 27 pts
5. Pelle Larsson (S) 18 pts
6. Rich Hakonsen (N) 17 pts
Match Race (unofficial)
1. Jay Price (QA) 59 pts
2. Owen Jelf (GB) 50 pts
3. Ivan Brigada (I) 39 pts, etc
Speed Record (unofficial)
1. Jay Price (QA) 50 pts
2. Ivan Brigada (I) 46 pts
3. Mattia Turati (I) 39 pts
4. Uvis Slakteris (LAT) 33 pts
5. Marc Rolls (GB) 25 pts, etc
Ends
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