2007 UIM F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Grand Prix of Qatar 2, Doha – November 26th-27th, round 6 of 8
For immediate release
Monday, November 26th, 2007
GUIDO CAPPELLINI WINS POLE SHOOT-
OUT AT SECOND QATAR GRAND PRIX
Qatar’s Jay Price set to start Tuesday’s race in fifth
Second for UAE’s Al-Qamzi; Qatar’s Bonelli qualifies 11th
DOHA (Qatar): Guido Cappellini from the Tamoil F1 team will start Tuesday’s fourth Grand Prix of Qatar, round six of the UIM F1 World Championship, with the psychological advantage of Pole Position after the Italian set the fastest lap of 47.30s in the six-boat shoot-out in Doha Bay on Monday afternoon.
Cappellini qualified for the shoot-out alongside Swedes Jonas Andersson and Pierre Lundin, Qatar’s Jay Price and the Emirati duo of Thani Al-Qamzi and Ahmed Al-Hameli, but Al-Hameli damaged an engine in the second time trial and was unable to start the shoot-out. Lundin set the marker of 48.95s on his first lap and Andersson managed to sneak inside with a 48.51s tour on his final attempt.
Price tried valiantly to get inside the two Swedes in slightly choppier conditions, but could only manage a best lap of 49.10s to confirm fifth position for the Qatar Team. Al-Qamzi sacrificed his opening tour to gain a good line for one final attempt on his second lap and he edged into the lead with a 47.67s. But Cappellini was undeterred and one stunning lap of 47.30s guaranteed pole for the Como driver.
“I just went out there and gave it my best shot over two laps,” said Price, who maintained sixth in the Pole Position Championship. “That is all you can do in a shoot-out. But we are still in a great position for the big race on Tuesday.”
The weather showed a marked improvement for the first time trial and both Al-Qamzi and Price took full advantage to post potent early times of 47.99s and 48.22s. “I was 99.9% confident that time would be good enough to get me into the shoot-out,” said Price. “Especially if the wind picked up.”
Cappellini collided with Selio and suffered steering problems on the far side of the course and the impact damaged Selio’s left sponson. A heated exchange followed between Selio and Cappellini’s pit crew and the Finn was forced to use team mate Stanislav Kourtsenovsky’s boat for the second time trial session, much to the Russian’s disappointment: he had been fourth fastest in the first time trial.
Andersson, David Trask and Phillipe Chiappe were in close contention and the Qatar Team’s Leo Bonelli showed promise mid-way through the session before slipping to 10th. The Cremona driver left himself an uphill task to make the shoot-out and eventually fell to 11th place for Tuesday’s race line-up.
Both Andersson and Price sat out the second time trial, as Cappellini forced his way into contention with the fastest lap of the two sessions, a stunning 47.38s tour, to push Phillipe Chiappe out of the running. Selio was ultimately unable to make the top six with his team mate’s heavier boat, but Al-Hameli and Lundin sneaked into their first ever shoot-out in the closing minutes and deprived Trask and a disappointed Kourtsenovsky of Pole Position championship points.
“We had a really good test session this morning and it put me in such a better mood for the time trials,” enthused Price. “There have been niggling little gremlins in the past, but we got down to some testing and it showed in the times. I was two seconds quicker per lap. I felt confident with the set-up. To be honest, I wasn’t too concerned if the wind got up because I class myself as one of the better drivers in rough conditions anyway.”
Teams used Sunday to repair boats after Saturday’s rough weather race and Monday morning’s first official practice session took on an added significance. The usual suspects dominated the fastest times with Cappellini, Al-Qamzi, Selio and Price heading the times early on, although Al-Qamzi was towed into the pits with mechanical trouble after 15 minutes.
The Qatar Team made a propeller change mid-way through the session and Price leapt into second position with an improved best lap of 48.13s – his quickest tour of the entire week. At the end of the hour, Cappellini topped the times with 47.17s, followed by Price, Al-Qamzi, Lundin, Selio and David Trask.
The event is being organised by Mohammed Al-Jaidah and the team at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), under the presidency of His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani, who headed to the UAE on Monday evening to begin preparations for Saturday’s all-important Class One race at Mina Seyahi.
The second Grand Prix of Qatar will take place at the earlier time of 13.00hrs to avoid finishing in failing light. The 45-minute practice session has also been moved forwards to 09.00hrs.
Revised timetable of events – Tuesday, November 27th
09.00-09.45 Free practice on race course
12.45-13.00 Opening parade lap
13.00-14.30 Qatar Grand Prix 2
2007 Grand Prix of Qatar 2 – Pole Position shoot-out results:
1. Guido Cappellini (I) Tamoil F1 47.30s
2. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) Emirates F1 Team 47.67s
3. Jonas Andersson (S) F1 Team Sweden 48.51s
4. Pierre Lundin (S) Comparato Racing 48.95s
5. Jay Price (USA) Qatar Team 49.10s
6. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) Emirates F1 Team DNS
2007 UIM F1 Pole Position Championship – positions after round 6 of 8 (unofficial):
1. Guido Cappellini (I) Tamoil F1 89 pts
2. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) Emirates F1 Team 83 pts
3. Sami Selio (FIN) F1 Team Energy 48 pts
4. Scott Gillman (USA) Emirates F1 Team 40 pts
5. Jonas Andersson (S) F1 Team Sweden 33 pts
6. Jay Price (USA) Qatar Team 31 pts
7. David Trask (AUS) XPV Racing 29 pts
8. Ivan Brigada (I) Tamoil F1 19 pts
9. Phillipe Dessertenne (F) CTIC Charente Maritime 15 pts
10. Pierre Lundin (S) Comparato Racing 9 pts
11. Stanislav Kourtenovsky (RUS) F1 Team Energy 7 pts
12. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) Emirates F1 Team 5 pts
Ends
For further information:
Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Mobile: + 44 7831 123153, E-mail: ndppublicity@compuserve.com. www.ndp-publicity.com (press releases).