2007 UIM F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – December 6th-7th, round 7 of 8
For immediate release
Thursday, December 6th, 2007
ENGINE AND ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS THWART QATAR
F1 TEAM’S PREPARATIONS FOR ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX
Shoot-out victory and Pole Position falls to Finland’s Sami Selio
Cappellini takes second position; third place on the grid for Al-Qamzi
ABU DHABI (UAE): The Qatar F1 Team endured a disappointing qualifying session for Friday afternoon’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and will start the race from 12th and 25th positions on the grid, after the time trials and six-boat shoot-out competition off the Abu Dhabi Corniche on Thursday afternoon.
Engine problems hampered progress in the first of the time trials and both Qatar team drivers Jay Price and Phillipe Tourre were unable to take to the water for the second time trial because of mystery electrical gremlins that befell the race BaBas.
“We had some electrical problems before the second session and weren’t able to take to the water,” admitted a disappointed Qatar F1 team manager Pelle Larsson. “Now we will go away with some of the mechanics from each of the boats, sit down and discuss what happened and what caused the problems, so we are ready for the main race on Friday.”
Pole Position for Friday’s race and maximum points in the shoot-out fell to Finland’s Sami Selio. The jubilant Finn, Guido Cappellini, Jonas Andersson, Thani Al-Qamzi, Massimo Roggiero and David Trask qualified for the final two-lap showdown and Cappellini and Al-Qamzi eventually clinched second and third places with Andersson, Roggiero and Trask in fourth, fifth and sixth places.
Both the UAE’s Ahmed Al-Hameli and Italy’s Francesco Cantando narrowly missed out on qualifying for the shoot-out in the second time trial, which was won by Selio in a lap of 49.58s. Cappellini began the day with a six-point lead over Al-Qamzi in the 2008 Pole Position Championship and will now take a nine-point advantage into the final Pole Position session of the season in Sharjah next weekend.
Cappellini set the pace in the first of the time trials, the Italian pipping Andersson by 0.04 seconds with a fastest lap of 49.74s. Selio was third and Al-Qamzi, Roggiero and David Trask completed the top six.
The Qatar Team suffered engine problems in the first time trial, with Price down in 11th position with a fastest lap of 51.83s. The mechanics were forced to change Price’s engine in the interval between the two sessions and Tourre – 25th overall with a lap of 58.74s – also complained of engine maladies.
“It was not a good start for us,” admitted Larsson. “Jay had engine problems and complained that the boat was too loose and was spraying too much water into the air. We needed to look at a smaller propeller, but we had time to work on both the boats in the allotted time.”
Former Qatar Team driver Massimo Roggiero set the pace in Thursday morning’s first free practice session. The returning Woodstock team driver posted a fastest lap of 49.80s, the only entrant to break the 50-second barrier, although Cappellini, Al-Qamzi and Al-Hameli were in close contention. Price ran for 36 laps in Leo Bonelli’s BaBa, but was down in eighth position with a lap of 51.23s.
Tourre raced for 10 laps and was classified 22nd of the 24 boats that took to the water. Neither Andy Elliott nor Fabio Comparato entered the practice session.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the UIM F1 World Championship, gets underway at 15.30hrs (14.30hrs Doha time) on Friday afternoon.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Timetable of events – Friday, December 7th
10.15-11.00 Free practice on race course
14.45-15.00 Opening parade lap
15.30-16.30 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2007 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Shoot-out results (unofficial):
1. Sami Selio (FIN) F1 Team Energy
2. Guido Cappellini (I) Tamoil F1
3. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) Emirates F1 Team
4. Jonas Andersson (S) F1 Team Sweden
5. Massimo Roggiero (I) Woodstock
6. David Trask (AUS) XPV Racing
2007 UIM F1 Pole Position Championship – positions after round 7 of 8:
1. Guido Cappellini (I) Tamoil F1 104 pts
2. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) Emirates F1 Team 95 pts
3. Sami Selio (FIN) F1 Team Energy 68 pts
4. Jonas Andersson (S) F1 Team Sweden 41 pts
5. Scott Gillman (USA) Emirates F1 Team 40 pts
6. David Trask (AUS) XPV Racing 34 pts
7. Jay Price (USA) Qatar Team 31 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
11. Massimo Roggiero (I) Woodstock 7 pts
13. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) Emirates F1 Team 5 pts
Ends
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Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Mobile: + 44 7831 123153, E-mail: ndppublicity@compuserve.com. www.ndp-publicity.com (press releases).