2007 UIM F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Sharjah Grand Prix – December 13th-14th, round 8 of 8
For immediate release
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007
QATAR TEAM CONFIDENT OF ENDING F1 SEASON
ON POSITIVE NOTE IN SHARJAH GRAND PRIX
Italy’s Cappellini set for showdown with Finn Selio for world title
Qatar Team’s Price and Tourre in confident mood for Sharjah race
SHARJAH (UAE): The Qatar F1 Team will take part in the Sharjah Grand Prix, the final round of the UIM F1 World Championship, on Friday afternoon and the event will mark the team’s last chance to take a first race win of the season.
Jay Price and Phillipe Tourre will again represent the Doha-based operation in a pair of Mercury-engined BaBas and Price will be looking for a podium finish to ensure that he finishes in the top six in the UIM F1 World Championship standings. The Louisiana driver currently holds sixth position, but an outright win could lift him to fourth in the series behind title rivals Guido Cappelini and Sami Selio and third-placed Thani Al-Qamzi.
“My goal at the start of the season was for the Qatar Team to be in the top six at the end of the year, because that proves that you are a top team in this championship,” admitted Qatar F1 team manager Pelle Larsson. “If we take a good result in Sharjah there is every chance that we will fulfil that goal and maybe finish even higher.”
Both Qatar Team boats were plagued by battery-related problems in Abu Dhabi last weekend, but Larsson’s team of mechanics at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation have worked to iron out any reliability issues and the Qatar Team’s American engine specialist Brendan Power has worked on rebuilding the Mercury engines for the final race weekend of the season.
Meanwhile, Como-based Cappellini takes a commanding 16-point advantage on to the six-pin, 2.235km course on Sharjah Lagoon over Selio. The Finn needs to win the race and hope that Cappellini finishes eighth overall or lower. It is a tough call for Selio, who won last weekend’s race in Abu Dhabi but looks all but certain to ultimately secure second position in the championship.
Emirati Al-Qamzi won the Sharjah race last season, but a retirement last weekend spelt the end of his title dream and the Emirates F1 Team driver heads to Sharjah with mere pride at stake at the end of the year.
Larsson admits that the Sharjah course offers a very different kind of challenge. There are left and right-hand turns on this course and the wind can often be a deciding factor. On one section of the course there is a waterfall and the water can be quite rough, but it is not easy to see the rougher water and this can be quite challenging when you are set up for flat water conditions. Maybe a quarter of the course can be quite rough, so our drivers will need to be careful.”
While Larsson hopes that Price can sneak on to the podium, he is keen to stress that scoring points is a priority for the Qatar Team driver. Team mate Phillipe Tourre joined the line-up to replace the injured Leo Bonelli in Abu Dhabi, but endured a disappointing debut last Friday.
“I have spoken to Phillipe and confirmed to him that he is under no pressure to take a top result. He had a big crash in Doha recently and the objective for him will be to bring the boat to the finish and stay out of trouble.”
Drivers will be permitted to carry out a one-hour practice session on the course between 10am and 11am on Thursday morning, before the two time trials and the six-boat shoot-out to determine starting order take place throughout Thursday afternoon from 1pm.
A second free practice session has been scheduled for 10.15hrs on Friday morning and the Sharjah Grand Prix will fire into life from 15.30hrs (14.30hrs Doha time) on Friday afternoon.
Sharjah Grand Prix
Timetable of events – Thursday, December 13th
10.00-11.00 Free practice on race course
13.00-13.45 1st Time Trials
15.00-15.45 2nd Time Trials
16.30-17.00 Pole Position Shoot-Out
Timetable of events – Friday, December 14th
10.15-11.00 Free practice on race course
14.45-15.00 Opening parade lap
15.30-16.30 Sharjah Grand Prix
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 42 pts
5. Scott Gillman (USA) Emirates F1 Team 40 pts
6. David Trask (AUS) XPV Racing 36 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
12. Massimo Roggiero (I) Woodstock 5 pts
12. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) Emirates F1 Team 5 pts
2007 UIM F1 World Championship – positions after round 7 of 8:
1. Guido Cappellini (I) Tamoil F1 100 pts
2. Sami Selio (FIN) F1 Team Energy 84 pts
3. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) Emirates F1 Team 70 pts
4. Pierre Lundin (S) Comparato Racing 47 pts
5. Scott Gillman (USA) Emirates F1 Team 35 pts
6. Jay Price (USA) Qatar Team 32 pts
7. Jonas Andersson (S) F1 Team Sweden 24 pts
7. Phillipe Chiappe (F) Atlantic Team 24 pts
9. David Trask (AUS) XPV Racing 19 pts
10. Francesco Cantando (I) Singha F1 Team 18 pts, etc
2007 Teams’ Championship – positions after round 7 of 8:
1. Emirates F1 Team 114 pts
2. Tamoil F1 Team 111 pts
3. F1 Team Energy 92 pts
4. Comparato Racing 50 pts
5. Qatar Team 39 pts
6. F1 Team Sweden 33 pts
7. Atlantic Team 31 pts
8. XPV Racing 24 pts
9. Singha F1 Racing 18 pts
10. CTIC China Team 15 pts
10. Rainbow Team 15 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).