2007 UIM F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Sharjah Grand Prix – December 13th-14th, round 8 of 8
For immediate release
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
QATAR TEAM’S JAY PRICE FINISHES
SIXTH IN SHARJAH GP SHOOT-OUT
Pole Position and Shoot-out win fall to Finn Sami Selio in Sharjah
Guido Cappellini seals 2007 UIM F1 Pole Position Championship
Qatar Team’s Phillipe Tourre set to start Friday’s race in 18th place
SHARJAH (UAE): The Qatar F1 Team will start Sharjah’s final round of the 2007 UIM F1 World Championship in sixth and 18th positions, after two time trials and the six-boat shoot-out on Khalid Lagoon in the UAE on Thursday afternoon.
Pole Position for the final race of the season on Friday and victory in the shoot-out fell to Sami Selio in his Mercury-engined BaBa. The Finn set the fastest lap of 50.08s in the six-boat shoot-out. Selio, Guido Cappellini, Massimo Roggiero, Jonas Andersson, Qatar’s Jay Price and David Trask qualified for the crucial six-boat race-off.
Trask was first on to the water and posted a best effort of 51.50s on his first timed lap. Price followed for the Qatar Team with an opening salvo of 52.11s, but lost his canopy on the second lap and was not able to post a faster time. Andersson opened his account with a time of 51.22s to take the provisional lead and could not improve on that with a second lap of 51.27s.
Roggiero set about beating the time in his Woodstock entry and left it late to hit the front with a flying 50.95s on his last tour of the circuit. It was fittingly left to world title contenders Cappelini and Selio to decide the outcome of Pole Position. Cappellini went first and stormed into provisional pole with a 50.66s lap, leaving only his Finnish rival in with a chance of snatching the advantage for Friday’s race. He duly set a sensational lap of 50.08s to take Pole and set up the prospect of a thrilling race. The Qatar Team’s Phillipe Tourre qualified for the race in 18th place.
“We have been getting it together over the last couple of races and it was nice to be up there mixing it with the top times today,” said Price. “When I switched to the other Qatar boat last week I thought it would be lighter, but we weighed it and it was exactly the same as my old boat. Now I have a good starting position for the race on Friday.”
“It promises to be a big fight between Sami, Guido and Massimo tomorrow, but we are also in a good position and a podium is a very realistic possibility for Jay,” said Qatar F1 team manager Pelle Larsson. “Phillipe is getting used to the boat now, but it was quite windy in the second time trial and he didn’t want to push too hard and make a mistake. The goal is for him to reach the finish of the race on Friday.”
Mid-way through the first time trial Cappellini (51.64s) led from arch rival Selio (51.75s) with Roggiero, David Trask, Andersson and Phillipe Chiappe in the provisional shoot-out positions. Price still had work to do if he was to put the Qatar Team in the six-boat decider. The American was in seventh place with a time of 53.85s, 0.35s in front of Thani Al-Qamzi. Tourre was down in 15th place with a fastest lap of 56.37s.
Ahmed Al-Hameli from the Emirates F1 Team then pushed Price down to eighth with a lap of 53.72s and Al-Qamzi also moved past the Qatar Team driver with a time of 53.44s, as Tourre slipped to 16th. After 35 minutes, Selio hit the front with a lap of 51.44s, Al-Qamzi (52.80s) moved up to fourth and duly pushed Chiappe out of the shoot-out positions and Price posted a 53.48s to lift himself into eighth.
Chiappe passed Andersson but Price set a stunning lap of 52.79s and that catapulted the Qatar Team driver into a provisional fourth. Selio led from Cappellini, Roggiero, Price, Al-Qamzi and David Trask heading into the last five minutes of the first time trial and the top six held station to set up a tantalising second time trial, with Chiappe, Andersson and Al-Hameli still in contention for the shoot-out.
“I was very happy with the outcome of the first time trial,” said Larsson. “Jay was much happier with the new boat and we got ourselves into a good position.”
Britain’s Andy Elliott took to the water for the first time in the second time trial and immediately demoted Tourre to 17th position, as none of the leading six were able to improve on their first time trial times in the opening 15 minutes.
Andersson was the first to make a move and the Swede’s time of 52.68s lifted him ahead of Price and into fourth place with Trask losing his position in the shoot-out top six and Tourre slipping to 18th at the other end of the leader board when a yellow flag intervened. Fifteen minutes remained in the session when the problems were resolved, but no one was able to make in-roads into the top six times and Selio, Cappellini, Roggiero, Andersson and Price held station with Al-Qamzi and Trask sharing sixth position with a time of 52.80s, although Al-Qamzi missed out on the shoot-out when his time was rounded down to 52.81s.
Sweden’s Pierre Lundin, Emirati Mansoor Al-Mansoori and Elliott were three of five drivers who failed to start the first time trial. Lundin was involved in a serious collision with Lin Wu Peng in practice and both boats were damaged and Al-Mansoori made way for Al-Qamzi, after the Emirati was also involved in a collision on the course.
Former Qatar Team driver Roggiero set the fastest lap of 52.01s in the first practice session, albeit 0.05s in front of Jonas Andersson. Selio and Chiappe were third and fourth and Price set the sixth fastest time of the stint for the Qatar Team with a 53.70s. Tourre was 22nd of the 25 boats that took to the water in a distant 57.08s.
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.
Timetable of events (UAE time) – 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 Sharjah Grand Prix – Shoot-out results- :
1. Sami Selio (FIN) F1 Team Energy 50.08s
2. Guido Cappellini (I) Tamoil F1 50.66s
3. Massimo Roggiero (I) Woodstock 50.95s
4. Jonas Andersson (S) F1 Team Sweden 51.22s
5. David Trask (AUS) XPV Racing 51.50s
6. Jay Price (USA) Qatar Team 52.11s
2007 UIM F1 Pole Position Championship – final positions after round 8 of 8:
1. Guido Cappellini (I) Tamoil F1 119 pts
2. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) Emirates F1 Team 95 pts
3. Sami Selio (FIN) F1 Team Energy 88 pts
4. Jonas Andersson (S) F1 Team Sweden 51 pts
5. David Trask (AUS) XPV Racing 43 pts
6. Scott Gillman (USA) Emirates F1 Team 40 pts
7. Jay Price (USA) Qatar Team 36 pts
8. Ivan Brigada (I) Tamoil F1 19 pts
9. Massimo Roggiero (I) Woodstock 17 pts
10. Phillipe Dessertenne (F) CTIC Charente Maritime 15 pts
11. Pierre Lundin (S) Comparato Racing 9 pts
12. Stanislav Kourtenovsky (RUS) F1 Team Energy 7 pts
13. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) Emirates F1 Team 5 pts
Ends
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