2008 UIM F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Grand Prix of Qatar – March 29th, round 1 of 9
For immediate release
Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
INTERNATIONAL TEAMS PREPARE
FOR 2008 GRAND PRIX OF QATAR
Cappellini, Al-Qamzi and Selio set for title showdown
Bumper entry set to boost start of UIM F1 season in Doha
DOHA (Qatar): The Grand Prix of Qatar will get the 2008 UIM F1 World Championship underway in Doha Bay on Saturday, March 29th and defending World Champion Samo Selio is likely to go head-to-head with multiple champion Guido Cappellini and the Emirates F1 Team’s Thani Al-Qamzi on the testing Qatar course.
Qatar’s F1 team manager Pelle Larsson admits that Cappellini will again be one of the favourites for the title in 2008. “I think it will be a big battle between Guido, Sami Selio, Thani Al-Qamzi and, of course, Jay Price from the Qatar Team. Maybe Guido will be the favourite, but Thani has a good chance too.
“I understand that the Emirates F1 Team has bought two new boats and I am sure that Thani will be competitive from the start.” Larsson thinks that Cappellini and World Champion Selio will start the season with a similar set-up to 2007.
Lining up alongside the three-boat Qatar Team of Price, Ahmed Al-Fayyad and Yousef Al-Khulaifi will be at least 20 other registered drivers from 10 teams, although F1 Team Sweden and the 800 Doctor operations are still looking to complete their driver line-ups for 2008.
Emirati Ahmad Al-Hameli lines up alongside Al-Qamzi in the Emirates F1 Team, while Russian Stanislav Kourtsenovski teams up with Cappellini, after joining the Tamoil F1 outfit last year. Selio and Italian Massimo Roggiero make up the Woodstock Red Devil Racing team, the Australian Trask brothers, Bob and David, fill the XPV Racing cockpits and Frenchman Phillipe Dessertenne and Lin Wu Peng will race in the China CTIC Charente-Maritime Team.
Likely Swedish front-runner Jonas Andersson teams up with Phillipe Tourre in F1 Team Sweden, while Francesco Cantando and Marco Gambli fill the Singha Team seats. Fabrizio Bocca and Valerio Lagianella line-up in the Rainbow Team and Italian Fabio Comparato is still looking to finalise his 800 Doctor team mate.
The Grand Prix of Qatar will utilise the same pit area as the recent Class 1 race in Doha Bay. Last year’s F1 race took place in November, but March could see more settled weather to that seen during the race in 2007 when Price flipped spectacularly on his shoot-out lap. “If the wind blows across the Bay from the land it is not a problem but, if the wind comes in from the sea it is no good,” added Larsson, contemplating the importance of favourable weather conditions for race weekend.
Larsson knows that Price’s committed driving style could well bring silverware to the Qatar Team in 2008, although he is keen to avoid a repetition of last November’s accident. “Jay has a very committed driving style, full throttle, and we learned after the crash that we need to carry more spare electrical parts with us in case something like this happens again.”
Price will switch from a BaBa to a DAC boat in 2008 and Larsson hopes that the new, slightly lighter, set-up will make Price more competitive in Doha. “The DAC is lighter, shorter and should be faster than the BaBa, but we have to understand that everything will be new for Jay and the crew. The set-up and balance will all need getting used to. Jay is sure to be competitive, but maybe not to his true potential on the first race of the season.”
2008 UIM F1 World Championship
Teams Drivers
Qatar Team Jay Price, Yousef Al-Khulaifi and Ahmed Al-Fayyad
Emirates F1 Team Thani Al-Qamzi and Ahmad Al-Hameli
Woodstock Red Devil Racing Sami Selio and Massimo Roggiero
XPV Racing Bob Trask and David Trask
China CTIC Team Charente-Maritime Phillipe Dessertenne and Lin Wu Peng
F1 Team Sweden Jonas Andersson, Phillipe Tourre and TBA
Singha Team Francesco Cantando and Marco Gambi
Rainbow Team Fabrizio Bocca and Valerio Lagianella
800 Doctor Fabio Comparato and TBA
Tamoil F1 Team Guido Cappellini and Stanislav Kourtsenovski
Ends
For further information:
Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Mobile: + 44 7831 123153, E-mail: ndppublicity@compuserve.com. www.ndp-publicity.com (press releases).