2009 UIM F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
5th Grand Prix of Finland – June 12th-13th, rounds 3 and 4
For immediate release
Saturday, June 13th, 2009
TEAM QATAR’S PRICE SNATCHES
SENSATIONAL RACE WIN IN FINLAND
· World Champion boost points tally; Andy Elliott withdraws from race
· Jay Price climbs to second in UIM F1 Pole Position Championship
LAHTI (Finland): Team Qatar’s Jay Price produced a sensational last-gasp sprint to record outright victory
in the second race of the 5th Grand Prix of Finland’s Lake Vesijärvi on Saturday afternoon. The reigning World Champion shadowed Ahmed Al-Hameli for much of the race and was involved in a tussle with Thani Al-Qamzi for the majority of the laps, but Price passed Al-Hameli near the finish to boost his chances of reclaiming the prestigious world title for the Doha-based team.
“It was another great race and a thrilling way to take the win,” enthused Price, who moved up to an unofficial second place in the World Championship behind Team Abu Dhabi’s Thani Al-Qamzi.
“We are over the moon with this result,” said Khalid Bin Arhama Al-Kuwari, Head of Formula Racing at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation. “We knew he had a good chance to win, but he went out there and delivered a great performance.”
After the disappointment of slipping from eighth to 15th and finishing outside the points for hitting a buoy, when final race one results were eventually announced by race officials on Friday afternoon, it was imperative that Price rebounded with a strong performance in the second race.
The World Champion had slipped to equal seventh in the points’ standings heading into Saturday’s race and needed to ensure that Al-Qamzi’s 23-point-leading margin was reduced. Price was joined in the race by Andy Elliott in his repaired boat and both Qatar drivers lined up in second and 20th positions. Team Abu Dhabi’s Ahmed Al-Hameli claimed Pole Position with victory in the time trial.
A yellow flag situation dominated the early laps, but Al-Hameli maintained his advantage over Price through the opening eight laps, with Al-Qamzi moving up to third at the expense of Selio. Massimo Roggiero had already retired and Elliott was down in 16th position and making his way through the rear of the field. A yellow flag brought the field down to a crawl again on the 12th lap and Al-Qamzi slipped past Price on the resumption of racing on lap 15.
Elliott was slowly creeping up the leader board and held 14th for Team Qatar through lap 16. Al-Hameli began to edge slightly further ahead of Al-Qamzi, as Price applied the pressure on his team-mate. Elliott was forced out of 14th place on lap 22, as Price maintained the pressure on Al-Hameli and managed to retake second position on lap 25.
He had reduced Al-Hameli’s lead to 1.57s through lap 27, as the duo fought a thrilling dice for the win in a carbon copy of the recent race in Portugal. Price managed to pass Al-Hameli and take the lead as a yellow flag was waved again on lap 32 with Sweden’s Pierre Lundin losing his place in the top five. But the yellow flag played into Price’s hands and the World Champion hung on to take a memorable win and 20 valuable championship points.
F1 Team Qatar is run by the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) under the presidency of His Excellency Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani.
Free practice and time trials
Team Qatar’s Price set the fastest time in the morning’s free practice session, the World Champion running for 17 laps and posting a hot lap of 44.39s. Friday’s race winner Guido Cappellini was second in 44.89s and Sami Selio set the third quickest time. Championship leader Thani Al-Qamzi recorded the sixth time and Team Qatar’s Andy Elliott resumed his challenge with a rebuilt boat with a best lap of 46.84s, which was sufficient for 14th place.
Success in the time trial was critical, but first blood went to Team Abu Dhabi and Al-Hameli paid down the target lap of 44.04s after 10 minutes of the session. Price’s opening salvo was a tour of 44.43s and it catapulted him into second position. The leading trio held station through 20 minutes until a yellow flag brought proceedings to a temporary halt, with Selio and Lundin completing the top five and Elliott out on the course for the first time.
Selio passed Al-Qamzi to take third position and Cappellini moved into sixth position, as Price held on to take second position. Elliott was not able to complete a full race lap and languished in 20th position at the rear of the field. Price’s second position also lifted him into second place behind Al-Qamzi in the UIM F1 Pole Position Championship standings.
5th Grand Prix of Finland – race 2 results (Saturday)
1. Jay Price (QA) F1 Team Qatar 37 laps
2. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi @ 7.81s
3. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad Croc F1 Team Woodstock @ 10.80s
4. Guido Cappellini (I) Zepter Team @ 13.39s
5. Phillipe Chiappe (F) F1 Atlantic Team :@ 14.95s
6. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi @ 17.06s
7. Francesco Cantando (I) Singha F1 Racing Team @ 17.88s
8. Jonas Andersson (S) Team Azerbaijan @ 19.85s
2009 UIM F1 World Championship – positions after 4 races (unofficial):
1. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi 53 pts
2. Jay Price (QA) F1 Team Qatar 35 pts
3. Jonas Andersson (S) Team Azerbaijan 32 pts
4. Guido Cappellini (I) Zepter Team 30 pts
5. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi 25 pts
6. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad Croc F1 Team Woodstock 19 pts
6. Fabio Comparato (I) 800 Doctor Team 19 pts
6. Duarte Benavente (P) F1 Atlantic Team 19 pts
6. Francesco Cantando (I) Singha F1 Racing Team 19 pts
10. Utis Gross (LV) Zepter Team 10 pts
11. Andy Elliott (GB) Ace Racing/F1 Team Qatar 9 pts, etc
Time Trials (Saturday)
1. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi 44.04s
2. Jay Price (QA) F1 Team Qatar 44.40s
3. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad Croc F1 Team Woodstock 44.64s
4. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi 44.88s
5. Jonas Andersson (S) Team Azerbaijan 45.08s
6. Pierre Lundin (S) Team CTIC China-Charente 45.32s
7. Guido Cappellini (I) Zepter Team 45.33s
8. Massimo Roggiero (I) Mad Croc F1 Team Woodstock 45.39s, etc
2009 UIM F1 Pole Position Championship – positions after 4 races:
1. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi 55 pts
2. Jay Price (QA) F1 Team Qatar 44 pts
3. Guido Cappellini (I) Zepter Team 31 pts
3. Jonas Andersson (S) Team Azerbaijan 31 pts
5. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad Croc F1 Team Woodstock 29 pts
6. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi 28 pts
7. Massimo Roggiero (I) Mad Croc F1 Team Woodstock 20 pts
8. Francesco Cantando (I) Singha F1 Racing Team 15 pts
9. Pierre Lundin (S) Team CTIC China-Charente 14 pts
10. Fabio Comparato (I) 800 Doctor Team 5 pts
Ends
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Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Mobile: + 44 7831 123153, E-mail: ndppublicity@googlemail.com. www.ndp-publicity.com (press releases).