2009 UIM F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Grand Prix of Russia – August 8th-9th, rounds 5 and 6 of 16
For immediate release
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
TEAM QATAR HEADS TO RUSSIA IN SEARCH
OF CRUCIAL UIM F1 CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
· Qatar’s World Champion Jay Price determined to boost UIM F1 points’ tally
· F1 Team Qatar’s Price joined in Saint Petersburg by Britain’s Andy Elliott
SAINT PETERSBURG (Russia): Defending UIM F1 World Champion, Jay Price, will be joined by British racer Andy Eliott in F1 Team Qatar for this weekend’s two Russian Grand Prix races on the Neva River in Saint Petersburg.
Price retired from last year’s Russian race with engine problems, although his preparations had suffered a severe setback when he was forced to battle against the affects of influenza throughout the race weekend. This year the Qatar F1 supremo is fighting fit and raring to go, as he bids to continue the defence of his title with some of the form that saw him take a superb win in the second of the recent two Finnish rounds of the series in Lahti.
“Memories of last year’s race were not the best for Team Qatar,” admitted Khalid Bin Arhama Al-Kuwari, Head of Formula Racing at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), which is run under the presidency of His Excellency Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani.
“Jay had those mechanical problems and couldn’t finish the race. I hope we have better luck this year. The Finnish result has really boosted Jay’s title chances and I am hopeful that we can take the lead in the World Championship after the Russian races this weekend.”
Price is looking forward to teaming up with Elliott in Russia. “It’s great that Andy is on board with us again,” insisted the World Champion. “I have not been able to do any testing between the races, but I will run the new boat in which I won the second race in Finland. Saint Petersburg was rough for me last year. I had the ‘flu and on top of that it was my first DNF of the season with the engine problems. The goal this weekend is the podium and as many points as possible.”
Al-Kuwari admits that a goal of the QMSF is to reintroduce a Qatari driver into the team in the future to replace Yousef Al-Khulaifi, but it cannot happen overnight. “We need to prepare two Qatari drivers for F2 beforehand and only then can we shift them into F1 in the future. The two local drivers have to do as much testing and racing in F2 as possible to prepare them fully for F1.”
Price, who currently leads the 2009 UIM Pole Position Championship by four points, is also keen to see a Qatari driver back in the F1 hot seat: “I look forward to the day that I will be teaming up with a Qatari driver again, but I doubt it will happen until at least the latter part of this season.”
Team Abu Dhabi’s Thani Al-Qamzi arrives in Russia with an 18-point lead over Price in the UIM F1 Drivers’ Championship, although there are plenty of opportunities remaining for Price to catch his Emirati rival.
“The Emirates team (Team Abu Dhabi) will always be a factor, as they are always testing and repairing for the next races,” said Price. “But Guido (Cappellini) is still working hard at it, Jonas (Andersson) is very hungry for a win, (Francesco) Cantando never quits pushing and Pierre Lundin will be a real threat with his new boat.”
The weekend’s timetable of events gets underway with technical scrutineering and registration on Friday morning (August 7th). Free practice will be permitted from 10.30 hrs (local time) on Saturday, before the all-important time trials take place from 12.30 hrs. The first of the two Russian Grand Prix fires into life at 18.00 hrs and will run for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Sunday’s action starts with free practice on the course from 10.30 hrs. The time trials follow at 12.30 hrs and the second of the weekend’s races gets underway at 18.00 hrs and runs for a minimum of 30 minutes.
2009 UIM F1 World Championship – positions after 4 of 16 races:
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
2009 UIM F1 Pole Position Championship – positions after 4 of 16 rounds:
1. Jay Price (QA) F1 Team Qatar 59 pts
2. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi 55 pts
3. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad Croc F1 Team Woodstock 29 pts
4. Guido Cappellini (I) Zepter Team 28 pts
4. Jonas Andersson (S) Team Azerbaijan 28 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 12 pts
Ends
For further information:
Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Mobile: + 44 7831 123153, E-mail: ndppublicity@googlemail.com. www.ndp-publicity.com (press releases).