2009 UIM F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Grand Prix of Qatar, Doha – November 28th, round 12 of 16
For immediate release
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
GUIDO CAPPELLINI TAKES VICTORY IN GRAND PRIX
OF QATAR TO CLAIM 100TH CAREER PODIUM FINISH
· Mechanical misery for Qatar Team duo in Doha Bay
· Qatar’s Jay Price regains UIM F1 Pole Position Championship lead
DOHA (Qatar): Team Qatar suffered another disappointing outcome to the second Grand Prix of Qatar, round 12 of this year’s UIM F1 World Championship, in Doha Bay on Saturday.
World Champion Jay Price was forced out of fourth position on the fourth lap with more engine and transmission-related woes, as the second race victory of the weekend fell to pole position winner Guido Cappellini, who secured his 61st career win and his 100th podium finish.
He was pressured all the way to the finish by eventual second-placed Italian Francesco Cantando, while Team Abu Dhabi’s Thani Al-Qamzi finished fourth and maintained a three-point lead in the UIM F1 Drivers’ Championship over Cappellini.
Qatar’s second driver, Malcolm Goodman, was unable to repeat the stunning form he showed to take fifth overall on Friday and retired from the race on lap 20. He had been running as high as 11th, before being forced to take a drive-through penalty for hitting a buoy. A loose earth wire caused the power steering to fail and cost Goodman is place in the race.
“It’s a case of going back to the reliability issues that plagued us in China and now here in Qatar,” said His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani, President of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF). “We will make a careful assessment of the situation and make sure we are ready for Abu Dhabi. We know the performance is there. We just need the reliability and some luck.”
“It’s that curse striking us again,” added Team Qatar’s Khalid Bin Arhama Al-Kuwari, Head of Formula Racing at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF). “We know Jay is probably the fastest driver on the course, but he have not managed to turn that into points recently.”
Qatar Grand Prix – round 12
Price and Goodman lined up in third and 15th places for the start of round 12 of the championship. The wind had changed direction by mid-afternoon and Price admitted that caution was a byword on the opening laps. Cappellini was chasing a 100th career podium finish and he made a good start by forcing Price wide through lap one to hold the lead, as Al-Qamzi slipped into second place and Goodman moved up to 12th.
Francesco Cantando managed to squeeze passed Price into third through lap three, but the Qatar Team’s World Champion suffered another miserable afternoon when he ground to a halt on lap four with transmission problems. Cappellini led from Cantando, Al-Qamzi, Chiappe and Selio, with Goodman holding 11th through lap seven.
Cantando began to apply the pressure on Cappellini through lap 13, although Al-Qamzi, Chiappe and Al-Hameli held station as the race reached the two-thirds mark. Chiappe passed Al-Qamzi into third position and an airborne Cantando stayed on Cappellini’s coat-tails in a thrilling duel in Doha Bay. Goodman maintained 12th overall until lap 20 when he was forced out of the race with a loose earth wire to cap a miserable day for the Qatar Team.
Cappellini continued to edge away from Cantando, who was coming under pressure from Chiappe through 28 laps. But the Italian began to cede the time over the closing laps and the gap was down to just 2.39s through lap 32. But the veteran held on to confirm his fourth win of the season and the 61st win of his illustrious career.
Timed trials and free practice
Price trailed Selio by three points in the Pole Position points’ standings heading into the timed trials. Duarte Benevente put the first sub-54s lap on the board, but a flying 51.34s lap gave Price the early initiative until Fabio Comparato edged 0.01s in front after a yellow flag delay and Pierre Lundin posted an impressive 51.15s on his third lap.
Cappellini was the first driver under 50s with a crushing tour of 49.97s, but Price slipped to fifth heading into the halfway point. Goodman made an appearance after 22 minutes of the session and slotted into 15th position, although Qatar team spokesman Andy Elliott admitted that running an older boat gave you a much greater disadvantage in timed trial conditions compared to an actual racing environment.
Price claimed provisional pole with a flying lap of 49.72s on the half-hour mark, but that was immediately beaten by Chiappe’s lap of 49.30s as a thrilling qualifying contest unfolded on Doha Bay. Cappellini was not to be outdone and he managed to squeeze inside again with a stunning 48.61s lap, as Goodman maintained 15th and Price held third heading into the final 10 minutes. The Qatar driver was unable to move further up the field and settled for third position at the end of the session, but it was sufficient to regain a nine-point lead in the UIM F1 Pole Position Championship and he maintained his lead in the 2009 Fast Lap Slam Trophy.
Choppy water conditions and a strong breeze greeted teams at the start of the free practice session and Pierre Lundin was the early pacesetter with a fastest lap of 55.63s. Goodman opted to sit out the session to preserve Qatar’s Dragon boat and the engine for the timed trails and the race, but Price was in the thick of the action from the start and held third place after 10 minutes with a tour of 56.52s.
By the end of the session, Phillipe Chiappe set the fastest time of 52.48s during his 11-lap test, with Price in second place with a top lap of 53.00s.
2009 Grand Prix of Qatar – race 2 results (Saturday)
|
1. |
Guido Cappellini (I) Zepter Team |
|
|
2. |
Francesco Cantando (I) Singha F1 Racing Team |
@ 0.92s |
|
3. |
Phillipe Chiappe (F) F1 Atlantic Team |
@ 2.50s |
|
4. |
Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi |
@ 23.11s |
|
5. |
Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi |
@ 26.67s |
|
6. |
Sami Selio (FIN) Mad Croc F1 Team Woodstock |
@ 28.06s |
|
7. |
Pierre Lundin (S) Team CTIC China Team |
@ 35.05s |
|
8. |
Jonas Andersson (S) Team Azerbaijan |
@ 54.81s |
|
9. |
Fabio Comparato (I) 800 Doctor Team |
1 lap behind |
|
10. |
Duarte Benavente (P) F1 Atlantic Team |
1 lap behind |
2009 UIM F1 World Championship – positions after 12 of 16 races:
|
1. |
Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi |
112 pts |
|
2. |
Guido Cappellini (I) Zepter Team |
109 pts |
|
3. |
Jonas Andersson (S) Team Azerbaijan |
99 pts |
|
4. |
Sami Selio (FIN) Mad Croc F1 Team Woodstock |
88 pts |
|
5. |
Jay Price (QA) F1 Team Qatar |
70 pts |
|
5. |
Francesco Cantando (I) Singha F1 Racing Team |
70 pts |
|
7. |
Phillipe Chiappe (F) F1 Atlantic Team |
66 pts |
|
8. |
Fabio Comparato (I) 800 Doctor Team |
60 pts |
|
9. |
Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi |
59 pts |
2009 UIM F1 Pole Position Championship – positions after 12 of 16 rounds:
|
1. |
Jay Price (QA) F1 Team Qatar |
162 pts |
|
2. |
Sami Selio (FIN) Mad Croc F1 Team Woodstock |
153 pts |
|
3. |
Guido Cappellini (I) Zepter Team |
139 pts |
|
4. |
Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi |
111 pts |
|
5. |
Jonas Andersson (S) Team Azerbaijan |
71 pts |
|
6. |
Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi |
57 pts |
|
7. |
Francesco Cantando (I) Singha F1 Racing Team |
41 pts |
|
8. |
Pierre Lundin (S) Team CTIC China-Charente |
26 pts |
|
9. |
Massimo Roggiero (I) Mad Croc F1 Team Woodstock |
20 pts |
|
10. |
Phillipe Chiappe (F) F1 Atlantic Team |
22 pts |
|
11. |
Fabio Comparato (I) 800 Doctor Team |
14 pts |
Ends
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