2010 UIM F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Grand Prix of Russia, Saint Petersburg – July 11, round 2 of 8
For immediate release
Sunday, July 11th, 2010
THIRD IN RUSSIA GIVES TEAM QATAR’S PRICE
JOINT LEAD IN UIM F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
· Finland’s Sami Selio seals Grand Prix of Russia win
· Team Qatar’s Andy Elliott finishes ninth overall
SAINT PETERSBURG (Russia): Team Qatar’s Jay Price finished third overall in the 8th Grand Prix of Russia on the Neva River in Saint Petersburg on Sunday afternoon. The podium finish earned the former World Champion 12 points and he now holds a joint lead with Team Abu Dhabi’s Thani Al-Qamzi in the UIM F1 World Championship.
Finland’s Sami Selio led from the start and survived two yellow flag stoppages to resist a challenge from his Mad Croc colleague Alex Carella to confirm the race win. The Finn now trails Price and Al-Qamzi by a single point in the Drivers’ standings. Team Qatar’s Andy Elliott finished an excellent ninth overall to boost the Doha-based team’s points tally and move himself into a tie for eighth in the championship.
“Our strategy worked well today,” said 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.
“We knew that a podium finish would keep Jay in the hunt for the title. He had a problem with the propeller in the race and wasn’t able to challenge any harder. It was a case of just staying in the hunt and reaching the finish. Andy did very well again to take ninth. It was a good result for his confidence after the accident he had at this course last year.”
The race
Price and Elliott began the battle on the Neva River from second and 15th on the 20-boat grid, following the decision by several drivers, including Team Abu Dhabi’s Ahmed Al-Hameli, to replace the engine after the time trials. It was crucial that the former World Champion stayed out of trouble over the sprint to the first turn. An illness forced Fabian Kalsow to miss the race and Rinaldo Osculati also withdrew before the start.
Selio managed to hold Price through the first few turns, but Alex Carella squeezed inside the Qatar driver through turn two, as Elliott climbed to 12th. Selio led from Carella and Price through four laps, but Elliott slipped back to 14th. Price admitted before the race that he didn’t feel confident about taking the outright win, but the former World Champion maintained third position behind Selio and Carella through lap eight.
Italian Francesco Cantando overturned his Blaze boat and forced a yellow flag situation. The resultant stoppage cost Selio his hard-earned advantage and enabled Price to close in on the leading duo before the action resumed on lap 13. Elliott restarted in 12th position.
Selio had rebuilt a 4.77s lead over Carella through lap 16 and continued to edge away over the subsequent laps. Price held station in third and Elliott was a solid 12th in his Dragon boat, as the top eight boats maintained their positions heading into lap 23.
There were no changes inside the top-10 after 29 laps, with Price firmly ensconced in third and Elliott maintaining a confidence-boosting 12th overall on a course where he suffered a serious accident last year. Al-Hameli’s demise promoted Elliott to 11th position and an accident involving Fabio Comparato forced a second yellow flag situation five laps from the finish and lifted Elliott into the top 10.
Selio managed to keep his lead from Carella after a tense restart, with Price in third and Al-Qamzi shadowing the Qatar driver. But there were no late dramas and Price held on to take third position and a share of the lead in the eight-round UIM F1 Drivers’ Championship.
Second free practice
Price only ran for four laps in the second free practice session on Sunday morning and recorded the fourth fastest time with a tour of 53.85s. Frenchman Phillipe Chiappe won the session with a time of 52.61s, but Team Qatar’s Andy Elliott did not start the stint on the Neva River course.
Grand Prix of Russia – results
1. Sami Selio (FIN) Team Mad Croc
2. Alex Carella (I) Team Mad Croc @ 2.36s
3. Jay Price (QA) |Team Qatar @ 4.01s
4. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi @ 6.08s
5. Jonas Andersson (S) Team Azerbaijan @ 7.42s
6. Pierre Lundin (S) CTIC China Team @ 14.36s
7. Marit Stromoy (N) Team Azerbaijan @ 15.54s
8. Davide Padovan (I) Rainbow Team @ 16.58s
9. Andy Elliott (GB) Team Qatar I lap behind
10. Stanislav Kourtsenovsky (RUS) Pringles Xtreme F1 Racing 1 lap behind
2010 UIM F1 World Championship – Drivers’ points after round 2 (unofficial)
1. Jay Price (QA) Qatar F1 Team 21 pts
1. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi 21 pts
3. Sami Selio (FIN) Team Mad Croc 20 pts
3. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi 20 pts
5. Alex Carella (I) Team Mad Croc 15 pts
5. Francesco Cantando (I) Singha F1 Racing Team 15 pts
7. Pierre Lundin (S) CTIC China Team 12 pts
8. Jonas Andersson (S) Team Azerbaijan 7 pts
8. Andy Elliott (GB) Qatar F1 Team 7 pts
10. Davide Padovan (I) Rainbow Team 6 pts
11. Fabian Kalsow (D) F1 Atlantic Team 4 pts
11. Marit Stromoy (N) Team Azerbaijan 4 pts
13. Stanislav Kourtsenovsky (RUS) Pringles Xtreme F1 1 pt
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).