2010 UIM F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Grand Prix of China, Liuzhou – October 16-17, round 4 of 8
For immediate release
Sunday, October 17th, 2010
QATAR TEAM’S JAY PRICE TAKES
STUNNING VICTORY IN LIUZHOU
· Qatar Team’s Andy Elliott claims 13th position
· Qatar’s Al-Shamlan seals fifth place in second F4 race
LIUZHOU (China): The Qatar Team’s Jay Price controlled proceedings in the Grand Prix of China on the Liu River in Liuzhou on Sunday afternoon. The 2008 World Champion led from start to finish to claim 20 valuable championship points and take a nine-point lead in the UIM F1 World Championship into the second half of the eight-race season.
Price started second on the grid in his DAC, but managed to sneak in front of Ahmed Al-Hameli before the first turn and was never troubled from then on. Andy Elliott started 17th and finished 13th in his Dragon boat and Qatar’s Khalid Saleh Al-Shamlan claimed fifth position in the second F4 race and now holds sixth place in the UIM F4 Championship.
“This is a momentous day for our team,” said Khalid Bin Arhama Al-Kuwari, Head of Formula Racing at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF). “Our strategy worked perfectly, the DAC boat ran superbly and Jay took a famous win. He now has a good lead in the World Championship and I hope he can repeat the feat he achieved in 2008.
“This week we will take delivery of a new boat, supplied by Guido Cappellini. Jay will test it and if he likes it, then maybe we will use it for the rest of the season. We have the momentum now. It is a great day for the Qatar Team.”
The Qatar Team runs under the auspices of the QMSF and the presidency of His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani, who is racing in Alabama, USA, with his own world championship ambitions on Sunday evening.
The race
Elliott was promoted to 17th position on the grid following the accident involving Luigi Roberto and joint championship leader Alex Carella on Saturday afternoon.
Price was sandwiched between the two Team Abu Dhabi boats of Ahmed Al-Hameli and Thani Al-Qamzi and made a wonderful start behind the flying Jonas Andersson, who appeared to jump the flag. Andersson was duly forced to make a drive through lap penalty and Price inherited the lead from Selio, Al-Qamzi and Al-Hameli.
Price maintained his advantage through the first five laps, as Elliott climbed to 16th position. The 2008 World Champion extended his advantage to 2.47s through eight of the planned 37 laps on the Liu River course. Selio fell back with technical problems and Price found himself 4.73s in front of Al-Qamzi after 17 laps.
Elliott held 13th position heading into the closing nine laps, as Price maintained his outright lead from Al-Qamzi, Francesco Cantando and Pierre Lundin. Price lost a second or so in traffic with seven laps remaining, but he maintained a two-second lead with six laps to run and was able to cruise to the finish to record a stunning victory and snatch the outright lead in the UIM F1 Drivers’ Championship.
F4
Khalid Saleh Al-Shamlan recorded 14 laps on the course in the second free practice session on Sunday morning and clocked the fifth fastest time. He improved in the time trials to set the fifth fastest time and lined up in a strong position to challenge for the podium in the second 20-minute race of the weekend.
The Qatari eventually finished in fifth position in the race, with victory falling to Finland’s Filip Roms of the Mad Croc Team. Italy’s David Del Pin was second and the morning’s time trial winner Oskar Samuelsson finished third overall.
Free practice
Jay Price ran for seven laps in the second practice session and set the fastest lap of 47.44s, which was 0.26s quicker than time trial winner Ahmed Al-Hameli. Elliott managed 28 laps on the Liu River course in his Dragon boat and set the 15th fastest tour of 50.23s.
Grand Prix of China, Liuzhou – final results
1. Jay Price (QA) Qatar Team 20 pts
2. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 15 pts
3. Francesco Cantando (I) Singha F1 Racing Team 12 pts
4. Pierre Lundin (S) CTIC China Team 9 pts
5. Tim Seebold (USA) Team Skydive Dubai 7 pts
6. Fabio Comparato (I) 800 Doctor 5 pts
7. Alex Carella (I) Team Mad Croc 4 pts
8. Jonas Andersson (S) Team Azerbaijan 3 pts
9. Duarte Benavente (P) F1 Atlantic Team 2 pts
10. Davide Padovan (I) Rainbow Team 1 pt
13. Andy Elliott (GB) Qatar Team 0 pt
2010 UIM F1 World Drivers’ Championship – standings after round 4
1. Jay Price (QA) Qatar F1 Team 48 pts
2. Alex Carella (I) Team Mad Croc 39 pts
2. Francesco Cantando (I) Singha F1 Racing Team 39 pts
2. Thani Al-Qamzi (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi 39 pts
5. Sami Selio (FIN) Team Mad Croc 35 pts
6. Pierre Lundin (S) CTIC China Team 21 pts
7. Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) F1 Team Abu Dhabi 20 pts
8. Fabio Comparato (I) 800 Doctor 14 pts
9. Tim Seebold (USA) Team Skydive Dubai 12 pts
9. Jonas Andersson (S) Team Azerbaijan 12 pts
11. Andy Elliott (GB) Qatar F1 Team 7 pts
2010 UIM F4 Championship – standings after race 2
1. Filip Roms (FIN) Team Mad Croc 35 pts
2. Oskar Samuelsson (S) Team Rainbow 32 pts
3. David Del Pin (I) Team 800 Doctor 27 pts
4. Rashid Al-Tayer (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 16 pts
5. Bimba Sjoholm (S) Team Azerbaijan 13 pts
6. Khalid Saleh Al-Shamlan (QA) Qatar Team 12 pts
7. Kristoffer Fjelde (N) Team Singha 7 pts
8. Xiong Ziwei (CHN) Team China 6 pts
9. Matthew Palfreyman (GB) Team Nautica 5 pts
10. Stefan Hagin (D) Team Atlantic 3 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).
www.qmsf.org
www.f1boat.com