World Championship To Be Decided In Two Days At Sharjah!
SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates - 13th of December, 2006 – Two drivers, 12 titles and 76 victories between |9-time World Champion Guido Cappellini of the Tamoil Racing Team and 3-time title holder Scott Gillman of the Emirates Team as they face off against each other friday afternoon on the waters of the Khalid Lagoon for the 7th annual Grand Prix of Sharjah, the 6th and final round of the 2006 U.I.M. F1 World Championship for power boating.
The citizen of Como, Italy, Cappellini, and the Los Angeles, California driver Gillman, couldn't be two different personalities off the water, but in a race boat, they are almost identical in nature... aggressive.
Cappellini, emotional, exciteable and always passionate about his driving evironment is facing off against the typical “laid back” Southern California veteran in Gillman, who has a tendancy to nod off to sleep moments before his championship racing events only to change his character in the instant when the red lights go off and the racing battle begins.
The two, raced against each other for the first time back in Augusta, Georgia in 1987. At the time, this was not a fight not for the podium, but hopefully for a finish in the top 10. Back then for both drivers it was the painful process of learning to read the water, in a sport that takes years for a driver to feel comfortable in a race boat.
Now, it comes down to this. One race, one good start and one hour of giving it your best while holding off 25 of the world's best drivers from four different continents around a difficult multi-turn race course.
Both Scott Gillman and Guido Cappellini have 65 points. The Como, Italy resident has three wins while the California driver has one. Both drivers have finished all but one race this season. Cappellini, going out in the opening round at the Grand Prix of Qatar with an engine that caught on fire, while Gillman had power failure in Como, Italy in July giving up his championship lead to Cappellini. Now, both are on equal terms and everyone around the world expects a real fight to the finish.
In the six race history here in Sharjah, Gillman has a better track record than Cappellini with two wins (2003 & 2004) along with four podium finishes completing every event. Guido in the meantime, also has a pair of wins (2001 & 2005) but also dropped out of two events with mechanical problems topped by a disqualification in 2002.
Testing has been going on all week around the United Arab Emirates. Both the Tamoil Team and the Emirates Team have been busy despite the rainy conditions that have plagued the region for the last three days. You had better believe that all the stops will be pulled out when these two veteran drivers. tied together, by age and history will once again set a chapter for boat racing history on Friday, December 15th here at the 7th Annual Grand Prix of Sharjah.
