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RIGA, LATVIA (JUNE 10th) - It took 5 time World Champion Guido Cappellini of Como, Italy 2 qualifying sessions to shake his main rival, 1997 World Champion Scott Gillman of Basalt, Colorado, but he got the clear water and clear course to take pole position for the 3rd straight time in the 2000 season here on the 4th stop of the U.I.M. F1 World Championship for powerboating for tomorrow's Grand Prix of Latvia.
Gillman, who had topped the charts in the 1st qualifying session with a 45.81 time in his Abu Dhabi Tourism/DAC Mercury 2.5 liter powered machine, while Cappellini matched the time late in the session with an identical 45.81 in his Laserline-Castrol/DAC Mercury 2.5 liter craft after pushing his boat to the limit almost blowing over twice in his chase for the top rung of the qualifying ladder.
Cappellini took top spot for good early in the 2nd session with a sparkling effort topping the charts with a 45.21 and a speed of 139.34 kph around the 7 turn 2 kilometer course on the Daugava River. Gillman tried his best, getting closer with a 45.43 which turned out to be his best effort of the weekend, finishing .22 of second behind and a speed of 138.67 kph.
Starting 3rd will be the first OMC entry of 4-time World Champion Jonathan Jones of Cardigan, Wales in the Fuchs/Eurobet Burgess OMC 3.0 liter machine cracking the 130 kph barrier with a time of 47.51 and a speed of 132.60 kph. Jones is looking to finish his first race of the season and looks for a good jump at the start with his powerful 3.0 liter machine.
Italian Francesco Cantando with begin in the 4th spot with a 47.68 lap and 132.13 speed in his Singha Beer/Waircom DAC 2.5 liter Mercury powered boat. He was forced to switch with teammate Franco Leidi who may miss the race after Cantando elected to take this hull after he and Cappellini got tied up in the 1st qualifying session and braking Cantando's sponson, putting the boat on the shelf for the rest of the weekend.
5th will be Cappellini's teammate Fabio Comparato in the Laserline-Castrol DAC Mercury 2.5 liter machine hitting the charts with a time of 47.73. Camparato in the 2nd session had engine problems and didn't come out for the final 6 boat shootout and will be forced to run a 2 liter engine in the race, which will make it harder for him to take his first ever F1 victory in his three year career.
Rounding out the top 6 will be Italian Fabrizio Bocca, back after missing the last round in Hungary in his Rainbow Racing/DAC Mercury 2.5 liter machine with a time of 48.45, just ahead of fellow Italian Massimo Roggiero in his Petrobras/DAC 2.0 liter Mercury and a time of 50.15. Bocca has stepped up to 2.5 liter power, while Roggiero had his new 2.5 liter expire early in the day and will once again be forced to run the lesser powered machine and hoping once again for a podium finish.
The remaining top 10 see's Awad Al Qubaisi of Abu Dhabi running 9th in his Abu Dhabi Tourism/DAC 2 liter engine with a speed of 123.99 kph, while new arrival Victor Kunitch racing for Latvia this weekend doing well in an ex-Cappellini boat with 2.5 liter power and a time of 50.91will be 10th.
Missing from the line-up will be Argentinian Carlos Maidana who just received his new boat from Ben Robertson in South Carolina this week, while Finish star Sami Selio may be sitting out another event with his Excide/Veldon OMC 3 liter engine.
Tomorrow's running of the first ever Grand Prix of Latvia will be broadcast live via satellite to countries throughtout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It can also be seen live on the internet by going to the U.I.M. F1 World Championship's website at www.f1boat.com. The race will begin at 14.30 central european time or 08.30 eastern daylight time in North America.
The start will be important on this tricky 7 pin course, can someone other than Cappellini lead a lap in 2000? We will see tomorrow!
