LIUZHOU, China - 10th of October, 2008 – Jonas Andersson has always been a bit of a gambler. For the 33 year-old driver from Fruvi, Sweden, his driving style and race preparation has been the same, all or nothing.
As the driver currently in 2nd place in the 2008 U.I.M. F1 World Championship totaling 40 points with two wins in two finishes this season gets ready for Sundays Grand Prix, the “F1 Team Sweden” driver has closed the championship to 10 points after taking the series last event in St. Petersburg, Russia back in June with his 2nd victory of the season. World drivers championship leader Jay Price of the “Qatar Team” is and old adversary of Jonas from their F2 days when they would battle for supremacy in two liter powered catermaran boats.
“We have a whole new batch of engines and equipment that we have been working with all summer long and are ready for this challenging stage of the championship beginning this weekend,” said Jonas. “Our win in Russia rejuvenated the team and now we are hoping to have a dream filled 2nd half of the season and win the title at the same time.”
The race course on the Li River is situated in the lovely downtown sector with the course laid out between two bridges. The course, only 1.5 kilometers in length, will be another of the short “bull rings” that should make the show exciting to not only the expected sold out crowd but also for the 20+ drivers that are expected to compete for this weekends Grand Prix of China.
In other notes: Jay Price's 08 DAC boat has been repaired and almost rebuilt following a rough battleground of events in the first four races for the American driver from New Orleans, Louisiana. Italian 9-time World Champion Guido Cappellini is full of confidence that he can return to the top of the table and take his 10th title despite being down in 4th place in the standings following another failure to finish in the last round in Russia.
Thani Al Qamzi of “Team Abu Dhabi” has a brand new 08 DAC hull to race this weekend as he looks for his first points of the year despite some great performances on the water. CTIC China Team drivers Philippe Dessertenne of France and Pierre Lundin of Sweden are being swamped by the media attention at their teams home Grand Prix but are staying close to business and both are looking for podium finishes for the weekend. Dessertenne has been here for a good weeks time giving VIP and press rides promoting the sold out event.
Defending World Champion Sami Selio of Finland is quietly getting himself all lined up for a 2nd half effort to win his 2nd straight title despite sitting like Cappellini 23 points behind the leader Price. Italian Fabio Comparato is also looking forward to another podium place finish as he arrived early in his preperation for the Grand Prix.
Media attention throughout China has been strong as the Grand Prix of China come back to this lovely enchanted country of 1.3 billion people for the 8th time since its first event back in 1995.
