Polli Succumbs To Injuries In 2 Boat Crash!

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates: (20th of December) ­ Saudi Arabian driver Laith Pharaon won his first event of the year and his 2nd of his career in a race that was prematurely stopped after a massive 2 boat accident that took the life of Italian rookie Vincenzo Polli at the 11th Annual Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi the final round of the U.I.M. F1 World Championship for power boating.

At the start of the scheduled 60 lap event pole sitter Italian Guido Cappellini of the Zepter Team took the lead and held it for the first 12 laps. Pharaon moved from the 3rd to the 2nd position outrunning French driver Philippe Dessertenne at the first pin with Italian Francesco Cantando charging up from 5th to passing Dessertenne early in the event pushing the Frenchman to 4th.

On lap 12, the day turned dark when Swedish driver Jari Honkala launched off a rogue wave going into the 2nd corner and flew through the air for 30 meters before hitting Polli broadside in the safety capsule fatally injuring the driver while Honkala was cared for by the Osprey Rescue Team as the boat remained upside down before being hoisted out of the water and helping the Swede to safety.

As the rescue personnel worked on both victims, the leader of the race Cappellini took himself out of the race feeling as if the setting sun was becoming a problem for the visibility. The lead then went to Pharaon on the 17th lap and the field moved up a spot as they continued to circle for another 5 laps.

The race was finally red flagged to an end when the U.I.M. officials ruled that since both ambulances were at the hospital and the drivers were continuing to complain about the reduced visibility it would be safe to stop the event on the 22 lap and award half points to everyone in the top 10.

Not all drivers agreed with the decision and there was a bit of frustration in the paddock area after the announcement including Emirates lead driver American Scott Gillman who declared they had raced in these same conditions for the past 6 years, why change now. Many people took the same side in the argument.

Promoter of the series Nicol di San Germano agreed with the U.I.M. officals stating that safety was always the number one concern of the series and that the ruling was the right one.

Pharaon’s win gave him 2nd in the title run with 79 points, while Italian Massimo Roggiero’s 4th was enough for him to finish 3rd with 73.5 points with Frenchman Philippe Dessertenne 73 points was 4th.

Great Britian’s Andy Elliott was 5th after starting 7th for his best finish of the season, while Italian Fabio Comparato was 6th. American Scott Gillman took 7th after starting from 22nd and last on the grid after moving up 15 positions in the first 12 laps after switching from his Abu Dhabi built boat to his older DAC hull.

Gert Ladefoged, teammate to Polli, took his 2nd straight top 10 finish with an 8th. American newcomer Jay Price ran strongly finishing 9th after starting 14th, while his teammate Duarte Benavente in another English built Burgess took a half-point for finishing 10th.

A total of 18 drivers took the finish on the final race of the 2002 campaign and the end of the 21st season of U.I.M. F1 racing. In a few weeks after the upcoming holidays the 2003 calendar will be officially announced and the much anticipated season will soon be in place.

Congratulations to Italian Guido Cappellini for winning his 7th World Championship as he takes aim for another in the upcoming year.