2005 FORMULA ONE UIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
GRAND PRIX OF QATAR UIM F1, November 17th-19th, 2005 – round 4 of 6
For immediate release
Wednesday, November 16th, 2005
QATAR PREPARES TO HOST FOURTH
ROUND OF F1 UIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Qatar Marine Sports Federation welcomes F1 UIM teams to Doha
DOHA (Qatar): The Qatar Marine Sports Federation will play host to a round of the Formula One UIM World Championship, when an international field of the world’s leading power boat racers descend upon Doha Bay for the first ever Qatar round of the series on November 18th-19th.
The event is being held under the auspices of the UIM, in conjunction with the QMSF, and follows the opening three rounds of the series in Portugal, Italy and Singapore and precedes the final two rounds in the UAE in December.
~After the hectic time we have experienced in Doha in the last couple of weeks with the two Qatar Class One Grand Prix races, we are delighted to welcome an entirely new set of faces to Qatar for the first time for the Formula One race,~ said His Excellency Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani, President of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation.
~We are proud to have been chosen as a venue for this year’s prestigious Formula One UIM World Championship for the first time. We have gained a lot of experience in hosting international status races and the two Class One events were a great success, albeit very dramatic spectacles.~
This year’s Formula One UIM World Championship is rapidly developing into one of the most exciting on record, following the outcome of September’s shortened event in Singapore. Italy’s Guido Cappellini won the opening two European races and still leads the Drivers’ World Championship on 40 points.
He is currently 17.5 points ahead of Finland’s Sami Selio and a further point in front of third-placed Italian Fabio Comparato. Saudi Arabia’s Laith Pharaon is the leading Arab driver in fifth position with 17.5 points after three races. Italian Francesco Cantando won the recent race on Marina Bay in downtown Singapore and holds fourth in the points’ standings.
The championship-leading Italian had a scare after the race in Singapore when he was red carded by the Officer of the Day for alleged dangerous driving and had been threatened with a ban, which would have forced Cappellini to miss the Grand Prix of Qatar. But the eight-times World Champion, who crashed spectacularly with American Scott Gillman during the race in Singapore, won his appeal at a special hearing in Lausanne, Switzerland, and will be permitted to start the Doha race. He argued that he had been receiving medical attention at the time that his case was being heard by race officials.
Como-based Cappellini, representing the leading Tamoil F1 Team, has taken a clean sweep of all three Pole Position competitions and has a maximum 60 points to his name after race three, with arch rival Gilman second on 45 points after three second-placed finishes. Pharaon lies third in his Team Green boat.
~The sight of the world’s leading Formula One racers promises to be a thrilling spectacle in Doha Bay this weekend,~ added Sheikh Hassan. ~We hope they enjoy their time in Qatar and have a safe and exciting weekend’s racing.~
Ends
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