Shanghai, China, July 30, 2004…. Temperatures of up to 39degrees centigrade greeted the teams this week as they reached the historic city of Shanghai ready for the UIM F1 Powerboat Grand Prix of China.

With many drivers travelling from Europe to Asia the heat was quite a concern.  “This will be an interesting race in many respects,” commented Finnish Sami Selio.  “The temperature in the cockpit will be unbelievable and will certainly tax our ventilation system.  We will need to be completely focused and drink lots of fluid in order to avoid becoming exhausted and making mistakes,” he added.

Rainbow Team Corona boasts a new driver for this race.  Jamey Stallard from England will join team mate Fabrizio Bocca, for his first Formula One race.  Jamey first started power boat racing in 1979 as a F1 mechanic with JDS Racing with a racing career ensuing in 1994 in Formula 4 moving into Formula 3 in 1998. 

Determined to make an impact Jamey commented, “I’m really looking forward to this race, not only is it my first F1 race it is also my first Asian race.  Fabrizio is very experienced and we’ve discussed our strategy for securing maximum points.  I believe the course will be pretty challenging which is always exciting – I can’t wait to get started!”

A 2.16km course with 6 turns, 5 left handers and 1 right hander the race is anticipated to be fairly rough with water coming back onto the course from the banks.  Turn 5 will be particularly difficult with a 120 degree turn after a 210m stretch.  The longest stretch is 530m between turn 6 and turn 1.

The busy Huangpu River which sees more than 2,000 boats passing by each day will be closed especially for the Grand Prix of China from 8:30am to 6:30pm on Saturday July 31st for Qualifying and 11am to 5:30pm on Sunday August 1st, race day.

“We are extremely grateful to the City of Shanghai for their support in helping organise this Grand Prix of China,” commented F1 Powerboat organiser Nicolo di San Germano.  “I’m sure this will be a superb race!”

The boats will roar in front of the Bund tomorrow at 10:30am during free practise, followed by the first timed trial at 13:00, second timed trial at 16:00 and the six fastest boats shoot out at 17:00.  Podium positions will be determined with drivers battling it out for top position ready for race day on Sunday 1 August, commencing at 16:00 local time.