Putrajaya - Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, September 25, 2004…. Race conditions seemed perfect this morning with sunshine and glassy water, rain however quickly set in stirring up the waves for the first qualifying session.
Undeterred Italian Fabio Comparato raced around the 1.8km circuit setting the fastest lap time of the day with 0:42.01, planting him firmly in pole position. Chasing hard was eight times world champion Guido Cappellini just 0.07 seconds behind trailed by Gillman with 0:42.84.
Malaysian driver, Simon Saw who returned to racing after a break of one year set a lap time of 0:48.60. Tamoil team driver Ivan Brigada struggled today after a significant crash in Singapore still taking its toil. After consultation with the team, Brigada was withdrawn from the race in order to fully recover.
Conditions settled for the second qualifying session and five drivers out of the nineteen competing managed to improve on their times. Norwegian rookie driver Rolf Sunde from the Tecnocalor Prisma team put in an impressive 0:43.78 propelling him into 5th fastest position. Meanwhile Francesco Cantando remained consistent behind Cappellini and Gillman.
The six boat shoot out took place at 16:30 in front of a curious Malaysian crowd. Though racing was undoubtedly fast on the still waters, none of the drivers were able to beat either Comparato or Cappellini's earlier session times. Both Gillman and Cantando put in identical lap times of 0:42.52 followed by Sunde with 0:43.78 and Selio with 0:43.83.
“I am so excited by my win today,” said Comparato. “Especially to be able to finish in front of the two strongest drivers in the Championship. I hope I can end up on the podium tomorrow.”
“This race is vital for me,” commented Cappellini. “I need to win in order to stay in the Championship. My set up for tomorrow is perfect and I’m going all out for this race.”
Cappellini needs to win the last 3 races this year in order to beat Gillman, who could win the 2004 Championship with a total of 16 points from Malaysia, Korea and Sharjah. Pressure is undoubtedly high in the Tamoil team.
Commented F1 Promoter Nicolo di San Germano, “Malaysia is always one of the best run circuits and they have done a great job this year. We’re delighted to have Simon Saw a local Malaysian driver participate in this race as we hope this will excite the crowds and increase the interest in the sport here and in Asia.”
The Grand Prix of Malaysia will start tomorrow at 14:30, Sunday 25 September.
Live broadcast can be seen locally in Malaysia on TV3.
