Singapore, September 18, 2004…. Crowds started to gather early this morning in anticipation of a day of excitement and adrenalin for the start of the Grand Prix of Singapore.
Qualifying commenced at 11am with drivers ready to do battle and score the fastest lap times. With a course of 50 laps comprising 4 left handers and 1 right hander set over 1,800 metres teams knew lap times would be both fast and furious.
8 times World Champion, Guido Cappellini did not disappoint putting in the fastest time for this session at 0:47.33 followed by American Scott Gillman with 0:47.68 and in third place test driver for the Tamoil team, Ivan Brigada – who was determined to prove himself in his second only Formula One race, with an impressive time of 0:48.39.
With temperatures soaring, conditions were certainly tough. “It’s important to stay hydrated as it’s completely boiling inside the boat,” commented Finnish Sami Selio who qualified 4th in the first session.
The second session saw a slight change in the line up, and while Cappellini and Gillman managed to improve on their lap times and hold the top two positions with 0:46.09 and 0:46.30 consecutively, Italian driver Francesco Cantando put in an excellent time of 0:46.74 propelling him into third place.
With the aggregate scores from the first two sessions, the six boat shoot out comprised a strong Italian line up poised to snatch pole position. Leading the way was Italian Champion Cappellini, followed by American Gillman, Italians’ Cantando and Comparato, Finnish Sami Selio and Italian Ivan Brigada.
Cappellini put in a good time of 0:44.49 but was soon outrun by Scott Gillman securing the fastest time of 0:43.23 and the 24th pole in his career. Comparato who has been consistently racing well in qualifying sessions was just 0.06 seconds behind Cappellini in third place followed by Brigada and Cantando.
Andy Elliot spent today enjoying his new boat and adjusting the set up to suit the conditions finished in 11th place hopeful of an improvement during tomorrow’s Grand Prix.
“I am delighted to finish in first place,” enthused Gillman. “Last year I started second behind Cappellini and still managed to win so I’m quite confident for tomorrow’s race.”
“Gillman was very fast today,” commented Cappellini. “However I have one strategy and that is to win. There are four races left this season so I’ll be pushing very hard.”
“Conditions were difficult today however I was determined to get into the top six – so I’m thrilled to make it to third place today. Tomorrow will be really exciting!” said Fabio Comparato.
“Today was an excellent day. I am so impressed with the set up here in Singapore and the support of our local sponsors the Singapore Tourism Board, Singapore Sports Council and Aviva,” commented Nicolo di San Germano F1 Powerboat Promoter.
The UIM F1 Powerboat Grand Prix of Singapore starts tomorrow Sunday 19th September at 16:00. Live coverage can be seen locally on Channel 5 in Singapore.
