GILLMAN POWERS WAY TO VICTORY IN CAGLIARI!
ITALIAN'S CANTANDO & ROGGIERO IN TOP 3!

Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy; (July 2nd) - American Scott Gillman powered his way to a 12 second victory and at the same time put the most excitement back into the championship in 2 years, as he led every tour of the 40 lap event taking his 11th career win and his 2^nd in the last 3 races at the 3^rd Annual Grand Prix of the Mediterranean.

Gillman's strong performance couldn't have come at a more opportune time, stopping current World Champion Guido Cappellini's momentum and setting up a real "horse" race as we begin the 2^nd half of the 2000 season of the U.I.M. F1 World Championship for powerboating. The native of Como, Italy who had looked as if he was controlling the racing in the first 3 events, winning with ease, now is struggling to find his stride as well as his confidence.

Gillman, the lead driver of the ABU DHABI TOURISM DAC/Mercury 2.5 litre team, came from the pole and held off Cappellini in the 2^nd spot and paced him for the first 10 laps, extending leads to over 7 seconds before Cappellini started to reel in some "real estate" to just 4 seconds just prior to dropping out with engine problems on the 13^th lap. The 5-time World Champion was hoping to do what he did in France a week ago, closing in on Gillman and taking over the lead and thus win for the 3^rd straight time here in Cagliari and move farther in front of the 1997 World Title holder in his Laserline/Castrol DAC/Mercury 2.5 litre machine. It didn't happen, now Cappellini stays at 80 points with Gillman moving up to 70 points in 2^nd place after 6 races.

With Cappellini out, Gillman was looking at almost a 30 second advantage and started pacing himself even though he lost radio communication and was't sure how far ahead he was in the event. Behind him, tremendous battles were going on including the best of the afternoon with the 3 boat tussle between Portugal pilot Duarte Benavente in his Singha Beer/Siemens Burgess/Mercury 2.5 litre in 5^th with Italian Fabio Comparato in his Laserline/Castrol DAC/Mercury 2.5 litre machine and 1992 World Champion Fabrizio Bocca in his Rainbow Racing DAC/Mercury 2.5 litre closing up in 7^th only to pass the two and finally finish a strong 5^th place on the day. Comparato was 6^th and Benavente struggled home in 7^th but deserved better.

Young Italian Francesco Cantando in his Singha Beer/Waircom DAC/Mercury 2.5 litre hull turned around his 3 race "funk" and got back to the podium for the 3^rd time this season with a strong race, forcing Gillman to push hard at races end charging back from trailing by more than 30 seconds to 5 seconds finally finishing 12 seconds behind Gillman after 40 laps.

Italian Massimo Roggiero, who has been known as "King of the 2 Litres" having consistantly finishing strongly all season with just 2 litre power, finally got his Mercury 2.5 litre engine into race action and showed why he is once again a man to keep an eye on for the World Championship with a well earned 3^rd place.

Jonathan Jones, the 4-time World Champion brought smiles to the faces to all the OMC personnel and teams as he drove a strong if not lonely event in 4^th place, closing on Roggiero late while finishing just 3 seconds back of Roggiero and holding off Bocca by 11 seconds in his Fuchs/Eurobet Burgess/OMC 3.0 litre boat. Jones may have had the hardest day of any pilot having hurt his left arm when the wheel wrenched out of his hand injuring it and forcing him to race in pain for the full 40 laps. For the native of Wales, it's his first points of the season.

Rookie Laith Fharaon in his Hyatt DAC/Mercury was the first 2 litre engine to come home, finishing 8^th and another top 10 finish in just his 2^nd race. The offshore World Champion continues to impress and can only get better just 1 second behind Benavente in 7^th place. Hugarian Rudy Mihaldenecz was 9^th in his Dunaferr/EMA Power Seebold/Mercury 2 litre coming up from the 15^th starting position, while France's Philippe Dessertenne in the Fuchs/Eurobet DAC/OMC 3 litre finished in 10^th place.

Only 3 boats failed to finish, while Awad Al Qubaisi in the Abu Dhabi Tourism DAC/Mercury 2 litre machine was 11^th, Italian Franco Leidi in the Waircom/T'Net DAC/Mercury was 12^th and rounding out the finishers was rookie Brazilian Paul Gaiser in his Petrobras DAC/Mercury 2 litre in 13^th.

Swedish returnee Goran Karlof got as far as the 34^th lap before dropping out of the event, doing well before coming to grief out on the course with a silent boat while getting back to race shape being his first event in 2000 in his RCO/Budkonsult/Samas DAC/Mercury 2 litre hull.

Argentinian Carlos Maidana, forced to start last in his Texaco Havoline RVS/OMC 3 litre charged up 4 spots before coming to rest just 2 laps into the event. His mechanic Gordon Sutherland working overtime just to get the boat into the race only to watch it all go away just 3 minutes later.

The U.I.M. F1 World Championship tour for powerboating moves off to Poznan, Poland in 3 weeks for the 7^th stop on the tour for the 2000 year. If the first 6 races are any indication to what is ahead, the excitement is only beginning!