CHALON-SUR-SAONE; FRANCE - 24th, May: American Scott Gillman, winner of the 1997 Grand Prix of France, gained his 2nd pole of the season by out duelling defending race winner Guido Cappellini of Italy by 6/100ths of a second and will lead the field of pilots from 11 different nations in the 12th Annual Grand Prix of France here in Chalon-sur-Saone in East Central France.

Gillman, of the Abu Dhabi Tourism DAC/Mercury 2.5 litre machine, worked to the very end of the 2nd session to find the right engine setup and improved his time by 8/10ths of a second to a 35.09 which turned out to be just an eyelash quicker than Cappellini's 35.15. The lead driver of the Laserline/Castrol DAC/Mercury 2.5 litre powered hull was upset when a timing failure forced the times in the final session, a 6 boat shootout for pole position, to be cancelled. At the time his crew had timed him with a sub 35 second lap, but with the official timing proving inacurate, every time reverted back to the 2nd session marks.

Taking up the 3rd position will be Welshman and 3-time winner of the event, Jonathan Jones in the Fuchs Burgess OMC 3 litre boat with a time of 35.76 set in the 1st timed session around the 2-pin 1.6 kilometer course. Jones, who had pole a year ago, led for the first 10 laps in Latvia from 3rd starting spot and looks to do the same on Sunday afternoon.

4th will be Cappellini's teammate Fabio Comparato in the Laserline/Castrol DAC/Mercury 2.5 litre machine with a time of 35.87. He like his teammate sat out the 2nd session and will mark the 2nd time in two tries that the young Italian will start in the top five here on the Saone river.

Another Italian, Francesco Cantando in the Singha/Waircom DAC/Mercury 2.5 litre boat did a 36.52 and looks to reach the podium for the first time since the 2nd event in Belgium. Portugal pilot Duarte Benavente in the Singha/Siemens DAC/Mercury 2.5 litre boat did a 37.57 to start in the 6th spot for the 3rd time this season.

Massimo Roggiero of the Petrobras DAC/Mercury team was the first of the 2 litre pilots in the top 10 with a fine 37.90 second lap. Roggiero, was forced to switch from his 2.5 litre horsepower Mercury to 2.0 litre after breaking his engine in the first session. The most impressive drive of the day came from his teammate newcomer Laith Pharaon of Saudi Arabia, who in his first ever F1 weekend did an 8th best time of 37.95 and is hoping to pick up his good luck from his offshore days and a top 10 finish.

Veteran Italian Franco Leidi continues to improve with a 9th quick time of 38.06 in his Waircom/T-net DAC/Mercury, while rounding out the top 10 will be young 25 year old Awad Al Qubaisi of the U.A.E. in his Abu Dhabi Tourism DAC/Mercury 2.0 litre boat and a time of 39.05.

Sami Selio of Finland will be a dissapointed spectator crashing his Texaco Havoline /Velden/OMC 3.0 late in the 2nd session after setting an impressive 11th quick time.

Tomorrow's the French Grand Prix will be broadcast live via satellite to countries throughtout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It can also be seen live on the internet by going to the U.I.M. F1 World Championship's website.

The 18 boat field will take the green light on the Saone river at 16.30 CET or 10.30 Eastern Daylight Time for the 12th Annual Grand Prix of France, the 5th stop on the U.I.M. F1 World Championship for powerboat racing.