WORLD CHAMPION GILLMAN CHOOSES BURGESS BOAT FOR 2001!
3 OF THE TOP 6 DRIVERS IN 2000 MAKE SWITCH TO NEW HULLS! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND (12TH FEB)– The “DAC Attack” is in full swing for 2000 as it has become almost fashionable to be “un-DAC” for the upcoming season.  World Champion, Scott Gillman, leads a host of drivers who are making the switch for something different in their campaign for a world title on the U.I.M. F1 World Championship for power boating.

The 2-time World Champion from Basalt, Colorado has elected to put his future in the skills of David Burgess and his boat builders from the U.K. to lead him in his goal to become the first driver in the history of the sport to win 3 world titles in 3 different boat hulls. Gillman, who won his first world title in an American Seebold hull in 1997, switched to the Guido Cappellini DAC hull in the 5th race of the 1998 season and went on to win 5 times and 1 world title in 26 starts in the Italian hull. Gillman leaves the Cappellini boat as that hulls 2nd most successful all-time leading winner behind the 41 year old Cappellini.

“It was time for a change”, stated the ex-motocross star who ran a Burgess on the North American PROP Tour in 1993, “I thought it would be a bit of a gamble at first, but once out in the water in testing this past week, I found out that this boat will turn quicker than my old DAC. I still have to make a few minor adjustments and then it should be a perfect fit. Plus, why think of anything as a gamble from a man who has over 25 World Titles from drivers who have driven his boats over the years. This new boat felt great from the start and I’m confident it will run well for me. Remember, this was only in testing, we’ll soon see how it does in race competition.”

Being the Emirates lead driver also brings a lot of responsibilities with it. In the last 3 weeks, Gillman has traveled to England twice and to Abu Dhabi in the U.A.E. to oversee their driver development program. He was there last week to watch and coach handpicked drivers who are looking forward to F1 competition in the near future while racing in the national F2 events. With the early start of the season, Scott has returned home for just one week, shoring up business responsibilities before heading back early next week for the opening round of the World Championship of 2001 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

With Portugal’s star driver Duarte Benavente also ordering one of David Burgess’s sleek hulls direct from the United Kingdom and the Viking Team of Italian Fabio Comparto and Dane Gert Ladefoged looking to get the Malgaard hull back on the water since Sweden’s Thomas Ericsson last ran it 4 years ago, the ranks are getting smaller for the DAC. However, before you shed a tear for DAC builder and 4-Time World Champion Guido Cappellini of Como, Italy, his hull still dominates the series with 18 different drivers on the tour planning to run his brand in 2001. It’s not a bad bet since the hull has won 7 of the last 9 world titles. But, when you have a selection of drivers who finished 1st, 4th and 6th or 3 of the top 6 in last season’s World Championship leaving DAC to look elsewhere, multi-hull racing is again alive and well on the U.I.M. F1 World Championship for powerboating. 

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