CANTANDO HOPES TO CARRY MOMENTUM TO VIENNA!
CAPPELLINI WANTS TO STOP SLIDE; DESSERTENNE A WIN A MUST!

LAUSANNE, Switzerland: (30th August) Ð The smell of a championship will be all around the paddock on Sunday, September 9th for the 3rd Annual Grand Prix of Austria, as drivers from 16 different nations are expected to attend the 8th round of the U.I.M. F1 World Championship for power boating on the Danube River.

Young Italian Francesco Cantando of Milan, Italy is coming off a ÒhighÓ with a dominating performance in the last round in Stralsund, Germany. Francesco did his homework and reworked his boat during the month layoff between races and it paid dividends as he took the pole and won by over 25 seconds and with his first win of the season, moved into 2nd place in the World Championship. The lead driver of the Singha Beer team has improved his qualifying performance in Vienna, starting 9th in 1999, improving that to a 3rd in 2000 with a podium finish of 3rd at races end.

Points leader Guido Cappellini of Como, Italy and lead driver of the Assicom Team comes in with 4 victories this season but has hit a bit of dry spell and has opened the door for Cantando who trials by just 16 points. Cappellini, who is going for his 39th career victory and back into a commanding position for a shot of his 6th world title, is coming off a crash and a 3rd place finish in his last 2 events. Technically, CappelliniÕs boat has won the race here but he has not, as he looks for his first win in Vienna. In 1999 the Grand Prix was shorted to 7 laps and no points awarded with Cappellini in the lead, and last year the 41 year-old had to sit out the race after being suspended by the U.I.M. and turned his boat over to one-off driver Pertti Leppala of Finland who came away with a win in his only race of 2000.

With Cappellini and Cantando getting most of the attention, Frenchman Philippe Dessertenne is having a fantastic season having finished every event and taking a trip to Òthe boxÓ reaching the podium 3 times this season. For the native of La Rochelle, its been one of the largest turnarounds in the history of the sport coming from a 14th place finish in the championship a year ago with 12 total points to 3rd this season and 70 points and 22 behind Cappellini with a shot at the title before the year is out. The likeable Frenchman still would like to do something he has failed to do in his career so far and that is to win his first F1 race. His 2nd in Latvia has been his closest to this long awaited goal.

While the struggle for the world title is being left to Cappellini, Cantando and Dessertenne, finishing in the top 5 is also important for prestige and future sponsorship and this battle is shaping up into a real close affair between four drivers who are just 11 points separating 4th thru 7th. Defending World Champion American Scott Gillman of the Emirates Team has momentum on his side scoring more points than any driver in the last 2 rounds with 30 points after a pair of 2nds. Gillman, who has 11 career victories since coming from America in 1997 has never gone a season without a win and wants to bring his first victory his way before 2001 comes to a close. The native of Basalt, Colorado was on the pole in Vienna in 1999 and took 2nd last year behind Leppala in the race. The 3-time North American title holder continues to hold his streak of having never finished lower than the podium in any race he has finished since joining the tour in 1997.

Latvian driver Victor Kunitch celebrated his first victory in his career in Cagliari, Sardinia in July after leading and dropping out of the seasonÕs opening round in Malaysia. Kunitch, from Moscow, Russia is hoping he can bring his Vivid Team back to the podium for the 3rd time this season. Kunitch started 9th and finished 6th in Vienna a year ago.

Italian Massimo Roggiero has had a wild ride this season and is currently sitting in 5th place in the title chase. The native of Busto Arsizio, Italy is looking to finish in the top 5 of the world championship for the 5th time in the last 6 years, has 2 pole positions this year, but would be happier with his first win of the season. Roggiero, who has won 4 world championships in the ÒSÓ classes, started 4th last year in Vienna before dropping out of the event in 2000.

No driver has made more of an impact in his first full season than Saudi Arabian driver Laith Pharaon of the Team Green Hyatt Hotel team. The native of Jeddah, won the opening round of the season in Malaysia and has a third place finish in Campione. This is his first time in Vienna as he looks to bring back his success that he was carrying in the two Italian rounds at mid season when he was mixing it up for a 2nd win.

The Grand Prix of Austria marks the final round of the year on the ÒEuropean faceÓ of the tour with the next two rounds heading east to the United Arab Emirates and Sharjah and Abu Dhabi where so many titles have been finalized in the 1990Õs. Will Abu Dhabi become the Òhome of championsÓ again? Vienna and the challenge on the water will go a long way to determine if the Òrun on the cornicheÓ will again be the title teller!