COMPARATO’S HEALTH TO DETERMINE HIS “VIKING” TEAM’S DEBUT!
5 NEW TEAMS EXPECTED FOR 1^ST ROUND IN JOHOR BAHRU, MALAYSIA!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND, 7^th February – Italian powerboat racing star, Fabio Comparato, had been hoping to start his packing for the opening round of the 2001 U.I.M. F1 World Championship in Johor Bahru, Malaysia on February 25^th, but instead, is waiting around and crossing his fingers for the doctors to give him the “go ahead” so that he can race at all!

Since we last left the 37 year old native of Padova, Italy, Fabio was 3^rd in the World Championship coming into the 2^nd to last round in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, with an outside chance to still take the World Title last November. Starting from the back, Compartato on the first lap came charging towards the front, only to get tangled up in traffic and recording one of the hardest crashes of the season while barrel rolling to a stop and effectively ending his season in the hospital with numerous injuries.

Ten weeks later, the man who in the last two seasons since joining the UIM F1 World Championship tour, has scored more points (162) than anyone other than his ex-teammate Guido Cappellini of Italy (265) and current World Champion Scott Gillman of the U.S.A. (210), is set on joining a new team, one of 5 set to debut in the 2001 campaign, only when doctors give the final OK after an extensive physical.

The new “VIKING” Team, which will consist of Dane driver Gert Ladefoged, who returns to F1 after running a full season in 1999 with the FUCHS effort, finishing 16^th in the championship in his “rookie” season. The 31 year old native of Randers, Denmark is truly a man for the 21^st century, currently living in Italy for business and having also lived in Minnesota in the U.S.A. for a time. Ladefoged’s best finish is a 7^th in the 1999 finale in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

With Comparato waiting for medical clearance, the team hasn’t been sitting around wasting time. It expects to intoduce a new hull, testing a new Molgaard boat has been its top priority. With testing going on the for the past month and with rumors flying around saying that the times look impressive, the VIKING team is hoping to get the first Molgaard back in full season competition since Swedish driver Thomas Ericsson last ran one in the 1996 season. Thomas also steared the manufactorer to its last points race with Wuxi, China where he picked up points with a 9^th place effort.

Meanwhile, Fabio Comparto’s health will determine the starting point of the season for the VIKING team. If he is ready to race, expect to see the Molgaard hulls in Malaysia in two weeks time. If not cleared by physicans, Comparato who had 8 top 10 finishes a year ago along with 7 podiums in the last 2 years, will introduce the team in the 2^nd race of the 2001 campaign in Portimao, Portugal on the 8^th of April.

This continues to be just one of many stories coming up and leading to the start of what is a highly anticipated first race season of the 21^st century. 26 drivers from a record 18 different countries are expected to compete this season, with some of the new teams coming from New Zealand, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Portugal to just name a few. Interest in the sport couldn’t be stronger, as we, in a few days will focus on how the current World Champion Scott Gillman of Basalt, Colorado gets set to try to break “new records” in the upcoming campaign. Until then, pick up that phone to your favorite airline and call so you don’t get that middle seat on the airplane to Malaysia!

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