CAPPELLINI COMES FROM BEHIND TO TAKE 6TH TITLE!
KUNITCH'S FATAL ACCIDENT MARS EXCITING MULTI-DRIVER WINNING SEASON!

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, (5th November) – The 20th Anniversary edition of the U.I.M. F1 World Championship of power boating will long be remembered as a "Renaissance Season" as 42 drivers from over 20 different nations came to battle in the challenge for the World Championship. When the smoke cleared, in the 9 month challenge for the World Championship title, only one name remained on top and it was a familiar one. Guido Cappellini demonstrated his determination by capturing his 6th U.I.M. F1 World Championship by winning for his 5th time of the season at the 9th round in a key race in Sharjah, solidifying his place as one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport.

The 42 year-old native of Como, Italy did his usual off-season professional preparation and once again finished the 2001 campaign without one mechanical failure. Cappellini's road to the top of the podium at season's end was not an easy one, partly brought on by his own mistakes along the way. At the season's first race in Malaysia he was involved in K.Y. Loi's crash which brought him no points and forced the lead driver of the Assicom Team to come charging back, which he did with ease, by winning the next four events in a row.

Cappellini, then went through his typical mid-season "funk" by crashing out of the lead in Sardinia, then, a month later, finishing a lap down taking a disappointing 3rd place finish in Germany, followed by a strange disqualification taking out two bouys while battling the current on the Danube river in Vienna. Cappellini now was trailing in the points chase and needed to be perfect, plus some luck, to take his 6th title. A multi-boat first corner crash opened the door for the Italian and he took advantage by winning in the United Arab Emirates and cruising to a 5th place finish at season's end in Abu Dhabi to take the crown.

Left out in the cold and forced to accept the runner-up badge for a 2nd straight year was young Italian Francesco Cantando. He put himself in the championship by coming on strong in the last half of the year, leading the title chase by 4 points with just the final two races in the year remaining. It was he, the lead driver of the Singha Beer Team's championship to lose, and in Sharjah it happened! Coming off two straight victories in Germany and Austria, Cantando qualified 3rd in Sharjah ahead of his main challenger Cappellini for the title. It all fell apart on the start of the event as he was squeezed out of the first corner having no where to go in a four boat get together that ended his day and his dreams of a first world title. The 26 year old from Milan, finished the season with 116 points, three behind Cappellini and with 3 wins on the season trailed only the man from Como with most wins. Cantando, went on to win 3 of the last four events while reaching the podium 6 times in 10 starts. As was the fact from a year ago, when Francesco finished just 2 points shy of Scott Gillman for the title, he will have the winter to plan a strategy and to figure out a way in which to get past the final hurtle to greatness, by capturing a title and becoming a true world championship driver.

The "most improved driver" award for the 2001 campaign had to go to the 39 year-old Frenchman Philippe Dessertenne.  He was coming off the 2000 season where he failed to finish 8 times while running the OMC 3.0 litre engine in its first year of development. His best result all of last season was a 7th a far cry to taking 3rd in the World Championship this season with 95 points on the strength of 4 podiums and a pair of 2nd's while finishing all 10 starts in the points. The number one driver of the Fuchs Team led the championship after the first two rounds and was still in the title run until the very last lap in the Sharjah event when his boat came to a stop just 5 pins from the finish line and an 8th place finish, rather than a 3rd with his title hopes disappearing at the same time. For the native of La Rochelle, qualifying wasn't his strength reaching the "top 6 shootout" just once in Sardinia, as he battled from mid-pack to the front most of the season. For Philippe, he knows that next season he'll need his first ever race in order to take that next step in the chase for championship glory.

A tragic end came to Victor Kunitch and the Vivid Team as the driver from Moscow  was fatally injured in a first lap accident at the season's last event in Abu Dhabi. A season that showed so much promise at the beginning as he led and was winning the opening round in Malaysia until he was taken out half way through the event. Victor got  some glory back with a wonderful podium 3rd place at his teams home race in Riga, Latvia and his first podium of the year. The season culminated with a storybook first time winning performance in Cagliari, Sardinia as he held off American Scott Gillman to the finsh line for his first ever victory. A 2nd place in Vienna gave Victor his 3rd podium of the year and 4th in the championship, but at the final two events in the United Arab Emirates the native of Moscow never was able to finish the opening lap because of mishaps. The growing confidence and skills shown by Victor Kunitch will now never reach its final conclusion and for that the world of power boat racing will be that much poorer for it!

Fifth in the World Championship went to one of two drivers who are proving that you can successfully go from "offshore" to "inshore" power boat racing and make an impact on the sport.  Saudi Arabian driver Laith Pharaon is proving the same with 49 points and a win in 2001. The Green Team driver took the opening round win in Malaysia, in one of the closest 1-2-3 finishes in the history of the sport, holding off Sami Selio and Francesco Cantando at the end by two boat lengths. Pharaon, who some thought should be a "rookie of the year" candidate since he only ran only 6 events in 2000, led the championship early but, his 5 DNF's took him out of serious consideration for the title, despite leading in over a third of the races at one point. His seven trips to the top six in qualifying and his best start ever in the final round in 2nd proves that he may just be hitting his stride and could be a real force for the title in 2002.

The most frustrating season had to go to the defending World Champion Scott Gillman of Englewood Springs, Colorado as he failed to finish in 7 of the 10 races in 2001. It all started wrong at the opening round in Malaysia where he lasted only a few laps and then had completed just 29 tours by the season's 4th race. The long awaited battle between Cappellini and Gillman finally came in Latvia, but with the troubling Burgess boat he struggled for the correct setup with it for most of the season, a pickle fork dislodging from the front of the boat caused a spectacular accident just 2 laps after Cappellini had taken away the lead from Gillman and ended his day with the first of back to back accidents on the season. It took until round #6 before the two-time champion got his first points with a 2nd in Sardinia behind Kunitch. The 42 year-old would go on to take two more 2nd places to finish with 45 points on the year. Thus came to an end a 9 year streak that the Colorado driver had scored at least one victory in a season. For Gillman, his string of 5 years where he has finished every race on the podium remains in place. His only bragging point proving he's the fastest on the water by capturing the "Pole Position" Championship with 4 pole positions more than any driver in 2001. The next season will see the Emirates Team looking to run their own boat design and see if this will put the American back in the title hunt and the win column once again.

Italian veteran Massimo Roggiero tied Gillman for 6th in the championship while showing signs of brilliance during a season of highs and lows for the native of Varese. Like Gillman, Massimo's successful Saturday's were followed by many frustrating Sunday's in racing action finishing 5 times out of the points including 3 DNF's. The likeable Italian hit a real "hot streak" in the early-season with a pair of back to back poles in Hungary and Latvia. During the first five races of the season he had qualified no lower than 4th, but as the season wore on he only reached the top 5 one other time. He finished the year with a fine 4th place finish in Abu Dhabi. His frustration in Sharjah best sums up his 2001 campaign, while fastest in morning warm-up he led the field in the opening corner of the event only to be taken out and ending his day. Massimo feels the luck has now changed back to the good with a good finish to the year and looks forward to get back to the winning form he has shown in seasons past.

"Rookie of the year" candidate Jari Honkala of Sweden was 8th in the title run with 42 points on the strength of 4 top 5 finishes and finishing no lower than 6th in the 5 races he completed. Having raced off-shore at one time, Jari felt at home at some of this season's tough water conditions and made the most of it with his first ever podium finish at Vienna when the Danube caused the toughest challenge for the drivers all season. His missing two back to back events, one in Hungary for an imposed ban having accumulated to many yellow cards, to crashing heavily in Latvia and not starting took a bite out of his chances of finishing higher than 8th this season. His last 3 events, all in the top 6 should propel him into renewed confidence about next season for he and his Atlantic Team members.

Sami Selio a one-time rookie of  the year himself did a great job for the Johnson V-6 3.0 litre engine produced by many time world title holder Cees van der Velden. The native of Helsinki came within two boat lengths of winning the opening round in Malaysia while finishing in the top 5 one other time in Hungary. His 3 DNF's greatly improved upon his

2000 mark when he finished just once in the first 8 starts. His best starting performance of the season came with a 4th in Cagliari and overall seemed to charge from the back in his Team Finland RVS boat. Selio hopes that the development of the Johnson V-6 will continue and he can become the "outsider" in the otherwise Mercury dominated field to prove he can be a winner.

Portuguese driver Duarte Benavente was 10th in the title chase in 2001 on the strength of  7 top 10 finishes and only 3 DNF's. He also struggled with his Burgess built hull until he found the "sweet spot" of a set-up late in the season but by then engine problems were holding the Atlantic Team driver from running any higher than what he did. His top 10 finishes along with the 10 he had in 2000 means that he is a constant runner in the points. His best start this year was a pair of 7ths just failing to get into the top 6 shootouts and forcing his team to push from mid pack most of the campaign. New determination over the winter and another year of experience and this young driver should be seeing his first career podium finish in 2002.

Japanese driver Yutaka Sugihara returned to the series after a 3 year layoff and was a great teammate for Cappellini on the Assicom effort. It took the 51 year old driver a bit of time to get back into the grove, but once done, Sugihara came up with a pair of back to back 4th place finishes in Latvia and Campione. His best qualifying effort was a 7th in Portugal and his crash in Latvia was a memorable one. He crashed also in Sardinia making it the first time both Cappellini and his teammate crashed out of a race together. Sugihara missed the final two races in the UAE, missing his chance to finish higher than his 11th place and 26 points on the season.

For 1992 World Champion Fabrizio Bocca his 19 points were during a season he only started 7 times. His excitement about his new DAC race hull that he debuted to a season best 4th place in Vienna went up in smoke when his boat caught on fire and burned to the waterline in practice for the Sharjah event a month later. His talent showed as he finished every one of his four races in the top 10. The man who has 3 career wins in his 17 years of F1 racing is deciding now whether he will return for the 2002. Knowing the native of Casale, this Italian will be back looking for his 2nd world title in 2002 in Rainbow Racing colors.

Tied for 12th with Bocca was young Awad Al Qubaisi who teamed with Gillman for a 3rd season on the Emirates squad. Awad had 6 finishes this season with a pair of 5ths in Latvia and Sharjah being his best. He saved his best qualifying effort of the campaign for his home race in Abu Dhabi with an 8th. He crashed out of 3 events including Campione when all 3 members of the Emirates team failed to finish because of mishaps. With 3 full years under his belt, the 27 year-old is looking for next season to be a break through campaign.

Andy Elliott of the United Kingdom came back for a full season of racing taking 15 points and finishing tied for 14th in the championship. He started strongly with two straight 6th place finishes and 3 top 10's in the first 4 events. The Team Finland driver found himself in a familiar situation struggling on race day to come from the back of the pack with a wooden Burgess boat that didn't always suit the rough water conditions. The 45 year-old from Bracknell, England ended the year crashing out in Abu Dhabi but is resolved to return in 2002 and look for another year that he had in 1990 when he just failed to win the world title.

The 3rd member of the powerful Emirates Team is the youngest full time driver on the tour in 23 year-old Thani Al Qamzi. The ex-F2 driver who has a lot of potential showed how he hopes his season will go in 2002, qualifying the final two races in his UAE home 4th and reaching his first career podium with a 3rd in Sharjah. He was looking for another top 5 finish in Abu Dhabi before taking himself out midway into the event. His season started slowly with 4 straight DNF's after starting the season three races in Hungary. He had just 3 finishes but all were during the final 4 races of the year. A driver of future who could push his teach Scott Gillman to the head of the class in 2002.

16th in the run for the title was Ivan Torta another young driver who is expected to be in the running for the title in the near future. Torta, part of the Singha Beer Team with Francesco Cantando, had 4 top 10 finishes, starting with a season best 7th at the opening round in Malaysia. He had 5 DNF's including a terrible 2 boat crash with Antonio Feu in Latvia. His running of the one-off Belco Avia boat was a continuing development program. Torta hopes his 3 DNF's in the last 4 races will be turned around as the new season starts.

Also in 16th with 12 points on the campaign was fellow Italian Franco Leidi the senior member of the circuit who had a season best 5th in Portugal. Of the 5 top 10's two of those were in the first two races. Leidi's battle all season was with engine and boat reliability and the many time speed champion ended his season in a four boat crash in Abu Dhabi that sent him to the hospital with facial injuries. The Team Waircom Mare Magnum driver is expected back looking for his first podium finish of his career.

Another Italian who was coming off a tremendous crash and trying to get back in the racing grove was Fabio Comparato. The ex-Cappellini teammate who was in the battle for the title in 2000 and scoring 105 points at season's end, came back in race #2 at Portugal to qualify 5th and finish a fine 7th. His best race result in his Team Viking DAC hull was a 5th in Germany. Comparato had a great season in qualifying with 5 top top-6 efforts with his best being a 2nd in Germany. His finish could have been higher but he missed the final two races in the United Arab Emirates and ran just 7 events in 2001. A man with unlimited talent, if he returns in 2002 he will make a serious run for his first victory.

Multi-time World Champion Jonathan Jones of Cardigan, Wales made only two races in 2001 at Johr Baru and Stralsund taking a 6th in Germany. A near zero budget kept him away from serious racing, but he showed his skills by being up in the top 6 in both races run. If the budget gets done, the ex-world champ will be back, if not, he will be long remembered as one of the best.

Brazilian driver Paul Gaiser finished his 2nd season in F1 21st running only 7 races after injuring himself in Vienna. Gaiser's best finish with Team Petrobras was an 8th in Portugal one of four finishes on the season. He is expected to come back in 2002 and see if he can rival his rookie campaign where he had 5 straight top 10 finishes.

Argentinian Carlos Maidana spent most of the season working out the boat hull that suit his Johnson V-6. After some experimentation he saved his best for Latvia qualifying 3rd only to have his engine let him down in the race. His only race that he finished all year was in Hungary where he placed 9th. It became a series of bad luck stories that took him to the final disqualification in 11th place in Abu Dhabi. It always seems that if Carlos had the right set-up and right combination his Texaco Team would be a pace setter for the future. Only time will tell.

K.Y. Loi the rookie driver from Malaysia like so many before him went through a steep learning curve his first season. However, the Team Sprint driver did what he promised gaining his first championship point with a 10th place finish after starting 18th at the season's final race in Abu Dhabi. His improvement with a 15th, 12th and 10th in the final 3 rounds shows that he will be a driver with a future as he gets more and more racing laps behind him. For next season it should only be better.

Of the many part time drivers who participated in the 2001 title run Swedish driver Pierre Lundin had a fine 7th in Vienna finishing 20th in the championship. Salem Al Khattal of the UAE ran strongly under the guidance of the Michael Werner racing group with an 8th in Abu Dhabi in his only finish in 3 starts. Russian Stanislav Kourtsenovski picked up 2 points in Abu Dhabi in the 3 races he ran with the Vivid Team, while Malcom Jamieson of New Zealand got a point for his 10th place finish in Malaysia in his only start.

Danish pilot Gurt Ladefoged was the only full time driver failing to pick up points on the season having good qualifying efforts for the Viking Team on Saturday with 4 out of 9 starts in the top 11, but failing to finish in 6 of the 8 races he started. The talented driver who now makes his home in Milan, is hoping to shake the "underachiever" award away and get ready for next season.

Others making starts this season were South African Vernon Smith with Michael Werner taking a fine 9th starting spot in Sardinia, while Michael Weckstrom and Christian Jansson were in Latvia, Ben Canthra was in Malaysia. Portugal driver Antonio Feu started four events with a best finish of a 12th in Campione. Germany's Frank Schulze finished 14th in Stralsund, Italy's Luca Fornasarig qualified 23rd in Germany but failed to start while Arturus Taranda was 18th in Vienna.

Spain's Teste Orozco became the first member of his country to race F1 in Team Sprint, while off-shore driver Italy's Vincenzo Polli joined the Rainbow Team for the final two races with his best effort an 11th in Sharjah. Yugoslavian driver Alex Radovanovic came back for the first time since 1998 to run for the Assicom Team in Sharjah replacing Sugihara, while young Italian Leo Benelli raced in Abu Dhabi for Cappellini's effort.

The 20th Anniversary Season will be marked with mixed emotions when historians look back on it. But, when all is said and done, the number of returning drivers to the series along with the sites that bring this truly an international series proves that with just one year into the 21st century the future of U.I.M. F1 World Championship power boat racing is the strongest it's ever been in its history and looks to only get stronger as the decade rolls along.