F1 RACING RETURNS TO IRELAND AFTER 15 YEARS!
"BACK FROM THE FUTURE" JONES & CAPPELLINI RETURN!

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (10th of September) - It was known then as the FONDA series with "Budweiser" sponsoring the field of 2-liter powered boats, led by winner German Michael Werner of Germany winning on the River Liffey in Dublin. The year was 1987 and American Bill Seebold was on his way to another World Championship. He didn"t win that day, but neither did a few others who will return to the "Emerald Isle" for the first time in 15 years.

Today, life is different. An expected field of 20 drivers from 13 different countries are due to arrive in Waterford, Ireland on the Southeast Coast of Ireland for Round #8 of the U.I.M. F1 World Championship Tour for power boating. The battle for the World Crown for 2002 has been settled with Italian Guido Cappellini of the Zepter Team taking his 7th title in the last 10 years on the strength of 5 wins in 7 races. The native of Como, Italy was in Ireland the last time the tour came to the country, still looking for his first win.

Since that time, Cappellini has won 46 times and captured 67 podiums and 74 top 5 finishes for the 43 year-old from Como in almost 18 years of racing. Another driver who has had another outstanding career is 4-time World Champion Jonathan Jones of Cardigan, Wales who is expected to race for the first time this season in his Burgess hulled 2.5 litre Mercury powered machine. Jones, who has spent most of the season as race analyst on the live F1 television broadcasts, has been itching to get back into a race boat and is expected to raise a few eyebrows with his performance.

Englishman Andy Elliott in the Tetlaw sponsored KRB hull, is also looking forward to Ireland and was part of the scene back in late 1980"s on the tour. He is a one time runner-up in the championship and has run well this season in the New Zealand built boat, qualifying as high as high as 4th in Finland and running as high as 2nd in Helsinki. Elliott, would love to do well in his adopted "home race" next weekend.

While Cappellini holds the keys to another title, the battle for 2nd behind him as well as the Pole Position Championship is still up for grabs with 3 rounds remaining. Two time World Champion Scott Gillman of the Emirates Team is 2nd in the title run with 51 points and is looking for his first win in two years and his 12th since joining the tour in 1997. Gillman will be back in his familiar Seebold built boat from America, a hull that he has raced in all but 4 of his 15 year racing career. It is the 4th different boat he has run this season and in its only appearance at the Grand Prix of Germany, he had the pole and led the event until his engine gave up at the two-thirds mark of the race.

Just 5 points back in 3rd is Frenchman Philippe Dessertenne who has 46 points and his first career win in 2002. The native of La Rouchelle, sponsored by Charente Maritime Eigsi and AB Moteurs has 2 podium finishes and a win in Finland. He looks to add to his 8 career podiums with another strong result and is expected to have old friend and teammate Jonathan Jones back with him in Waterford.

Italian Massimo Roggiero is back in "the groove" in a big way coming off a win in Malaysia, his first since 1998 and did it with a strong weekend push winning from pole position. The native of Varese is sitting in 3rd with 44 points and is looking to add to his 18 career podiums. He teams this season with champion Cappellini on the Zepter Team and will look for his 11th career pole position in the process.

Saudi Arabian driver Laith Pharaon in the Four Seasons DAC boat is 5th in the title hunt with 42 points with 3 top 5 finishes and a season best 2nd in Helsinki along with his 3 crashes this year. A 2nd full season runner is hoping for a bit of "Irish Luck" for his 2nd career victory in only his 25th start.

Italian Fabio Comparato in the Nautica Comarato sponsored DAC machine is tied with Pharaon with 42 points and still has a shot for the Pole Position Championship sitting 2nd to Cappellini. Comparato has 4 top 5 finishes including three 4th's. He has led two races this season but still searchs for his first career victory.

Another Italian team made up of Ivan Torta and Francesco Cantando on the Singha Beer sponsored team looks for better results in the final 3rd of the season. Torta is 7th in the title run with 34 points on the strength of his first podium of his career in Hungary. Cantando, runner-up in the title the last 2 years, has been the fastest driver of the year, but has struggled to finish despite leading almost half of the races this summer only to fade before the checkered flag at races end. He is coming off his best finish of the season with a 5th in Malaysia.

Portugese driver Duarte Benavente has finished 5 of 7 races including a fine 3rd in the Grand Prix of Germany and hopes to continue his strong showing and another top 5, while Italian Fabrizio Bocca the 1992 World Champion looks for his 3rd top 5 of the year and his 5th top 10 in his Corona Beer DAC Rainbow Racing hull. The two time winner has 35 top 5"s in his career.

Irish driver Will Chambers is looking to start his first ever F1 event while getting putting in those all important laps that are needed to be successful in the series.

The 8th round of the 2002 U.I.M. Formula 1 World Championship tour and the Grand Prix of Ireland will be scheduled to start at 14:30 local time around the unique 3-pin 1575 meter course that will feature a 780 meter straight around the tight confinds of the central part of the city of Waterford. It's great going back to the "Emerald Isle" and Cappellini, Gillman, Dessertenne, Cantando, Pharaon, Comparato and Roggiero amoungst the regulars along with newcomer Jones hope the "luck of the Irish" rub off on them when the weekend comes to a close on Sunday afternoon on the 15th of September.