CAPPELLINI'S CONSISTANCY GIVES HIM HIS 8TH TITLE!
GILLMAN'S 3 VICTORIES TOPS DRIVER WIN LIST IN 2003!

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, December 31 - Italian Guido Cappellini continued to raise the bar to new levels as he won his 8th championship in the last 11 years of the U.I.M. F1 World Championship series and continues to prove he's the man to beat year after year in the world's premier power boat racing tour.

The 22nd season of the eight month 8 race run to the World Championship went to the 44 year-old native of Como, Italy for the 3rd straight season as the Zepter Tamoil Team lead driver took two wins in the first three starts. At the Grand Prix's of Portugal in Portimao and at the Grand Prix of the Mediterranean in Cagliari, Sardinia Cappellini dominated. But, no more wins would come to Cappellini after the month of July, but his consistent runs with three 2nd place finishes along with a 3rd in the final race of the year in Abu Dhabi would "seal the deal" and see him come from behind in the points race to take the title with 97 points. His two non-finishes of the season came in Stralsund at the Grand Prix of Germany, where he crashed while chasing for the lead and at the Grand Prix in Sharjah, where while leading the event his engine caught on fire on the 4th lap giving up the championship points lead in the process with one race to go in the season.

Cappellini, led in every race except Malaysia, while taking the Pole Position Championship in the process with six of eight starts. His career total now sits at 53, while his victory total has climbed to 46 along with his 74 podium finishes in 18 years in F1 racing. The 2003 signature run for Cappellini came in Sardinia when he dominated the field with a 29 second win in the rough inner harbor waters proving once again when things go right, he is still the premier racer in the world today.

Finishing 2nd in the championship was the "comeback driver of the year" Scott Gillman of the Emirates Team. Gillman, who hadn't won a race since Sardinia in 2000, made some mid-season personnel changes that transformed his team into a tight, fit unit that proved to be a dominating force the 2nd half of the season with 3 wins in the final four events.

Gillman's turnaround came at the Grand Prix of Malaysia where he took pole position and dominated the event with a 26 second win over the 23 boat field. His next race, three weeks later at the Grand Prix of Singapore, he came from behind to win by 5 seconds over Cappellini to move into 2nd place in the World Championship standings.

His "hat-trick" of wins came at the Grand Prix of Sharjah at the 7th round of the championship after a fierce three boat battle with Finnish star Sami Selio and Italian Francesco Cantando. Gillman came from behind once again to win and now lead the championship by two points 87-85 over Cappellini with one race to go.

The race in Abu Dhabi will be long remembered as the "one-that-got-away" as the native of Los Angeles, California grabbed the pole and needed just to stay ahead of Cappellini to win his 3rd World Championship. It worked well for the first 8 laps as he built up an 11 second margin on Cappellini only to have his engine expire and his dreams dashed as he sat there hopelessly watching Cappellini go by and cruise to another title. The American driver once again established himself as one of the toughest drivers in the world and is ready to challenge for another title in 2004. His 14 career victories move him into 4th place in total career wins while finishing the season with 87 points and runner-up in the championship.

The 3rd driver who had a true chance at the title and was tied for the championship at the half-way point of the season was Italian Francesco Cantando of the Singha F1 Team. Having finished 2nd in the title in 2000 and 2001, the 29 year-old from Milan knows his way to the winners circle. He did just that early in the season with a win at the 2nd round in Finland, after both Cappellini and Gillman were docked for jumping the start.

Francesco scored big again at the Grand Prix of Germany winning at the tight bull-ring circuit at Stralsund, a place where he seems to excel. After four events the one time T850 European champion lost the groove that he needed to push for a championship with just one podium finish in his last four events. His 2nd place in Sharjah kept him alive for the title after a great challenge to Gillman for 50 laps, but his run in Abu Dhabi was a lackluster one with problems all weekend and a 10th overall and a final finish in the title with 76 points.

Cantando had four podium finishes including one he won back in court following a dispute at the opening round in Portugal in which he proved he didn't intentionally throw his canopy into the race line to bring out a yellow flag. His pair of wins now brings his total to 9 in his career and is now 8th on the all-time U.I.M. F1 win list. With continued upgrades of his "Blaze" hull expect to see the hard charger continue to push for his first title with a strong effort in 2004.

Finishing 4th in the top 5 in the chase for the World Championship courtesy of a late season charge was Laith Pharaon of Team Green. His victory at the final round in Abu Dhabi once again showed he has made a successful transition from being an Offshore World Champion to a possible soon-to-be inshore F1 title holder. The Saudi Arabian driver sputtered a bit with one good result followed by a disappointing one until Abu Dhabi. His turn around should set the stage for a promising next season.

The University of Southern California graduate had a 4th in Portugal to start off the season followed by a pair of podiums with 3rd's in Sardinia and Malaysia. His did-not-finish (DNF) in Finland and his two heavy crashes, one at the start in Germany taking 3 other drivers with him and his barrel roll at the Grand Prix in Singapore while fighting for 3rd. These two setbacks hurt his chances for a top 3 finish at season's end.

Qualifying was a strong point in the 35 year-olds season with Top-6 appearances in all but two events with his best being a pair of 3rd's in Sardinia and Abu Dhabi. Look for the London born driver to be pushing for a World Title in 2004.

Taking the 5th position in the championship with 50 points was Italian Fabio Comparato who had an "average" season for this talented driver from Chiogga, Italy. The 2001 F2 World Champion finished his 6th F1 season running his Nautica Camparato Racing Team with a pair of podiums courtesy of a 3rd at the opening round in Portugal and a 3rd in Germany to hi-light the season. He had 4 top-5 finishes and only one DNF in Sharjah. His best qualifying effort was a 2nd in Sharjah.

Comparato, who has finished as high as 4th in the championship back in 1999 and 2000 is hoping his new boat and his strong family organization will lead him to his first ever victory in F1 to add to his illustrious career with 5 world titles in smaller categories.

Coming on strong at the last third of the season was Frenchman Philippe Dessertenne of the Ligier Sports Team with 48 points and a pair of podiums in his last three starts. The native of La Rochelle had just 2 DNF's sandwiched between a pair of 6th's and a 4th in Germany. He rounded the season up with a podium and a 3rd at the Grand Prix of Singapore followed by the same result at the Grand Prix of Sharjah. In a battle for a top-5 final finish of the season he took a 6th in Abu Dhabi.

Dessertenne, in his 9th season of F1 racing came close to taking the title in 2001 finishing 3rd in the championship that season. His qualifying efforts were a full season filled with frustration, as he never was able to muster a top-6 final session battle for the pole with the "big boys" and qualified a best 8th at four different events. His dedication to perfection and preparation should see him once again challenging for a title and his career 2nd F1 victory in the upcoming campaign.

Portuguese driver Duarte Benavente of the Atlantic Team finished with 38 points and a 7th place finish in the championship. Benavente had a great start to the season with three straight top 5 finishes including a 4th in Finland putting him in the top 4 in the points chase. However from August to December onwards his season turned sour beginning with a non-start in Germany followed by a DNF in Malaysia another did not start (DNS) in Singapore and then, failing to finish again the Sharjah.

Benavente smiled at the end with a great conclusion to the season coming with a spectacular 2nd place and a chance for his first win at the Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi. The driver from Lisbon has proved that when given everything in place for a race he can push for the podium and will be hoping that this upcoming season he can break into the win column for the first time for his one-time F4 World Champion.

United Arab Emirates driver Thani Al Qamzi a one-time unknown in the series, has proven that his F2 championship this past winter has shown that he can be competitive on a bigger level. A teammate for the 2nd season with the American Gillman on the Emirates Team he ended up with just 4 finishes and the worst being a 6th in Malaysia. His best day racing came in Germany with a splendid 2nd place finish in Stralsund sandwiched between a pair of 5th's at Finland and Singapore.

The driver from Abu Dhabi had a disappointing finish to the season with a pair of DNF's in his home country of the Emirates including a boat that burned to the water line in Sharjah during qualifying. Despite this, Thani has a great career ahead of him and only more experience is needed for him to come away with his first victory on the tour.

For 1992 World Champion Fabrizio Bocca of the Rainbow Corona Extra Team his season was punctuated with a pair of back to back 5th's at Germany and Malaysia. This was part of an 8 straight top 10 finish season the only driver to do so all year. His only non-finish was a strange conclusion at the Grand Prix of Malaysia when pushing Cappellini strongly for 2nd for most of the event and while sitting in 3rd at the final corner he was taken out by another driver dropped to 5th in the standings and thus missing out on his first podium since 2000.

The native of Casele qualified in the top-10 in three of the last 5 events with his best being a 5th in Malaysia and a trip to the "Shootout" for the first time in 3 years. The veteran of 18 seasons is looking forward to another run at the title and hoping to win a 2nd title before he retires.

10th in the World Championship with 18 points was Finnish driver Sami Selio. He came on strong in the final part of the season after switching power plants from Johnson to Mercury and proved that he can still be one of the most deserving of drivers battling for his first F1 victory.

The native of Kettula in his 6th season of racing came close to taking his first ever win after a pair of 2nd place finishes including a strong performance at the Grand Prix in Sharjah. Selio held off a hard charging Gillman and only a problem on the boat took away his chance for victory and a disappointing 5th when the day was done. His first 6 events were filled with DNF's and DNS's and the transformation came at Singapore with a 7th followed by a pair of 5th's all with Mercury power. The upcoming season should be a breakout year with the 27 year-old driver full of confidence and looking forward to a new challenge.

Danish driver Gert Ladefoged of the Danita Team had his best season ever in F1 with 17 points and a 11th place finish at season's end. For the one-time F4 champion is was a come back of sorts following the death of 2002 teammate Vincenzo Polli. With renewed focus and with a new DAC boat it seemed to work. His road wasn't easy with just 3 finishes all in the top 10 in 7 starts proving that his learning curve continues to climb.

A 4th in Malaysia was the season hi-light that saw him in a 3 boat battle this day for the last spot on the podium. A 6th at the opening round in Portimao and an 8th in Sardinia were also high points with a first lap scary crash in Germany and three DNF's including the final two events in the Emirates keeping him out of the top-10 at season's end.

His teammate Julius Leysen of Belgium took away "Rookie-of-the-Year" honors with 10 points at season's end and a 12th place tie on the strength of 4 top-10 placements. His high for the season was a 7th at the final race in Abu Dhabi while his low being his crash with Cappellini in Germany. A 2nd year for this one-time Water-ski World Championship driver can only prove better with the experience.

Veteran Andy Elliott of the Team Green effort was tied for 12th with 10 points running well despite a limited budget. The English native had 4 straight top-10 efforts coming out at the start of the year with his best being a 7th in Sardinia. The last half of the season saw him lose the consistency he wanted with two DNF's and a crash out of the final four. Elliott, a very talented driver who has finished as high as 2nd in the World Championship hopes to regain for the upcoming season and once again challenge with consistency for a podium finish.

The youngest driver in the history of the UIM F1 World Championship is 18 year-old Massimiliano "Max" Moreschi of the Singha F1 Team. The youngster from Monza who has loads of talent came into the season finishing 2nd in the European F1000 championship. He started his rookie year with an 11th in Portugal followed by crashing out in Finland. For the last half of the season he started finding himself with 3 top 10 finishes in the final 5 events. With Francesco Cantando as his coach and teammate, all this driver needs is more experience and he could develop into a "monster" on the water before he's completed his F1 career.

Another Italian "one-time-wonder" was Ivan Brigada who joined Cappellini in the Zepter Tamoil Team for just one race in Singapore and finished a fine 4th. Brigada, a runner in the F2 campaign is expected to go back into F2 for another season before we see him again in F1 but the impression was made.

For veteran Italian racer Massimo Roggiero 2003 was not a throw back to years he has had in the past. Normally the likeable driver from the Baba Sea Quest Team would be battling up front having finished in the top-5 in the series in the last few years, not taking 15th like he did this season. His past year had a few good results in qualifying, starting 2nd in the opening race in Portugal and later in Malaysia in a race he had won a year before. However, race results were hard to come by with just one finish, a 4th in Sharjah, his only joy. Sandwiched in between his terrible crash with Pharaon, Gillman and Ladefoged at the start at the German GP Massimo had 4 DNF's. The lowest "low" of the season came in Cagliari when he failed to start because of a broken finger. This, more than anything summed up his season. But, this talented driver will be back strongly for the upcoming season in the upcoming months.

 Finishing 17th in the title was Russian Stanislav Kourtsenovsky who had a star crossed year missing part of the season with a disqualification in Malaysia, sitting out Singapore and crashing out in practice and missing the start in Abu Dhabi in the last half of the season. His two top 10 finishes were his hi-light with a 6th in Germany his best effort. A 9th in Sharjah after starting 20th was another great effort. The native of St. Petersburg is hoping to come back for his 2nd full season if his business interests don't interfere with his racing schedule.

Retiring driver Franco Leidi of Italy finished off his 25th racing season with an 18th place courtesy of  4 top-10 finishes and a season best  8th in Germany. His best qualifying efforts came at the final two races with a pair of 17th's. The 55 year-old has 23 top-10's in his career and a career best with a pair of 5ths. The native of San Pietro did a good solid job with the Singha F1 Team and plans on running F2 in 2004.

The driver from "Down Under" Bob Trask of the Baba Sea Quest Team finished 19th with 5 points on the strength of an 8th in the opening round at the Grand Prix of Portugal and a 9th in Malaysia. He started the season with Gillman's ex-Seebold hull and switched to his own hull in Singapore and getting more comfortable as the season went on. His best qualifying effort was a 15th in both Portugal and Sharjah. With Bob finishing 6 of 8 races and now a full year under his belt, look for the likeable driver from Scarborough to come up with stronger results next season.

Multi-time World Champion Jonathan Jones of Dragon Racing Team showed why despite not racing in over a year he could be a factor for a podium finish. His 28 career victories and 3 world titles set him up for some pressure by critics who said he should do well anytime he puts a racing suit on. In the two races he entered, the native of Cardigan, Wales qualified 16th in Malaysia and was up to 8th before dropping out. In Singapore he made the "Top-6 Shootout" with a 6th and finished a solid 8th. Whether the 1999 World Champion returns to the water or the television broadcast booth won't be settled until just prior to the start of the new season.

Also tied for 20th was Swedish driver Pierre Lundin who with the Rainbow Corona Extra Team was the hard luck driver of the year struggling with a hull that didn't work for him all season. He managed an 8th place in Sharjah for his first points position of the season in the 7th event of the season. He had 5 DNF's  with a best qualifying start in the season's first race in Portugal with a 7th. A new hull for the upcoming campaign should improve greatly on his 3 point total.

Another Swede Christian Jansson also finished 22nd after appearing in two races with a 15th in Finland and a 9th at the Grand Prix of Germany after starting 20th. The driver with the Atlantic Racing effort is hoping to do more in the upcoming season.

The final points position went to Italian Luca Fornasarig of the Nautica Comparato Team

Who is a veteran racer who joined the team mid season in Malaysia. His best start was a 12th in Singapore and his points paying 10th came at the race in Sharjah.

French rookie driver Philippe Chiappe of the Ligier Sports Team ran the full season failing to pick up any points while qualifying a season best 10th in his Moore hulled Mercury. His best finish was a 12th three different races while completing 6 of 8 races.

Italian, one time historic automobile racer, Marco Gambi, joined the tour for the 2nd half of the season picking up no points in his first races. His best start was a pair of 18th's in the Emirates and a best finish of 13th in Malaysia for the native of Milan.

 Others to race were Italian Riccardo Marcandalli on the Singha F1 Racing Team who ran the final two rounds in the Emirates qualifying both times in the 22nd position while finishing 13th in Sharjah and DNFing in Abu Dhabi.

Ismail HJ Kabon, the first driver ever from the country of Brunei, started 24th and finished 18th in his only race in Singapore for the Baba Sea Quest Team. Malaysian driver Simon Saw qualified 14th and finished 15th at his home Grand Prix in Kuala Lumpur. Portuguese driver Luis Figueiredo qualified 20th at his home event in Portugal with the Atlantic Team, failing to finish in 14th place. In Sardinia he started 24th and dropped out in 17th place. Finally, Italian Luigi Roberto showed up at the Grand Prix's of Portugal, Finland and the Mediterranean and failed to start for the Nautica Comparato Team.

All in all 30 different drivers from four different continents from around the world took to the waters during the 22nd season of the U.I.M. F1 World Championship for power boating. The premier racing series seen in 82 countries around the world.