CANTANDO TAKES COURT WIN TO FINLAND!
DESSERTENNE HOPES HIS LUCK LASTS FOR 2003 FINLAND GRAND PRIX

Abu Dhabi, UAE: June 7th, 2003 - Is Italian star Francesco Cantando excited? You better believe it! Why, because despite long odds and boat problems at the opening round of the 2003 U.I.M. F1 World Championship for powerboating in Portimao, Portugal, he was able to take 2nd place and gain 15 points in the battle for this season's world championship battle as it heads off for round #2 at the Grand Prix of Finland which will be held in the inner harbour of Helsinki next weekend on the 14th and 15th of June.

The lead driver of the Singha Beer Team battled an eventful day of baptizing his new boat design with a fuel leak and fumes that forced him to remove his canopy so he could breath without danger of passing out from the lack of fresh air. Cantando was disqualified from the event but later in a rare court action on the 24th of May was given back his 2nd place at the UIM Appeals Court in Brussels, Belgium. Francesco was not given a clean bill of health however, as he was assessed two yellow cards and will need to keep clear of the officials for the next four races, otherwise will be forced to sit out an event if he gets another before the race in the Malaysia in October.

While Cantando comes in with a lot of confidence, points leader and 7-time World Champ Guido Cappellini of the Zepter Team must be wondering if he can carry his win streak to two straight after his solid performance winning from the pole and controlling the event at the Grand Prix of Portugal with a 3 second victory. Cappellini however didn't fare well in his trip to Helsinki a year ago, crashing in the lead and ending his two win streak at the start of the 2002 campaign in spectacular fashion.

The native of Como, gets along with Finland about as well as oil and vinegar, as he is 0-2 having also crashed out in his first trip to the "Great White North" in Tampare in 1998 after starting from the pole. A win for Cappellini will be his 46th of his career and give him a perfect 40 points to start the season as he did one year ago on his way to his 3rd straight world title.

The benefactor of Cappellini's downfall last year was Frenchman Philippe Dessertenne as the 40 year-old reached the top step of the podium for the first time in his career. The native of La Rochelle, reached the podium 4 times last season including the last two of the season and he hopes he can get back again in the top 3 with his new "Moore" built Ligier Sports boat that debuted in Portugal. Dessertenne as defending champ in Finland is looking to be right back in the fight for the world title as he was with his 3rd place finish in the 2001 standings.

Second a year ago in Helsinki and 4th after the opening round is Laith Pharaon of Saudi Arabia in his Team Green DAC who pushed Cappellini in Portugal only to fade later in the event. Pharaon was pushing hard a year ago in the inner harbour and should be expected to do the same this season as he knows he needs another top 3 to stay in the chase early for the title run.

Italian Fabio Comparato running his new boat took a fine 3rd in Portugal and snapped an 8 race streak of not reaching the podium that ran from Compione of a year ago. He started 9th and came charging through the field and has a lot of confidence coming in knowing he was the pole sitter here being the quickest qualifier in the event only to DNF in the event.

Portuguese driver Duarte Benavente was 5th in his home Grand Prix after qualifying 5th and is hoping to do a little better in this event and hitting the podium for the first time since Germany a year ago. Qualifying will be a key as the native of Lisbon was only 14th quickest in Helsinki and fought hard to finish 6th.

American driver Scott Gillman wants to forget his run here a year ago. He started 6th and crashed out with promoter/driver Pertti Leppala while running in the top 5. In 1998 on the lake in Tampere 160 k's north of Helsinki he qualified 2nd and finished 2nd to Swedish driver Goran Karlof in his only F1 win.

A driver on the charge is Danish star Gert Ladefoged in his DanIta Team DAC who comes off a 6th after starting 11th. This will be his first ever trip to Finland and he hopes to keep his streak of top 10 finishes of 3 going.
He will be joined by his new team-mate, the Belgian Julius Leysen, "Mr.Ghostbuster," who will be racing with DanIta for the first time in Finland.

Italian Fabrizio Bocca  in his Rainbow Corona Extra boat is hoping his 2.5 litre Mercury powered machine will give him another top 5 finish. A fifth a year ago after charging up from 13th starting spot made him two for two in top 10 finishes in Finland after a 7th back in 1998.

Rookie Australian driver Bob Trask took his Seebold boat to a fine 8th place in Portugal after qualifying 15th. He is getting great help from his teammate and 2nd place qualifier in Portimao in Italian Massimo Roggiero who finished 3rd in the title a year ago and is a strong runner for his first world title in his Baba Racing DAC boat. Last year Massimo finished on the podium after starting 7th one of his 3 podium finishes in 2002. Roggiero's history in Finland began in 1998 with a DNF after starting 6th.

Finnish drivers Sami Selio who started 3rd in Portugal only to drop out early, was disappointed qualifier a year ago here in Helsinki with an 11th place start only to fail to finish. In 1998 he charged his way up 10 spots from 16th to finish 6th and hopes he can reach the podium at his home Grand Prix in his Velden Racing machine.

Michael Weckstrom, Selio's teammate, started 10th and failed to pick up points at the opening event. A year ago, he started 21st and finished 11th just outside the points. With more experience and a year at the site expect to see Weckstrom run stronger this time around.

Andy Elliott of Great Britian ran an eye opening event in Finland a year ago qualifying 4th and running 2nd behind Cappellini early until dropping out of the event. It was his strongest performance of the season and expect to see the same this season if he can keep the balance together in his KRB chassis.

Franco Leidi made a great comeback with a 10th place in Portugal after starting 18th for the Italian in his Singha Racing DAC. His history in Finland was a DNF a year ago and a 10th place in Tampere in 1998.

Twenty-two drivers are expected to head for a rough round in one of Europe's busiest harbours in Helsinki, the northernmost city on the UIM F1 tour. Can Cappellini snap his bad luck run of two straight DNF's in Finland? Can Cantando take advantage of his reinstatement in 2nd place to push to the front of the standings? Can Dessertenne make it two straight wins? These are just a few of the many questions that will be answered next weekend in the land of the north, beautiful Helsinki for the 3rd Annual Grand Prix of Finland the 2nd stop on the 2003 U.I.M. F1 World Championship.