MAKING WAVES - THE FINAL CHAPTER - 4

Well, its finally over....and WOW what a year ha?...This 8 month trip around the world to determine a world champion was one of the best in years....Why?....Well it a had all the drama of a Coonts mystery novel...Oliver Stone couldn't have done a better job in twisting this season into a tight pretzel type drama....The buzz around the paddock in Abu Dhabi ...who would win the title? Franz Cantando got the most pre-race votes even though he was the "long shot" of the 3 with Gillman 2nd highest and Cappellini 3rd most...Well, guess what, it turned out that the driver with just 2 wins would also be the smartest at the end...congratulations to Guido a magician of a driver on another wonderful season...Well, "The Racing Family Gang" spent 2 weeks together traveling the Emirates from the 1st of December to the 14th and right from the start we noticed that the Millennium Hotel was a great place to "hang" from other years....Mohammed Al Noman put on a great show and was a 1st class host with our week in Sharjah....It was walking distance from the paddock to the front door of our hotel in 3 minutes...The race? Guido "blowed up real good" in the first 3 laps catching his engine on fire one of 4 to go up in flames this weekend in the Khalid lagoon (strange place this lagoon since it happened to Bocca a few years ago also)...The Finnish Flash Sami Selio had one of the "rides of the year" passing Mr. G and then holding off Scottie until the final 6 laps when his engine started to fail him and the cigar smoking Californian passed and went on to his season high 3rd win of the season...It looked as if all the stars were lined up in the Emirates Team's direction with a points lead and 1 race to go in a back yard that he played in for many months in 2003....But, that's why they race the race! His luck ran out in Abu Dhabi and his push for a 15 second "cushion" did him in on the 8th lap when the engine went silent and for the 2nd time in 4 years he lost a World Title in Abu Dhabi....Oh, well, you proved your point boy.....You Are Back on the UIM F1 Attack!...But, let's get away from the racing for a moment and get to the fun...THE WEDDING.....Yes, there is one of us in the family who is making a life changing decision at the end of December......Franz is getting married and then heading off around the world (like he needs to travel more) for a few weeks on his honeymoon....So don't bother trying to call, he'll be busy!....And a little birdie told me that your "other wedding" held at the drivers meeting in Abu Dhabi was witnessed by an official of the Universal Life Church of Modesto, California USA and this will now make your new marriage your 2nd... So, don't try to get married in a Catholic Church or it will be annulled, ha, ha!... Let's go right to the end of the season awards.....

Have a wonderful Holiday Season and look forward to seeing everyone again in a few months...Stay safe, I promise to stay off the motorcycle for the next few months and am looking forward to seeing you all at the "Gateway to India" arch in Mumbai in March for the start of the 23rd UIM F1 Season and the 2004 campaign....Ciao from the beach........SJM