CAPPELLINI TAKES 6TH POLE TO LEAD FIELD OF 22 IN SHARJAH!
COMPARATO & SELIO ROUND OUT TOP 3!

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates: (4TH of December) - Italian Guido Cappellini captured his 53rd career pole position with a blazing lap of 48.12 seconds and a speed of 168.32 kph and will lead the field of 22 drivers from 12 different nations for the 4th Annual Grand Prix of Sharjah the 7th stop on the U.I.M. F1 World Championship tour for powerboating.

Cappellini, the 7-time World Champion and lead driver of the Zepter Team,  had to come from behind fellow Italian Fabio Comparato of the Nautica Comparato  Team had led the time sheets for the first half hour with a 48.56 time and a speed of 166.80 kph. It was the 18th time in his career that he had qualified in the top 3 as he looks for this first career victory tomorrow.

Third quick was Finnish star Sami Selio who in just his third race in switching from Johnson to Mercury power, did a 49.44 and is getting more and more familiar with the Mercury power band. The Viemero sponsored driver is once again showing his style that earned him "Rookie of the Year" honors on the tour.

American Scott Gillman, who is 2nd in the World Championship with 67 points, eighteen behind Cappellini's 85, will start 4th after having engine problems for most of the day. The lead driver of the Emirates Team watched his team mate Thani Al Qamzi have his boat burn for almost 15 minutes in the opening practise session in the morning session. Al Qamzi who is 5th in the standings did not run and will have a new boat brought from the race shop in Abu Dhabi by tomorrow's race.

Italian Massimo Roggiero was the only driver who improved his time in the windy conditions at days end during the "shootout" session finishing 5th quick with a speed of 162.22 kph. Running Cappellini's new style hull that was introduced in Malaysia. Massimo is looking for his first points of his frustrating season.

Danish driver Gert Ladefoged of the Danita Team missed making the "shootout" as did Gillman and Comparato because his engine caught on fire in the final moments of the 2nd timed qualifying session. Gert will be hoping for his first ever podium finish tomorrow.

Seventh will be Italian Francesco Cantando of the Singha Team who is 3rd in the championship with 60 points with a 159.76 kph time. Eighth will be French driver Philippe Dessertenne of the Ligier Sports effort with a 50.87 second lap. Ninth is Italian Fabrizio Bocca of the Corona Extra Team with a 51.30 second tour and rounding out the top 10 is United Kingdom's Andy Elliott who ran a speed of 156.70 kph lap in his KRB hull.

The 7th race of the 2003 U.I.M. F1 World Championship will take place in Khalid Lagoon at 15:00 and the 4th Annual Grand Prix of Sharjah with one final race remaining on the schedule next Friday the 12th in Abu Dhabi finishing the two race Emirates tour.