Triumphant Gillman Claims His First Victory at the UIM F1 Powerboat Grand Prix of Portugal

Portimao, Portugal, May 16, 2004..... An ecstatic Scott Gillman won his very first Grand Prix of Portugal today - finally putting an end to his run of bad luck at this challenging course.

Strong winds prevailed from start to finish presenting difficulties for even the top racers of the F1 Powerboat Championship.  Pole position winner Massimo Roggiero from Team Green was quickly overtaken by team mate Laith Pharaon during the 1st lap.  Excitement began to brew as 8 times World Champion Guido Cappellini starting from a disadvantaged 21st position showed his mettle and accelerated to 9th position within the first two laps.

Likewise spirited racer, Francesco Cantando from the Singha Team started at 9th on the grid and raced with lightning speed to 3rd place by lap three posting an impressive time of 0.51.52.

Not to be outdone and confident from yesterday's qualifying, Spanish Fabio Comparato chose his moment and overtook Pharaon on lap 4 with what was to become the fastest lap of the race - 0.49.43 seconds.  Local driver Benavente was racing strongly in 7th position keeping up with the leaders with a lap time of 0.53.71.

Disaster soon struck at the 7h corner and one which was to test the skill of all drivers throughout the race.  Finnish Sami Selio suffered a disappointing collision on lap 9 with Massimo Roggiero, putting him out of the race.

The pressure mounting, drivers were racing hard for the top positions - by now Cappellini had moved ahead to 6th position and Selio's teammate Julius Leysen closely chasing in 7th. At the front of the pack Comparato maintained his lead, Pharaon in 2nd, Cantando now in 3rd and Gillman in 4th.  The 30,000 strong crowd in Portimao were watching in awe as the world's top drivers battled hard.

Rough winds at Corner 7 again proved challenging and caused Rainbow Corona's Pierre Lundin to barrel roll and dramatically write off his boat.  The Osprey rescue team quickly raced to his aide and out of the way of his fellow racers - proving how well equipped they are to deal with accidents.

By lap 28th the line up had changed again with Cantando moving up to 2nd place, Gillman in 3rd and Cappellini breathing down their necks in 4th position.  Caught up in the backwash of Cantando's boat unfortunately caused extra turbulence for Pharaon forcing him to restart his engine and subsequently losing 7 places in the meantime. 

Meanwhile rookie Marcello Menegatto from Cappellini's Tamoil team, celebrating his 30th birthday today, was driving well in 10th place.  Unfortunately pole position winner, Roggiero was soon to retire on lap 39 - to the disappointment of his fans and team. 

Determined to win, Gillman showed his skill in the rough conditions and by lap 42 had snatched the lead from Comparato with a lap of 0.53.99.  Hard on Comparato's heels Italian Cantando and current leader in the world championship quickly moved to 2nd place where he held his ground until the finish.

Despite being a winner here for 5 consecutive races, Cappellini was not able to add another win to his list.  Finishing in 4th and narrowly missing out on the podium finish, he nevertheless managed to secure 9 championship points, an impressive achievement having started the race from 21st position.

Enjoying his win, Scott Gillman from the Emirates Team commented, "It was a very rough race and I did not get a great jump start - I bid my time until I knew I could overtake Laith and then moved steadily forwards. Needless to say I am delighted by the win here today as it hasn't been the best race for me in the past!" 

"I raced really hard today and although my boat hasn't been performing 100% over this weekend we managed to sort out the problems and win a place on the podium," said a delighted Cantando.

"I enjoyed the conditions today - very challenging and very exciting.  I'm so pleased to be in the top three!" enthused Comparato.

"Another great race in Portugal," enthused F1 promoter Nicolo di San Germano.  "It's wonderful to be here and already we're looking forward to returning to the warm hospitality of the City of Portimao."

As we head off to the Mediterranean Grand Prix in Cagliari, Sardinia on May 29-30, 2004, Francesco Cantando leads the Championship with 50 points, Gillman with 40, Cappellini 33, Sami Selio 22 and Pharaon with 20.   See you soon for some more fast paced action from the UIM F1 Powerboat Championship!

For additional information, interviews or video footage please contact:

Philippe Stiernon
Press Officer
Philippe@f1boat.com