AL QAMZI HOLDS OFF CAPPELLINI TO WIN GP OF QATAR!
SWEDE LUNDIN 3RD; JAY PRICE DROPS OUT IN 3RD PLACE!

DOHA, Qatar – 24th of November, 2007 – Emirates Team driver Thani Al Qamzi  led every lap holding off Tamoil Team driver Guido Cappellini  to win by a slim 1.36 seconds to capture his 2nd victory in three races moving himself closer to the top of the World Drivers Championship table with 55 points with three races still to be won.

The 5th Round of the 2007 U.I.M. F1 World Championship will be long remembered for its rough conditions with winds coming in from the open end of the 1.92 kilometer course that saw three drivers drop out in the first two laps including a hard crash by Cappellini’s teammate Ivan Brigada who submerged his boat at over 200 kilometers per hour ending his day in a big rush.

“I am so happy with the way my boat reacted in the rough water today,” said the Abu Dhabi native. “Scott (Gillman) gave me the right advice and a great prop and I did the rest.”

While Thani was relieved with the conclusion, down the paddock disappointment was all around the Qatar Team. Lead driver Jay Price put on a real show for most of the race starting 4th and aggressively climbing to 2nd after passing Cappellini at the midway point of the event before pushing Thani to the limit for first. With his sites set on the Emirates driver Jay watched his boat slow and come to a stop on the course on the 32nd lap virtually ending all hope of a World Championship for the driver from New Orleans, Louisiana for this season in front of his home crowd.

With the win, Cappellini has moved into the front of the points table with 65 after the first 5 races with Finnish driver Sami Selio dropping out of the number one spot with a 5th place finish after experiencing trim problems on his F1 Team Energy boat and now sits 2nd with 60 points. Selio’s teammate Stanislav Kourtsenovsky of Russia started 4th but ended up retiring on the 20th lap and was classified 16th at races end.

French driver Philippe Chiappe of the Atlantic Team tied his career best  with a 4th place finish and his best  classification of this season with a fine run from 8th at the start of the 45 lap event.

Italian Francesco Cantando has his third top 10 finish in a row with a 6th despite his canopy coming off on the 2nd lap of the race and the driver from Milan had to drive with an open cockpit for the rest of the event.

French pilot Philippe Tourre drove his new DAC boat to a 7th place climbing 10 places in the race for the F1 Team Sweden driver.

David Trask of Australia lasted longer than his brother Bob who finished just 2 laps to take 8 place after starting 11th of the start pontoon for the XPV Racing group.

One time World Champion Fabrizio Bocca came home 9th charging up from his 20th starting position in his Rainbow Racing machine while his teammate Valerio Lagiannella was classified 13th after retiring on the 39th lap.

French driver Philippe Dessertenne picked up the final point placing 10th in his CTIC China Charente Maritime boat starting down in the 15th posltion after qualifying.

For additional information, interviews or video footage please contact:

Steve Michael Reporting - Philippe Stiernon F1 Press Officer

Photos: http://www.f1boatphotos.com