Bulletin ABU DHABI

FRIDAY

THURSDAY December 11

CAPPELLINI EARNS 1ST POLE AT ABU DHABI!
GILLMAN STORMS HIS WAY TO 2ND ON GRID!

ABU DHABI. U.A.E. (December 11th) - Four time World Champion Guido Cappellini of Como, Italy saved his best qualifying performance of the season for the 9th and final round of the U.I.M. Formula 1 World Championship, by putting himself on the pole for the first time this year with a qualifying speed of 141.53 kph. Cappellini, lead driver of the DAC Racing team that has won the World Title for 4 of the past 5 seasonís, is in a real dual with Finnish driver Pertti Leppala for 2nd spot in the World Championship.

Leppala, who is currently 2nd in the battle for the runner-up spot has 99 points to Cappelliniís 97 going into the last race of 1997, failed to go quicker in the final session and dropped to 6th on the starting grid with a time of 138,98 kph.

The new 1997 World Champion, Scott Gillman of Colorado in the United States of America, pulled off a remarkable comeback after crashing his boat in the first session and battled his way to the front of the grid with a spectacular time of 140.99 kph and a 57,45 second lap. Only the brilliance of the Italian Cappellini bettered the mark in the final secondís of qualifying to better his time with a 57,23 second lap. Gillman wins the Pole Championship for the season capturing 6 of the 9 events.

Upcoming Italian star Francesco Cantando in the DAC Team Singa machine with a time of 57.5 and 140.86 kph for his best starting position of his short Formula 1 career. Next to Cantando will be 3 time World Champion Jonathan Jones of Cardigan, Wales in the John Player Gold Leaf Team Seebold hull with a time of 140.84 kph. Jones, who has led the race the last 2 years without winning the event, is hungary for a win.

English driver Paul Blackburn qualified in the top 5 for the first time this year with a sparkling time of 139.12 kph in the Emarites Burgess hull on a 58.22 lap.

Rounding out the top ten, Carlos Maidana of Argentina is 7th at 136.43 kph; Michael Werner of Germany is 8th at 136.18 kph; Yutaka Sugihara of Japan is 9th at 135.15 kph and Massimo Roggiero of Italy 10th with a time of 134.79 kph.

The 9th and final round of the U.I.M. Formula 1 World Championship will start at 10:30 GMT.