4- WAY BATTLE FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AT HALF WAY POINT!
CAPPELLINI, JONES & GILLMAN JUST 13 POINTS APART!

Dunaujvaros, Hungary, August 4th. The 1998 edition of the U.I.M. F1 World Championship for powerboat racing is turning into a 4 man tussle, as the teams head off for the 7th round amd into the home stretch of the current campaign to see whom is the best tunnel boat driver in the world.

With 3 more races in Europe in the next 6 weeks before the schedule swings to the East, Italian 4-time World Champion Guido Cappellini of the DAC Racing Team leads the point chase with 60 after his 3 wins in the season's first 6 races. The native of Como, Italy however, has been inconsitant, having crashed out of two of his last 3 events and is starting to feel the pressure from another heralded driver in Welshman Jonathan Jones of the Dragon Racing Team.

Jones, who has won 3 World Titles himself, is hungry to return to the top for the first time since 1991. He is the only driver in the top 8 pilots in the World Championship standings to be driving a Seebold boat built in St. Louis, Missouri U.S.A. while all the other competitors race with the Cappellini built Italian DAC which has delivered drivers to 5 World Championships in the last 6 seasons.

Jones, has been the model of consistancy this season, still looking for his first win but having reached the podium more than any other pilot this season with 3 2nds and a 3rd in six starts. His 57 points is just three behind Cappellini.

Defending World Title Holder Scott Gillman of Basalt, Colorado has had, like Cappellini, an up and down campaign. The three time U.S. national titlist, running with Italian Fabrizio Bocca on the Rainbow Belco Avia Racing Team,has a win in St. Petersburg, Russia, but has failed to finish 3 races this season including two crashes, one in France and one in Greece. He is currently still learning to drive his new DAC hull that he received two races ago from Cappellini's boat shop in Como, Italy and earned his first pole of 1998 in the last race in Stesa, Italy. Gillman currently is 3rd in the points chase, 13 back of the leader with 47.

Another Italian who maybe coming into his own is the newest race winner on the F1 Tour, Massimo Roggiero, of the DAC Racing Team earned his long overdue first victory two weeks ago in Stresa and now sits with 45 points, two behind Gillman for 3rd and 15 behind his teammate Cappellini. The likeable man from Northern Italy has had more than his fair share of pole positions during his career, but never a win until Stresa.

Three more drivers are deadlocked for 5th in the standing all with 32 points and still with an outside chance for the World Title. Swedish pilot Goran Karlof of the BABA Racing Team reached the pinnicle of his race career in June with his first F1 win at the Grand Prix of Finland. Since that time, he has failed to earn any points and needs to turn his luck around this weekend in Hungary. Young Italian Francesco Cantando of the Singa Beer Race Team has a 2nd in St. Petersburg and has scored points in 4 of the first 6 races. The Milan native is also looking for his first breakthrough win. 1992 World Champion Fabrizio Bocca of the Rainbow Belco Avia Racing Team is starting to show more confidence with this season's setup and is getting back into the same form that saw him become World Champion.

The final contender for the title is two-time runner-up Pertti Leppala of Finland who is in 8th place in the points but only 1 point out of 5th with 31. Leppala has lost his edge that he held for two straight season's and is trying to redefine his form that made him a true contender for the title in 1997.

As the F1 boats head to Hungary for the 8th time in the 1990's and the 6th time in the city of Dunaujvaros, the tension will only be at a higher pitch as the teams and drivers all now know, that the 1998 season wonít be an easy one to win. As the 4-time World Titles Guido Cappellini recently stated, I've never worked so hard in a season to stay in front for the title. This is not fun, no relaxation, but that's why itís so exciting. If I win, I will truly deserve the title "Champion&nbsp" for 1998'.

Weíll see how the cards play out after this weekend on the Danube River. Will it be a clearer picture after Sunday afternoon, when we find out how has drawn the ace and who has gotten stuck with the joker.
It's more than a crap shoot, it's U.I.M. F1!