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1998
PRESS RELEASE
 USA
ROOKIE SCOTT GILLMAN'S 5 WINS EARN HIM WORLD TITLE!ITALIAN CAPPELLINI'S 4 YEAR TITLE RUN COMES TO AN END! PRESS RELEASE - Lausanne, Switzerland January 9th. The 1997 UIM. F1 World Championship will long be remembered as the year of the "American Invasion » as 3-time USA. Champion Scott Gillman of Basalt, Colorado won 4 of the season 's first 5 events and cruised to his first attempt winning 5 of the season's 9 races. Gillman, dominated the season, proving he was not only the winningest driver of the season in his Rainbow Racing Dyva Italia Seebold hull, but also the fastest taking 6 pole positions, including the first 5 events of the season. The native Californian, could have dominated even more, had it not been for an accident when a fellow driver ran into him in the opening laps of the first race of the year in Hungary while Gillman was leading the field by almost 10 second. The mishap only seemed to build up his resolve he came back with a vengeance, winning the next four straight in Russia, France, Greece and Italy to a comfortable points lead and coast on home to his first World Title. The ex-motocross rider finished with 142 points winning the title by 34 and wilt be back to if he can repeat in 1998. Gillman has now kept his string alive for his string alive for his 3rd straight season, having won the USA title's in 1995 & 1996 along with the World Championship in 1997. His trusty 3-year old Seebold built hull that had powered him to his American successes, did the same on the World Tour and helped propel the Seebold boat into winning the overall Manufacturer Championship away from the Italian DAC hull for the first time since 1992. With Gillman's instant success; it also marked the end of a brilliant 4-year World Championship run by Italian Guido Cappellini of Como, Italy In the Laserline DAC Racing team coming off a 8 win performance in the 9 scheduled events during the past 1996 season. Cappellini was caught off guard at the beginning of the season and couldn't match Gillman's speed in the early events. While failing to finish in two of the first 4 races, both while leading, the Italian legend was forced to play catch-up all season long and finally started catching his stride with a change in powerplant in the season 6th race in Moscow. Cappellini, now running Ron Anderson's engines from his plant in Seattle, Washington, seemed to get his old stride back and won two straight in Moscow and Campione and led until fate in season `s finale a Abu Dhabi. The head of the Dac Racing team finished in 3rd place with 97 points and will be poised to take the title back in 1998. Scott Gillman's real concern the whole season in losing the title lead, wasn't so much Cappellini as it turned out to be Finland's Pertti Leppala in the Chesterfield DAC Talus Fl team. The native of Helsinki, in only his ~ time season on the tour was the points leader after two races and it took Gillman half way through the season before he could pull away from Leppala by more than 10 points in the championship. Pertti finished every race in the points, never lower than e and had runner-up result: in St. Petersburg, Corfu and Campione, while reaching the podium three other times in Hungary, France and Moscow. Leppala, the new European Champion, really shooed his potential for speed, when he made an engine switch in Moscow to Anderson power and led from the start. A repeat at the next event in Campione shows he's very close to capturing his first victory on the tour. Pertti finished runner-up in the championship for a 2nd straight year with 108 points and maybe 1998 will bring this ex World Champion Speed Skier a world title on "unfrozen water". For veteran and 3-time World Champion Jonathan Jones of Cardigan, Wales, 1997 will long be remembered as a season of missed opportunities The lead driver of he John Player Gold Leaf team won the first event of the season In Hungary and won the event of the season five month's later in China but in the middle of all those month's his performances were brilliant at times and disappointing in other. He was one of the fastest qualifiers of the year, finishing 2nd to Gillman 4 times while taking the poll in China. But he had problems with finishing events, crashing four times and finishing just three. Jones was always a threat to take a win anytime he was in the water, and hopes 1998 will bring him a turnaround as he tries to improve upon his 4th place finish in the world table with 45 points in 1997. Japan's Yutaka Sugihara despite running only 7 of the 9 races finished 5th in the points chase with 38 and won the Asia Pacific Championship while picking up a season best 3rd place in Corfu, Greece. A many year teammate of Guido Cappellini on the Laserline DAC Racing team, Sugihara finished strong with two top 5 result: in his last three races to hold off Sweden's Goran Karlof from finishing in the top 5. Karlof running the International Paint Baba Racing team DAC boat, had strong finishes with a 4th at St Petersburg, a 3rd at Gallipoli and a 4th in Moscow and put himself with a chance to take 4th in the championship going in to the final race in Abu Dhabi. Karlof DNF at that race, didn't lessen any of the glamor of his. comeback as a real challenger to reach the front. His 37 points were enough for a final 6th in the Championship. Young Italian Francesco Cantando of the Singha Beer team emerged at the end of the season an a real contender for next season's title chase and maybe the "driver of the future "for the rabid Italian fans who are looking for a successor when Cappellini retires. Cantando, saved his best race for lost as he finished 2nd to Gillman in Abu Dhabi and wound up the season with two top 4 finishes in the last four races. He showed that he can also be quick; qualifying 4th in Campione and 3rd in Abu Dhabi in the season's final 3 events. French driver Philippe Dessertenne of the Fuchs Racing team, may have been the most improved driver of 1997, finishing with just 11 points and 13th in the title in 1996, he was in the top 5 for most of the year fading late in the season with 32 points and an 8th place finish. But the youngster from La Rochelle, did impress many times, with his best being a pair of 5th's at Hungary and Corfu while finishing in the top 7 five different times. His performance gave him 3rd in the European Championship behind Leppala and Cappellini. Italian Massimo Roggiero switched teams and boat: in 1997, and once again proved that he can be one of the fastest drivers in the World, taking a pole at Moscow and a at Campione. He started the season' in a Seebold hull but switched at Gallipoli to his old familiar DAC hull and he seemed to get his confidence back with the John Player Gold Leaf team. His DNF's in 4 events hurt his chances to move up in the standings despite his speed and finished ~ in the title chase with 29 points. Veteran German driver Michael Werner of the MM Power Rex-Vogt Racing team struggled in 1997 to find speed and confidence in his new DAC set-up. The native' of Kerpen, usually a front runner, qualified In the top S once and finished 4~ twice in France and Corfu A terrible accident in Moscow didn 't seem to slow him down at the tail end ~the season and he will be ready in 1998 to improve on his 26 points and put himself back where he has been in the past finishing in the top 3 for the World Title the last 5 years running. Italian Fabrizio Bocca of the Rainbow Racing Dyva Italia team had his best finish of the season with a 5th in St Petersburg and a qualifying best with a 2nd In France. The 1992 World Champion had 5 top 1 finishes on his way to 11th in the championship. Last season's sensational rookie Humaid Bakhit of the Emirates Racing team, had a season ending accident in Moscow having qualified in the top 6 in 4 of the first 5 races and was looking strong to try to finish in the top 5 before having the season end for him prematurely. Andrew Elliott of the Tetlaw Racing team struggled all season for proper equipment, but still managed great results with a 5th in France and two other top 7's in Moscow and China for 13 points and 13th in the championship. Argentina's Carlos Maidana didn't think he was going to race in 1997, but at the last second put together a great effort with the Texaco Piers Portman Racing Burgess, and finished in the top 10 in four of the last 5 events to take 14th in the title chase with 12 points. Sweden's Thomas Ericcson of the Singha Beer team got new confidence and raced the last half of the season strongly after getting into a DAC hull and riding it to a 15th place in the title on the strength of 5th place finish in Moscow. Twenty four drivers from 15 different nations scored points in the 9 race series that took place on three different continents. 1997 will long remembered as a year of change and an American newcomer» stealing the show. But time doesn't stand still and over 30 drivers from 16 different countries are getting ready to do battle for the opening race of the 1998 season in Cagliari, Italy Contact: Stephen J. Michael Email: floridahotshot@aol.com |
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