ROGGIERO WINS FIRST EVER GRAND PRIX EVENT!
JONES 2 ND MOVES HIM TO WITHIN 4 POINTS OF LEAD!

STRESA, ITALY: JULY 26 TH - Italian driver Massimo Roggiero thrilled the crowd of over 50,000 partisan fans as he drove to his first ever victory on the U.I.M. F1 World Championship tour at the Grand Prix of Italy.

Roggiero, who had only reached the podium for the first time this season at the last race in Corfu, Greece two weeks ago, continued his excellent driving pulling away at the start from his 4 th spot on the dock and into the lead that he would never surrender for the next 34 laps.

Poll-sitter and defending World Champion Scott Gillman of Basalt, Colorado had a terrible start and lasted only 1 lap with an engine that would not run. For Gillman, this was the first time in his 2 year stint on the World Tour that he hasn't scored points in back-to-back races.

Guido Cappellini, the 4-time World Champion from nearby Como, Italy, was expected to battle with Gillman for the win, but he also got off to a bad start, fell to 8 th and came charging up to 2 nd only to crash out of the event on the 2 nd lap while chasing his teammate Roggiero.

Jonathan Jones, the 3-time World Champion from Cardigan, Wales took a lonely 2 nd place finishing 43 seconds behind Roggiero, but a great placement to move now to within 3 points of tying Cappellini for the World Championship lead with 57. It was the fourth time in six races that Jones has finished on the podium as he continues to look for his first win of the season.

Italian Fabrizio Bocca, teammate to Scott Gillman on the Markers-Belco-Avia Rainbow Racing effort, came charging up from the back and passed then 3 rd place driver Carlos Maidana of Argentina to reach the podium for the first time this year.

Rookie Sami Selio of Finland continued to impress, starting 14 th and moving all the way to 3 rd , to eventually finish 5 th . Thomas Ericsson of Sweden was 6 th ; Cipriano Lambri was 7 th and Pertti Leppala of Finland was 8 th . Andy Elliott of Great Britian was 9 th while Frank Revert picked up his first championship points of his career with his 10 th place effort.

Cappellini leads the points championship with 60, Jones has 57 and Gillman continues to sit with 47. Roggiero's win moves him to 4 th with 45 while Goran Karlof and Fabrizio Bocca are tied for 5 th with 32.

The next event of the 1998 U.I.M. F1 World Championship for powerboat racing will take place in Dunaujvaros, Hungary on the 8 th and 9 th of August.

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