G.P. OF TURKEY DEDICATED TO EARTHQUAKE RELIEF!
Istanbul, Turkey: (22nd August)
- In what was supposed to be a "standard" round for the U.I.M. F1
World Championship for powerboating, has turned into a conserted
effort to raise monies for this past week's earthquake victims in
Northwest Turkey.
Under the leadership of U.I.M. promoter Nicolo
di San Germano in conjunction with the Prime Minister's office,
Mr. Bulent Ecevit, the race event has been turned into a charity
event. The Prime Minister went on to stated: "I would like to extend
my gratitude for the sensitivity shown in the change of program
of the Formula 1 Class Championship to be held in our country in
order to give support to the citiznes suffering from the effects
of the earthquake disaster and I wish success to the competitors".
The normal Saturday schedule which normally
would have seen a practise, two timed qualifying sessions along
with a final "shootout" session for pole postion was canceled as
the F1 teams honored a day of silence for the victims and their
families.
Today's 14:30 starting grid for 40 laps was
thus determined by World Championship points. Monaco citizen Guido
Cappellini will lead the field with Finnish pilot Pertti Leppala
2nd, Italian Fabio Camparato 3rd, American
Scott Gillman 4th and current World Champion Jonathan
Jones of Wales 5th.
Rounding out the top 10 will see Frenchman
Philippe Dessertenne 6th, Italian's Massimo Roggiero
and Fabrizio Bocca are 7th and 8th while Great
Britain's Andy Elliott is 9th and Argentina's Carlos
Maidana 10th.
While the 22 pilots from 12 different nation's
battle on the Bosphorus, the straits that seperate Europe and Asia
all powerboat fans can help us with the relief efforts by sending
their donations to the UIM who will make sure the funds are sent
to the victims.
UIM account at: CREDIT FONCIER, Bd
Albert Ier, 98000 Monaco, bank code 12739, guichet code 00070, account
No 0040056716P, RIB 53, ref: Turkey.
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