JONES CAPTURES POLE IN FRANCE!
ROOKIE COMPARATO 2ND; CAPPELLINI 3RD!

CHALON-SUR-SAONE, FRANCE- June 26th: Reigning World Champion Jonathan Jones of Cardigan, Wales slammed the door on the competition and at the same time ended DAC Racingās Guido Cappelliniās string of 3 straight pole positions for 1999 qualifying at a speed of 162.29 kph to start at the head of the field in tomorrowās Grand Prix of France.

Jones, who hadnāt mustered a pole position since the 1997 season, did so easily in his English built and wooden Burgess hull as the Dragon Racing driver was 1.25 seconds better than improving rookie Fabio Comparato with a time of 36:74 around the 1500 meter two pin course. Comparato, one half of the powerful DAC LaserlineRacing team, out-dueled his teammate Cappellini for the first time, as the driver from Monaco could only put together a 37.02 in the first qualifying session for a 3rd position on the dock.

Former World Champion Scott Gillman of Basalt, Colorado was 4th quickest with a 37.57 which he set in the 1st session. The Emirates F! Race Team lead team driver, who won this race in 1997 from the pole, did 153.31 kph lap while introducing his new teammate Italian Luca Libanori to the F1 scene as he qualified a respectable 14th.

Young Italian star Francesco Cantando, snapped out of his frustration in a hurry by reaching the "Shootout" round for the first time this season and took advantage of the situation by moving from 6th to 5th quickest ahead of Finnish pilot Pertti Leppala by doing a 38.06 second lap despite a trim problem. Leppala the lead driver of Team Europe and pole sitter here a year ago, couldnāt go quicker and had to settle for 6th with a 38.10 lap his lowest starting spot of the season.

Hungarian pilot Rudy Mihaldinecz, teammate to pole sitter Jones in the Dragon F1 Racing team was excited about his new switch to the American built Seebold hull that Jones raced last year producing his best start of the year qualifying with a 38.23 lap good enough for 7th position.

Rookie and first race driver Ivan Torta handling the DAC hull on the Rainbow Belco Avia Racing effort out qualified his teammate 1993 World Champion Fabrizio Bocca who struggled to 18th in the Belco Avia machine.

Italian Massimo Roggiero was 9th in the BiBi Racing DAC with a 38.50, while Sami Selio of the Team Europe entry was 10th with a 38.66 lap as he celebrates his 1st anniversary since coming to F1 here in Chalon.

Twenty-two drivers from 9 countries will start tomorrowās event on the Saone River beginning at 16:30 Central European Time; 10:30 EST.