GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE STOPPED AFTER 12 LAPS!
HIGH WINDS FORCE CANCELLATON!

PRESS RELEASE: May 30th - St. Petersburg, Russia - The 6th Annual Grand Prix of Europe, the 3rd race on the U.I.M. F1 World Championship for powerboat racing, was a race that just couldnāt get going!

After a 5 hour delay because of high winds creating large rollers and unsafe conditions, the U.I.M. officals unanimusly decided to stop the event after 11 laps and cancel the remainder of the event after it proved to be fruitless to continue. With the crowds approaching close to 100,000 surrounding the 2 kilometer course, both the drivers and race officals were hopeful of getting in the full scheduled 40 lap event as the winds showed signs of lessoning in the early evening hours.

The race ās start was also notable with the pace boat leading the field around with a rolling start on a course that had been trimmed from 7 turns to two turns with 800 meter straightaways. Pole sitter Guido Cappellini got a good start and led the field with young Finnish pilot Sami Selio getting a great start and moving into 2nd. American Scott Gillman, the winner of the last two events, moved his Emirates/Hyatt DAC machine from his 4th starting position quickly to 3rd and finally 2nd on the 5th lap.

Francesco Cantando of Italy in his DAC Singha/Waircom boat charged up to 3rd just before the event was stopped short."It was a major dissapointment not only from all the people who worked so hard all year long preparing for this event, but also from the drivers, many whom came a long way to race, stated U.I.M. F1 World Championship promoter Nicolo di San Germano, "But everyone agreed that the conditions were just too unsafe for any other conclusion but to stop after 12 laps."So, the World Championship points remain the same with Monaco driver Guido Cappellini leading the way with 40 points, Scott Gillman and Pertti Leppala tied for 2nd with 27 and Fabio Comparato with current World Champion Jonathan Jones tied for 4th with 12. Italian Fabrizio Bocca is 6th with 11 and Massimo Roggiero is 7th with 10 points.The 4th round of the U.I.M. F1 World Championship will be held on June 27th in Chalon, France.

Contact: Stephen J. Michael