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motonautica
GP of U.A.E. Qualifying Session, Sharjah 14 dicembre 2006 THANI AL QAMZI TAKES 1ST CAREER POLE IN SHARJAH! CAPPELLINI CAUGHT IN MIDDLE OF EMIRATES TEAM WITH GILLMAN 3RD!
Pagina 1 di 5 The 28 year-old resident of nearby Abu Dhabi set a fast time of 49.01 in the second of his two laps in the solo “Shootout” session that featured the six fastest drivers of two previous qualifying sessions of the afternoon and will now lead the field of 24 drivers around the 6-turn 2.235 kilometer course. "I am very happy with my time and my boat," stated Thani. "The first lap I made a mistake and almost blew the boat over so I concentrated very hard on the second and got it all right. Now I must focus on the race and stay out of the way between the battle of my teammate Scott Gillman and Guido Cappellini." As Thani got the glory, 9-time World Champion Guido Cappellini just missed his 62 pole position since 1995 with a time of 49.72 and will now start 2nd one spot ahead of his arch rival American Scott Gillman of the Emirates Team who was only able to do a 50.82 second lap which was still almost 3 seconds faster than last years pole position time. "I realize I'm in a rough spot," stated Cappellini. "However, I've been in this position before and I feel confident we can get the job done tomorrow. I don't need to beat Thani, I have to beat Scott and I am in front already. It will be a good day tomorrow on the water." For the 3-time World Champion Gillman is calmly confident in his situation starting 3rd. "We feel we will have the right set-up to battle Cappellini tomorrow," said the California driver. "We will concentrate to get the right start and go from there. I've won here before and feel I can do it again." With all the attention focused on the front three another driver having a historical run was Australian David Trask of the XPV Racing effort who got to the “shootout” for the first time in his career qualifying 4th with a time of 50.82 second lap hoping for his 2nd podium in his third start at the end of the season. Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Jonas Andersson of Sweden was 5th running his Rainbow Racing boat to a time of 50.88 seconds and starting in the top-5 for the second straight race. Sami Selio of the Red Devil Selio F1 Team reached the top-6 for the fifth time in six starts with a disappointing time of 53.15 which turned out to be slower than his run in the 2nd session when he did 53.00 second lap. Tamoil driver Ivan Brigada who was up in the top-6 for most of the day fell to 7th in the final moments with a 53.03 effort in his bid for Rookie-of-the-Year honors. He will not only battle Andersson tomorrow but American driver Jay Price of the Qatar Team who qualified 11th. The other brother of the XPV Racing effort Bob Trask also earned one of his better qualifying days starting in the 8th position after a lap time of 53.30. Laith Pharaon of Saudi Arabia who has had past success here will start 9th in his Team Green DAC boat. Frenchman Philippe Dessertenne of the Charente Maritime Team took the 10th and final position with a 53.42 second lap improving by over a second from his first session time. The field of 24 drivers now gets ready for a true battle on the water in the lovely city of Sharjah and the final round of the 2006 U.I.M. F1 World Championship. Both Scott Gillman and Guido Cappellini have won in the Khalid Lagoon before but this race may be their biggest. The Grand Prix of Sharjah will take place on Friday the 15th of December at 15:45 local; 11:45 GMT and 6:45 EST on the East Coast of North America. This should be one of the most historic in the 25 year history of the sport, stay tuned. Philippe Stiernon F1 Press Officer press@f1boat.com
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