Spectacular Fire Destroys Bocca's Boat In Emirates!

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates: (11th October) - Defending World Champion Scott Gillman, lead driver for the Emirates Team, will lead the field of 24 drivers from 15 different nations for the 2nd Annual Grand Prix of Sharjah and the 9th race in the 2001 U.I.M. F1 World Championship for power boating in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

Gillman, the lead driver of the three boat Emirates Team set his fastest lap in the 2nd of two solo shootout tours around the 5-pin 2.25 kilometer course on the Khalid Lagoon in downtown Sharjah. It was Gillman's 3rd pole of the season as he raced around at the fastest speed of the season with a 47.40 second lap and a 170.88 kph average. The native of Los Angeles, California finished .22 of a second faster that 5-time World Champion Guido Cappellini as the Assicom driver who had been fastest after two regular qualifying sessions could only answer with a 47.62 for a speed off 170.26 kph as he chased for his 4th pole of the season and just came up short.

While Cappellini hopes for another championship, he must first get past fellow Italian Francesco Cantando in the Singha Beer boat who leads him by 4 points in the championship with one more race to go in the calendar with the cancellation of December's event in Brazil. Cantando will start behind Cappellini off the dock tomorrow after doing a 47.90 lap and a speed of 169.10 kph in the shootout good enough for third.

The most spectacular event of the qualifying took place in the morning practise session when 1992 World Champion Fabrizio Bocca had an engine problem which grew into a major and spectacular fire that was dangerous not only for Bocca on board, but also for the Osprey Rescue Team that came to get Bocca out of harms way as the fire broke totally out of control. Bocca, who bravely tried early on to put out the growing blaze only to give up when the fire got to great and he jumped into the water where he was rescued. The fire totally engulfed the boat burning for 10 minutes and turning his new DAC hull into a burning hulk as played out only after it burned to the waterline. A total loss for Fabrizio Bocca ending his season with a boat that he only raced twice.

The other big story of the day in qualifying came from the youngest driver in the field with Abu Dhabi pilot Thani Al Qamzi capturing 4th place with a time of 49.49 and a speed of 163.66 kph. It was Thani's first top 6 shootout appearance and his best qualifying effort of his short career. It was one year ago in Sharjah that Thani made his first appearance in F1 after racing F2 in the Middle East and European tour.

With two Emirates Team boats in the top 4, Latvian driver Victor Kunitch continued his great success in 2001 with a 5th place effort and a 163.14 kph time in his Vivid Team machine. Saudi Arabian and ex-offshore World Champion Laith Pharaon was 6th quick with a 162.94 kph time.

Seventh quick just missing the shootout in the final seconds when Al Qamzi sent him to 7th was Portugal driver Duarte Benavente in the Siemens Burgess boat with a a speed of 160.96 kph. Italian Massimo Roggiero was 8th with a time of 50.42 while French pilot Philippe Dessertenne was 9th with a 50.48 second lap. Dessertenne is 3rd in the title chase with 77 points and 19 behind Cantando.

Rounding out the top 10 was Swedish driver Jari Honkala with a lap of 50.80 and a speed of 159.44 kph. Other drivers of note were Emirate team 3rd driver Awad Al Qubaisi who will start 14th, Sami Selio in the only non Mercury 2.5 litre powered engine will start 12th in his Johnson V-6. Three new drivers hit the water for the first time led by Italian ex F1 offshore star Vincenzo Polli in the 17th position while Spain's Tiste Orozco will start 20th and France's Philippe Chiappe failed to qualify and should start in the 24th and final position.

The Khalid Lagoon will host the 2nd Annual Grand Prix of Sharjah tomorrow at 16:00 local time, 12:00 GMT and 7:00 Eastern Daylight time in North America. It should be a now classic two way battle between two great Italian drivers Cantando and Cappellini with a little American dish tossed in as Gillman will try to spoil this championship party.