Cantando Hopes To Put Together A Run For The Title

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (25^th June) -The 2^nd part of the "Italian double"marks the start of the 2^nd half of the 2001 U.I.M. F1 World Championship for power boating as drivers from 14 different countries are expected to race for the Championship of the 4^th annual Grand Prix of the Mediterranean on the island of Sardinia in the city of Cagliari this Sunday, July 1^st.

The season so far has been marked by a series of strange coincidences. The 2001 year will long be remembered as a time when a one time offshore champion would win his first race after only 9 starts, the defending World Champion would fail to score a single point during the first half of the season and a four time World Champion would leave the circuit full time because of lack of funding.

The non-surprising event of the season is the steady success of 5-time World Champion Guido Cappellini of the Assicom team. Cappellini, who didn't score a point in the opening round after dropping out because of getting tied up into a crash of another driver, has come storming back winning the last 4 on a trot and building up a 31 point margin over Frenchman Philippe Dessertenne of the Fuchs Team. Cappellini has won this race twice but his failure to finish here a year ago opened the door open for American Scott Gillman to take his 2^nd title.

However, there are a few drivers who still have a run at the title beginning with the Italian younster who came within 2 points of taking the title a year ago, Francesco Cantando. The Singha Beer team driver from Milan is coming off a strong 2^nd place in Campione D'Italia and now is 33 points behind Cappellini. Cantando, despite running a boat he knows isn't as "fresh"as Cappellini's 2001 model is someone to fear as he took 3 wins a year ago and finishing on the podium 9 times. A year ago in Sardinia he finished 2^nd and is hoping for another finish "on the box"at the podium.

Another pilot to push Cappellini this season is the surprising fast learner, Laith Pharaon of Saudi Arabia in the Hyatt Hotel Green Team machine is fast becoming a "no nonsense"driver who isn't afraid to back down to anyone, including Cappellini and still feels he has a chance to capture his first F1 title despite being 48 points back. The two races he's finished out of the 5 previous events has seen him on the podium with a win and a 3^rd last race.

Another Italian, Massimo Roggiero, has been the strongest qualifier of the season and was pushing Cappellini early for the title but hasn't made it to the podium in the last 2 events and has fallen to a 4^th place tie with Pharaon but hasn't given up looking for his first win of the year and a shot at the title. A year ago, Massimo finished 3^rd in Cagliari and would like to make it back in the spotlight this season to keep his hopes alive.

A man who's season run for the championship has never left the starting gate because of bad luck is American and defending World Champion Scott Gillman of Basalt, Colorado. Gillman, who has won the world title twice in the 4 years since he has come to Europe as the 3-time defending North Amercian title holder, is unbelievably sitting at the half way mark of the season without a point. He admits this is his worst season in his 16 years of boat racing and now focuses on being the "spoiler"for the remainder of the season. Gillman is the defending champion of this event and in the 3 year history is the only driver to reach the podium each season.

Three drivers who have never run at the inner harbour of Cagliari on the south coast of Sardinia expect to make a lot of noise this weekend starting with Finnish youngster Sami Selio. Selio, who caught up in an accident late in the Campione event was pushing for a podium finish and hopes to do it again this weekend in his 3-litre Johnson V6 engine. In a race surrounded by the successful Mercury 2.5 litre powerplants pushing 380 horsepower, the newer 3-litre powerplant is starting to raise some eyebrows from the dominant Mercury competition. Selio sits 6^th in the championship with 24 points.

Japanese driver Yutaka Sugihara is back from a 3 year retirement to join teammate Guido Cappellini on the Assicom team. The native of Tokyo helped his fellow driver last race getting tangled up with Gillman who was pushing Cappellini for the lead in Campione as he was trying to make it a 1-2 Assicom finish. Gillman retired instantly after Sugihara climbed over the top of Gillman's transom while trying to overtake the Los Angeles native. Sugihara did a fine job to come back 4^th after dropping back to 8^th and now sits 7th in the championship with 23 points.

Russian driver Victor Kunitch racing for Latvian team Vivid is 8^th in the title hunt having picked up 19 points in his last 2 events. Kunitch has reached the podium once with a 3^rd in Riga and hopes to do it again.

Another pair of Italians who have done well in Sardinia are one time World Champion Fabrizio Bocca who has finished 5^th 3 straight years and looks to reach the podium for the first time this season, while Fabio Comparato, who is coming off a strong 3^rd place qualifying effort in Campioni has started and finished 6^th the past two years and hopes his bad luck will end in Cagliari with the Viking Team.

Portugal's Duarte Benavente who has a new boat this season and continues to dial it in, has picked up points in four of the five races this season last year started 7^th and finished 7^th in his Siemens Burgess.

Frenchman Philippe Dessertenne 2^nd in the championship has scored points in all 5 races this year including a pair of trips to "the box"with a 2^nd in Riga and a 3^rd in Portimao. The native of La Rochelle has picked up a single point in Cagliari with a 10^th place finish a year ago after two straight DNF's and wants to keep his scoring streak alive in hopes of his first world title. But first, he must get to the race, as his boat is coming off a major repair mission after getting it damaged in Cagliari and some doubt if it could be done in time for the event next Sunday.

Argentinian pilot Carlos Maidana is expected back with a new boat coming from the U.S. and high hopes of continuing his success in Sardinia. Maidana qualified 5^th here in 1998 and finished 7^th in 1999 with two 16^th place finishes because of mechanical woes in the other two seasons in the Texaco Havoline machine.

This season warm weather is again expected making the one time season opener a grueling event for the large crowds and a large field of drivers expected in what feel will be a race at the heart of the season that will dictate the remaining events of the season.