ABU DHABI,U.A.E. - Sunday, July 4, 2010 – For last years Grand Prix of Russia winner and 2008 UIM F1 H2O World Champion Jay Price of the Qatar Team, the demands of the upcoming 2nd Round of the 2010 calender don't seem so extreme this time around. He's got other things on his mind, like trying to save his families way of life with the growing two month struggle facing them with the ongoing BP oil spill disaster.
The driver from New Orleans, Louisiana has seen one hurtle after another thrown his way in the last five years considering the Katrina Hurricane followed by the flooding of his home and city that came on the heals of the storm. After realizing he was homeless, and relying on other family members over the next few months. he took the right steps in getting his family back from the flooding moving into a new house and restarting his automobile selling business that was totally destroyed in the chaos that followed near the infamous “lower ninth ward near downtown New Orleans.
This year, a new challenge, with more than five million liters of the oil leaking and moving more and more into the daily lives of everyone around America's Gulf of Mexico affecting four states with a shoreline as large and as long as compared from Spain to Croatia in the Mediterranean Sea, Jay has had to adapt to working on other projects, such as home reconstruction, steering away from automobile sales since a financial crisis has few buying cars in today's economic environment.
“People here are really struggling and I really want to bring them a moment of joy trying to do my part by bringing them news of a good weekend in St. Petersburg on the 10th and 11th of July,” said Jay. “I'm dedicating my racing that race weekend to all the people who have had their way of living changed by this disaster and want to bring them hopefully more “Ragin Cagin” pride and success at the same time from the Qatar Team.”
Jay has raced in Russia twice before qualifying sixth and failing to finish early in 2008. Last season in the first of two back to back races on the schedules he won from pole position on day one, then crashed out fighting for pole on day two, failing to start when he had an electrical fire on the start pontoon after qualifying second and watching the race and his points lead disappear in the drivers championship that he would never regain in 2009.
“I love racing on the Neva,” stated Price. “It's a hard, challenging non forgiving place and its one of the roughest places we race on every year. The people in the city are fantastic and I really look forward to racing in front of the Winter Palace and the ambiance and history that is all around me at the Peter and Paul Fortress area where the race takes place. My mind will be on the Grand Prix but my heart will be with all the people back home.”
A whole array of talented drivers will be pushing to wipe away Jay's dream of victory beginning with his old time friend and rival Jonas Andersson of Team Azerbaijan who has won two of the last three events in the last two years on the edge of the Gulf of Finland. The driver from Fruvi, Sweden has won both of his races from the fourth qualifying position and loves to be patient and pounce at the right time in the second half of the race when taking his victories as he shoots for his fifth career Grand Prix win.
Points leader Ahmed Al Hameli of the Abu Dhabi Team is coming off a opening race victory at the Grand Prix of Portugal in Portimao back in May and has 20 World Championship points in his back pocket to show for it on this over two kilometer race circuit. Ahmed has come close but never won in St. Petersburg finishing second last year in race one and taking fifth in race two. He has started three times and finished every event thus far and would love to keep the streak going for another year.
Teammate of Ahmed, Thani Al Qamzi, is third in the championship and has a podium third place finish the last time in St. Petersburg going for his sixth career victory. He's led on the Neva River, now he would love to take the checkered flag in first place this time around.
Finland's Sami Selio the 2009 World Champion leads his Mad Croc effort into Russia and considers St. Petersburg as a “home” Grand Prix. The native of Helsinki, has done well in the past, with a pair of second place finishes in the three races he's started and is going after his eighth career victory in his 96th career start.
As the 2010 UIM F1 H2O World Championship for powerboating finishes its European campaign, the complexities of life will once again come into play as drivers from 14 different nations will be racing on the Neva River for the Eighth Grand Prix of Russia in St. Petersburg. All will be racing for fame and glory, while others, like Qatar Team's Jay Price, will be racing for something extra, like for his friends and citizens of the State of Louisiana hopefully bringing a little ray of pride and sunshine in an area that could use a little bit of sunshine this summer even if it is 6000 kilometers away!
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