Despite American driver Scott Gillman winning the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi on December 9 it was the Italian ace Guido Cappellini who finished third that walked away with the 2005 the world Formula I Powerboat championship crown.
Despite American driver Scott Gillman winning the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi on December 9 it was the Italian ace Guido Cappellini who finished third that walked away with the 2005 the world Formula I Powerboat championship crown.
Scott Gillman has suffered a run of bad luck during the season finishing second at the opening round in Portugal before crashing twice in Italy and Singapore before retiring while leading in Doha, Qatar, three weeks ago. By contrast Gillman dominated the Dubai race winning with a lead of 4.90 seconds.
“It’s great to finally end my run of bad luck on what I consider to be my adopted home course,” said Gillman after the race. “I’ve never had a worst season of bad luck. Now we head for Sharjah next weekend where I will try to make the Emirates a clean sweep.”
Second placed Laith Pharaon did his best hoping Gillman would break while as he held off a host of drivers trying for a podium finish. The Saudi native won in Abu Dhabi in 2002 and 2003 and was once again a force to be reckoned with.
“We did what we could today,” stated Pharaon. “We pushed hard and now have a chance of second place in the championship so we need to push just as hard in next week’s final in Sharjah.”
Italian Guido Cappellini cruised round in third place to collect his ninth world Formula 1 championship. He won the title in Abu Dhabi for the fourth time in his racing career and is now just one success from reaching his lifetime goal of ten world titles.
“It was difficult not push hard,” stated Cappellini. “We had some pressure from Sami Selio for the first half of the race and then when he pulled out it was just a matter of counting down the laps to the championship. Now for Scott and I Sharjah will be fun since both he and I no longer have anything to lose.”
Philippe Dessertenne of the Ligier Sports Team gave a desperate run with his slim hopes for a title. His fourth placing moves him up to second on in the championship table with 39 points: leading Gillman by four points with one race to go.
The final round of the 2005 World Formula I championship, the Sharjah Grand Prix, will take place on Friday, December 16. With the title already firmly in the hands of Guido Cappellini and with the remaining drivers having nothing to lose, it could well be a neck and neck contest.
