Cappellin's victory at the Grand Prix of Italy was his fourth win in a row on the 2001 U.I.M. Formula One circuit.

Cappellin's victory at the Grand Prix of Italy was his fourth win in a row on the 2001 U.I.M. Formula One circuit.



FOND DU LAC, Wis. — Five-time Union International Motonautique Formula One World Champion, Guido Cappellini, prevailed over 22 drivers to win the Grand Prix of Italy, Sunday, June 18 in Campione, Italy. The race, the fourth in a row won by Cappellini this season, was the fifth event on the 2001 U.I.M. Formula 1 tunnel-boat circuit.

Cappellini captured his fourth consecutive checkered flag and 39th career win in front of his hometown crowd. He leads the U.I.M. Formula 1 World Championship with 80 points while Frenchman Philippe Dessertenne is second with 49 points and Italian Francesco Cantando rounding out third with 47 points.

Cappellini led from the start while Laith Pharaon of Saudi Arabia, starting fifth on the dock, slid into second. Current F1 World Champion Scott Gillman of
Basalt, Colo., worked his way from sixth to third on the first lap. With the top three battling it out, Emirates pilots Awad Al Qubaisi and Tani Al Qamzi crashed on turn two, stopping the race.

Cappellini again bolted into the lead on the restart. He maintained a three-second lead as the boats raced around the eight-pin, 1.9-kilometer course. Meanwhile, Cappellini's teammate Yutaka Sugihara of Japan closed in on Gillman, who was running in second. Sugihara bumped Gillman's boat from behind while trying to pass him on turn three of the 18th lap, forcing the United States racer out of the race. Gillman has yet to earn points in what is turning out to be a frustrating season for the current U.I.M. F1 World Champion

The sixth round of the U.IM. F1 World Championship will be the Mediterranean Grand Prix, Cagliari, Sardinia, July 1.