F1 2010 GP of Russia - Mad Crocs Selio and Carella tame the Neva
by Philippe Stiernon on 12 Jul 2010
Sami Selio of Finland of Mad Croc F1 Team pictured on his way to winning the Grand Prix of Russia the 2nd leg of the UIM F1 Powerboat Grand Prix World Championship, July 10-11, 2010, on the Neva River, St Petersburg, Russia. Paul Lakatos - Ideas Marketing
F1 2010 GP of Russia -In F1 motor racing circles, Red Bull are the major force and in F1 powerboats it's the Mad Crocs. Both Red Bull and Mad Croc are energy drinks and after this exhilarating 42 lap battle it was Sami Selio and his team partner Alex Carella who completed a magnificent 1-2 leaving all rival trailing in their wake in the F1 GP of Russia in St Petersburg.
Weather conditions were superb for the thousands who turned out to witness this great event and glorious sunshine under a blue sky sent most spectators home with smiles on their faces. The bright sun and flying spray made driving difficult in the early stages but this did not appear a problem for Selio and Carella. The usually aggressive Jay Price of Team Qatar could not get within striking distance.
One of the early pacesetters Francesco Cantando made an early exit after barrel-rolling on the far side of the course but the delay was brief and once the green flag appeared the Mad Crocs took up their leading role. The new ruling of teams having to use standard EFI boxes has paid dividends as breakdowns were few and far between. Fabio Comparato pushed hard in fourth place after Cantando's exit but he could make little impression on the leaders and he departed in the same fashion as Cantando on lap 39.
It was obvious Team Azerbaijan Jonas Andersson was struggling with his DAC as the rig was dancing all over the place. Both Abu Dhabi pilots Al Qamzi and Al Hameli challenged for a top six place but Al Hameli was struck down with an engine failure minute before the end while Al Qamzi finally finished in fourth place. A fascinating war of nutrition unfolded between Philippe Chiappe, Marit Stromoy and Pierre Lundin as Stromoy became the filling in a Chinese sandwich.
None of the trio had the acceleration to pulled away from each other and Chiappe finially succumbed to mechanical failure which elevated Rainbow's Davide Padovan into eighth place ahead of Qatar's Andy Elliott and last place finisher Stanislav Kourtsenovsky.
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