Owen Jelf of Jelf Racing after a tremendous start from only fifth position was the fastest to the first turn buoy and maintained the lead throughout the race. Pole Position holder Colin Jelf finished second, and Latvian Ugis Gross made the local crowd happy finishing third.
Right before the start of the UIM Formula 2 World Cup – Grand Prix of Latvia the wind picked up and it was clear the it will be a very difficult race. Owen Jelf with his brand new boat was fantastically quick from the start, leaving behind his brother Colin, Ugis Gross, Uvis Slakteris and Alex Carella who were the holders of the top four positions on the starting grid. All the way up until lap 14 it was a very fierce competition when Uvis Slakteris became the first victim of today’s rough weather. Catching two difficult waves and a gust of wind his boat went up into a horrifying flip and landed up-side down (pictures here). For a moment the crowd was dead silent in hopes that Uvis would not be injured. He emerged in a few seconds and the lightning fast DIB Rescue Team had him secured on a stretcher in no time. However, the stretcher was unnecessary and Uvis stood up in the boat to wave to the spectators, who cheered him up in relief that he is fine.
After the restart of the race Michael Nylund of Sami Selio F2 Team who was supposed to be at the back of the grid appeared in fight with third position holder Ugis Gross. That fight did not last long as Michael crashed on the first right-hand turn and the race was suspended for the second time. After the second restart top pilots maintained their positions with Owen Jelf first, Colin Jelf second, and Ugis Gross third. The top three were followed by Jonas Andersson of F1 Team Sweden, Yousef Al-Robayan of Port Ghalib Team and Johan Coenradi of Holland Sportboat Racing Team concluding the top six. Full set of results of the Grand Prix of Latvia are here.
At the press conference Owen said that he is very happy about the win in Riga at these challenging conditions. His brother Colin said that probably Owen’s new boat is probably the fastest boat on the F2 World Cup tour and in hands of such an experienced pilot as Owen it will definitely see more podium finishes.
With his second place finish Colin now has taken away the lead from Jonas Andersson in overall standings for the 2008 F2 World Cup title. Colin now has 30 points;Jonas is second with 29 points and Owen third with 24 points. Please click here for overall standings.
As the UIM F2 World Cup Series now moves to the Middle East and Asia it will be very exciting to see if Colin will maintain his lead to capture his third consecutive title. The Series is half way through and many things can change. Stay tuned on www.F2worldcup.com for the latest news from the UIM F2 World Cup Series and other F2 events.
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