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In a display of heart stopping, high speed nautical
rivalry, 12 powerboats battled it out on the high seas off Travemunde’s
coast yesterday (7th July) for the German Grand Prix and heat
two of the UIM 2002 Class One World Offshore Powerboat Championship.
First past the finish line to clinch the top spot on the podium were Bjorn
Gjelsten and Steve Curtis in Spirit of Norway with 20 points. Second past
the chequered flag came
Dubai
’s Ali Nasser and Ali Al Qama in Victory 7 after taking second place
lead from past team mates in Victory 1 half way through the race.
Despite powering off to a good start that saw the pairing of Saeed H.
Al-Tayer and Mohammed Al Mari in Victory 1 holding in second, catastrophe
struck in the sixth lap with a missed buoy that saw them relegated into
third. “We had a clear start that saw us holding in second place until a
high speed spin out approaching one of the buoys saw us having to double
back behind Ali Nasser and Ali Al Qama.”
Left to
the chase, Victory 7 looked to be catching first place leaders and saw the
Dubai
duo edging ever closer in the final laps of the 12 lap course; but in the
end the lead proved too far and the chequered flag too close. “We are
delighted with second place. We are still leading in the championship
points, but we are sorry that Saeed and Mohammed lost their second
place.” said Ali Al Qama, Victory 7. “However, if I know Saeed and
Mohammed, I am sure that they will make amends to their points in
Plymouth
and I think that they are going to come back more determined then ever
after that spin out.” Behind
from their normal leading edge position out of the start gates and into
the first buoy, Victory 7 found themselves off to a rough start when they
were forced to contend with traffic at the beginning of the race. “We
were about fourth out so we had to a lot of wake and waves from the other
boats.” said Al Qama. “When we reached second place we were able to
achieve top speeds, but obviously not enough. Spirit preformed superbly
today.”
First
casualty to the German Grand Prix was the ill fated boat Jotun with
Andreas Ugland and temporary substitute Randy Scism who again found them
selves forced to an early retirement in the second lap with a blown turbo.
Also
suffering from the same ailment went Italian brothers Luca and Mateo
Nicolini in their boat SCM. “The turbo’s on both sides stopped working
and we could only complete five laps.” said a disappointed Luca. “We
are correcting this problem in preparation for the next race. We started
work early in the winter and test showed the performance of the boats to
be good, it’s only since
Trieste
and Travemunde that the fault has shown up.”
With
nil points so far for both teams, the pairing will find the climb to the
top a hard one; but if relying on past experience, once on the road to
recovery these boats may well prove that all good things come to those who
wait.
This
years 104 nautical mile racecourse saw competitors racing along the
Travemunde coast line and out to sea in near flat but gusty race
conditions. Nearly identical to last years course, drivers found that the
tricky leg around buoy B to C took them into gusty winds that last year
proved the undoing for Highlander and Spirit of Norway.
Following
the pole position results, competitors powered off today’s race in two
line-ups. Different to
Trieste
’s race, the back line yesterday started at the same time as the front
boats, but only 50 meters behind instead of the usual 200 meters. The
first six fastest boats also powered off to the side of the front pack in
order to avoid the turbulent wake of the front boats and avoid any
collisions with boats that may have broken down ahead. “We have
implemented the new start following requests and after consultation with
competitors.” said Richard Ridout, UIM Permanent
Com
missioner. “The new line up
procedure will allow increased safety for back boats in case a boat in the
front of the pack should break down as well as give them cleaner water to
start the race in.”
Two
heats down in the UIM Offshore World Championship finds Ali Nasser and Ali
Al Qama in Victory 7 leading the overall standings with 35 points ahead of
Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis in Spirit of Norway with 32 points. Not
far behind sees Saeed H. Al-Tayer and Mohammed Al Marri lying in third
place with 27 points, leaving 4th place to the Australian team
Riviera
with 18 points.
Next
stop in the offshore circuit,
Plymouth
, where Spirit of Norway will be looking to overtake Victory 1 both in the
point standings and during the race. But both boats had better watch out
for Victory 1, who’s determination to retain their title will see them
in a fierce battle to secure the extra points that will take them into the
lead.
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