SPIRIT OF NORWAY TAKE HOME POLE WIN, VICTORY SIT COMFORTABLE WITH 2^ND AND 3^RD

Click on picture

to view

The 2.5 Nm course was fast, the pace furious and in the end the winning team, Spirit of Norway .

With a quadruple whammy of pole position wins for the Anglo Norwegian pairing of Steve Curtis and Bjorn Gjelsten, the home crowds proved ecstatic, as much with a Norwegian win as with the last minute, nail biting final run that stole the show and the lead on the day from the pairing of Ali Nasser and Ali Al Qama in Victory 7.

Leading from the first run, Victory 7 looked to have the cat in the bag and with only one run left for both boats, sat in the milling area, content to await the end of the 60 minutes that would signal the end of the pole position. But back in the pits, Spirit showed determined to improve their last run with a quick prop change and when they re-entered the arena, the ominous growl of their engines as they idled past an anxious home crowd proved the undoing for Victory Team with a fastest run, forcing Victory 7 from their waiting area into a last minute dash to outrun their nemesis of old. Lady luck however was not in the blue corner when a fatal spin out saw Al Qama and Nasser nearly miss a buoy, forcing them to a halt and losing their chance of a last full run. Third fastest time went to Saeed H. Al-Tayer and driver Mohammed Al Marri in Victory 1, who were happy with their place on the podium and the extra points that put them in joint second with team mates Nasser and Al Qama. “I am extremely pleased with today’s result as we have basically changed the entire set up of the boats and have spent the last two days testing extensively. Before our pole times were counted in minutes apart and now we are looking at seconds, I am very pleased.” With an extra 2-3 miles an hour in the transformed engines, both boats are expected to improve for tomorrow’s race and Al Tayer credits this to the crews. Also first to cheer team mates Nasser and Al Qama, Al-Tayer said. “I am really pleased for the two Ali’s. They were holding in first for a long time and they really gave Spirit of Norway a run for their money.”

Although the results remained the same for the podium placing, the rest of the chasing pack saw a few changes. Beating past Riviera in 5^th place and Highlander in 6^th, 4^th overall place and only just off the podium was the red boat Jotun. The sigh of relief with in the confines of their tent was practically audible as they seem to have finally ousted their bad luck with a flawless run and 7^th place in the overall pole position standings.

Yesterdays run also saw the Italian pairing of Kristian Tzanov and Giovanni Carpitella in their yellow boat Damas clinching the 9 points that will see them holding steady with 6^th place in the pole position championship table ahead of Matteo Nicolini and Bernhard Bellmann in ECS with an 8^th place on the day and a 9^th place overall.

Although both Reverie and Binautica are out of the running -temporarily for Binautica- they still prove ahead of young Italians Nicoli Giorgi and Tomaso Polli in Rosciloli Hotels, who find them selves trailing in last place both in yesterday’s pole run and in the pole championship.

Binautica crash out during testing.

Although most teams were happy with a smooth race run, yesterday proved disastrous for the Lamborghini powered boat Binautica. A high speed crash during testing saw the pairing of Italian Roberto Biancalana and German Kurt Prufert flip coming into a buoy. The extra lift afforded by the notoriously strong current in the Fjords gave them enough momentum to have them airborne and spinning. Driver and throttleman were both miraculously unhurt, though it was a badly damaged boat that was towed back in to the pits and to a devastated crew; ripped apart down one side and bottom halfway down to the sea bed, the mood was bleak.

Two years ago, the exact same spot took its toll on Mateo Nicollini and saw his boat broken into three parts. Although slightly pessimistic, Binautica’s crew are aiming to have their aluminum boat back in the running in time for the next race in 4 weeks time But with shipping dates to be met in advance, this could prove difficult.

Today’s (11^th August) line up at 14:30 (Norwegian time) for the 13 lap, 105 Nm Color Line Scandinavian Grand Prix will have the diminished group of 10 boats start in two sets of 5 and 5. Yesterday’s pole position result will dictate which group goes first, with the fastest times starting in front.