TURKISH POWERBAOTING GRAND PRIX MAY PROVE A ROUGH AFFAIR

The Turkish Grand Prix and Heat 5 of the UIM Class One World Offshore Championship will power off today with the Pole Position qualifying at 14:30 (13:30 Dubai Time) in the Turkish city of Izmir .

After a starting season packed with thrill and spills, big splashes and hard crashes, offshore will this weekend witness what may well be ‘the’ sporting battle of the season as the eleven boats fight a desperate battle to edge ever closer to the ultimate prize- the 2002 UIM Class One World Offshore Title.

With live coverage on Dubai sports channel, fans will be able to follow the race as it winds its way down the calendar and draws closer to its final conclusion.

Saeed H. Al-Tayer and Mohammed Al Marri will be gunning for a win this weekend in what is becoming a desperate title defense for the Dubai duo. As the championship points stand, Victory 1 will be hoping to keep arch rival on the waters, Spirit of Norway, behind their bow and far in their wake for the remainder of the season. Ali Nasser and Ali Al Qama in Victory 7 are currently holding in second place, a mere two points ahead of their stable mates. The two Ali’s will be looking to close the gap of 22 points between their boat and the Norwegian – Anglo pairing of Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis. Ali Nasser will be looking to this year to clinch his third Class One title and Ali Al Qama will be looking for his first title in only his second season in the Class One arena.

Slightly behind in the standing and at the front of the chasing pack, the Australian team Riviera are looking for a repeat performance of a second place on the podium, but will be hard pushed and may prove toppled from their fourth place position in the standings by those hungry enough to steal past.

Edoardo Polli in Highlander, will be driven to what he hopes will be a climb in points from 11^th place by Renny Harlin from Finland in his debut race. An injury to Polli’s hand has limited the Italian to throttling only as opposed to his usual practice of driving as well.

Third place finishers in the Norwegian Grand Prix, Jotun, look to be holding something up their sleeve for heat 5 and will be looking for another result up on the podium. “We have done a few minor modifications but we can’t say as yet what they are.” said Jan Zabrowski, Team Manager for Jotun. Regular throttleman Jann Hillestead will be stepping back into the cockpit today after a 3 month absence due to a broken wrist in the opening heat of the season. Plagued with problems early on, the red boat currently stands in equal 6^th with Damas.

The diesel powered boat, ECS, has had a few minor modifications that they hope will stand them in good stead for an upwards shift from equal eighth place alongside retired Reverie. “We have modified the hull of the boat by adding an extra step to increase the stability of the boat going into the turns.” said throttleman Mateo Nicolini. “We have also changed the position of our trim and hope for a good race result.”

Crashed and broken in Oslo, Binautica proved again ill fated when a fire broke out in their headquarters and halted repair work on their yellow Lamborghini boat. However, they are still in the running for this weekend’s race, with a reserve boat, a reserve driver and tenth place in the championship.

The Italian pairing of Nicoli Giorgi and Tomaso Polli in Roscioli Hotels may prove a combination that competitors will have to watch out for in the future. In their first full season together, the pairing are using this opportunity to establish their roles and notch up their experience. “At the moment, Nicoli and I are alternating throttle duties.” said Tomaso Polli. “We have yet to decide who is the best throttleman and who is the best driver. At the moment we are both equally skilled in both, so at this rate we may end up swapping well into the next season!”

Predictions of rough sea conditions yesterday proved true and organizers were forced to revert to launching the boats in the port for the official practice session. “We have special permission to launch the boats 1 kilometer from the present launching facilities in an area where the boats will be less exposed to the choppy sea conditions.” said Richard Ridout, UIM Com missioner. “We are expecting the same conditions for the rest of the week (20-25 knot wind speeds).” adding “It will be a difficult sea to race in with conditions as they are and our advice to the competitors would to treat the course carefully.”

Few boats tested yesterday, opting to stay on dry land rather then risk the pounding that the high seas would inflict pre-race on the 5 tone boats. And although the spectators along the coast and waiting crews in the pits looked on with considerable trepidation as the cranes carefully lowered the swaying big boats into the rough waters, when the competitors later emerged from their cock pits, they proved not only ready, but eager for the challenge that Mother Nature and all her possible fury will throw at them this weekend.

The race can be viewed by satellite on: Dubai Sports Channel, Hotbird 2 down link, Frequency 11747 horizontal, SY.27500, F-C3/4

Fans of Offshore can contact the Dubai Sports Channel for further information on: +971 (4) 336 2999 or they may visit the web site on: dubaitv@gov.ae