class-1 Dubai
11-24-2007, 07:53 PM
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class-1 Dubai
23/11/2007
VICTORY 77 ON THE VERGE OF TITLE GLORY
Friday, 23 November, DUBAI (UAE): After an enthralling and compelling season, where spectacular racing has been matched by intense rivalries on and off the water, the final throws of the dice to decide the 2007 WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship will unfold with two races in a week in Dubai, and the stage is set for yet another nail-biting finale, as the two remaining title challengers go head-to-head after a gruelling, season-long tussle.
Victory 77’s Jean-Marc Sanchez and Arif Saif Al Zafeen will line up for next weekend’s Mina Seyahi Grand Prix, round 7 of the WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, tantalisingly close to lifting their first World title and a record seventh for the mighty Dubai-based, Victory Team. If they finish ahead of their title rivals, the championship is theirs.
It has been a stellar season for Sanchez and Al Zafeen, racing together for the first time. They won the season opener in Athens, with Al Zafeen becoming the first rookie to win on his Class 1 debut and two wins later, in Romania, became the first rookie, and Sanchez the first Frenchman, to win the Class 1 European Championship. Their fourth win of the season last time out at the Qatar Grand Prix in Doha means they head into the penultimate race of the season with a 22-point advantage over their nearest rivals in the overall race for honours and a slender two point lead in the Middle East Championship.
Standing between Victory 77 and the title that they are so desperate to bring home, are Sheikh Hassan and Matteo Nicolini in Qatar 96, who simply have to finish ahead of Victory 77 and by a margin of three points or more if they are to take the battle for the World Championship down to the final race of the season, the Dubai Grand Prix on Saturday, 8 December. Sheikh Hassan and Nicolini are enjoying their best season to date, and with six podiums on the bounce are sure to keep the pressure on the leaders until the very last lap.
Spirit of Norway’s tenure as World Champions effectively ended in Qatar, when they limped out of the race on lap 15 with engine problems. But Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis could still add the Middle East Championship to the Edox Pole Position Championship - which they clinched in Doha with their fifth consecutive win in qualifying - by winning the final two races.
Outside of the lead trio, just 24 points separate the next five boats and the scramble for points and to be the best-of-the-rest may well become an unwelcome headache for Victory 77 and Qatar 96 as they fight it out for the title.
Victory 7’s Talib Al Sayed and Nadir Bin Hendi lead the chasing pack, and are undoubtedly quick, but have lacked the consistency seen in the opening two rounds, but if they pull it all together on race day, they will certainly be amongst the front runners. Abdullah Al-Sulaiti and Luca Nicolini, currently lying fifth in Qatar 95, are the pick of those running V8s, and fourth place in Arendal, a podium in Romania and fourth again in Qatar confirm their credentials.
The most improved outfit over the last three races is Negotiator, the only outfit in the championship running Sterling V8s, with Chris Parsonage and Bard Eker taking fifth, fourth and a podium last time out, and sees them on a hard-charge and climbing up the championship standings. Just two points behind them is Giampaolo Montavoci in Foresti & Suardi, who, after competing in the last two races in his second boat alongside Kolbjorn Selmer, is expected to be back in his favoured raceboat alongside Marco Pennesi, with Selmer remaining in Fainplast and likely to partner Mauro Esperto. Tom Barry-Cotter and Pal Nilsen will be trying to repeat the performances that have produced three top six finishes in their first season together, and will be aiming to add another, with Nicola Giorgi and Tomaso Polli hoping to see out the season in the Cougar with some solid points finishes. Whilst Jotun’s Christian Zaborowski and Jorn Tandberg will simply be wondering when the run of bad luck that has blighted their season, will end, and will be praying that they have a trouble-free race to realise their pace and potential.
The race weekend kicks off with official practice on Thursday, 29 November and the first opportunity for the teams to familiarise themselves with a revised course. A second practice session on Friday morning is followed by the Edox Pole Position in the afternoon and a final practice session on Saturday morning, followed by the Mina Seyahi Grand Prix.
Should be a good race! Good luck to all.
pat W
VICTORY 77 ON THE VERGE OF TITLE GLORY
Friday, 23 November, DUBAI (UAE): After an enthralling and compelling season, where spectacular racing has been matched by intense rivalries on and off the water, the final throws of the dice to decide the 2007 WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship will unfold with two races in a week in Dubai, and the stage is set for yet another nail-biting finale, as the two remaining title challengers go head-to-head after a gruelling, season-long tussle.
Victory 77’s Jean-Marc Sanchez and Arif Saif Al Zafeen will line up for next weekend’s Mina Seyahi Grand Prix, round 7 of the WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, tantalisingly close to lifting their first World title and a record seventh for the mighty Dubai-based, Victory Team. If they finish ahead of their title rivals, the championship is theirs.
It has been a stellar season for Sanchez and Al Zafeen, racing together for the first time. They won the season opener in Athens, with Al Zafeen becoming the first rookie to win on his Class 1 debut and two wins later, in Romania, became the first rookie, and Sanchez the first Frenchman, to win the Class 1 European Championship. Their fourth win of the season last time out at the Qatar Grand Prix in Doha means they head into the penultimate race of the season with a 22-point advantage over their nearest rivals in the overall race for honours and a slender two point lead in the Middle East Championship.
Standing between Victory 77 and the title that they are so desperate to bring home, are Sheikh Hassan and Matteo Nicolini in Qatar 96, who simply have to finish ahead of Victory 77 and by a margin of three points or more if they are to take the battle for the World Championship down to the final race of the season, the Dubai Grand Prix on Saturday, 8 December. Sheikh Hassan and Nicolini are enjoying their best season to date, and with six podiums on the bounce are sure to keep the pressure on the leaders until the very last lap.
Spirit of Norway’s tenure as World Champions effectively ended in Qatar, when they limped out of the race on lap 15 with engine problems. But Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis could still add the Middle East Championship to the Edox Pole Position Championship - which they clinched in Doha with their fifth consecutive win in qualifying - by winning the final two races.
Outside of the lead trio, just 24 points separate the next five boats and the scramble for points and to be the best-of-the-rest may well become an unwelcome headache for Victory 77 and Qatar 96 as they fight it out for the title.
Victory 7’s Talib Al Sayed and Nadir Bin Hendi lead the chasing pack, and are undoubtedly quick, but have lacked the consistency seen in the opening two rounds, but if they pull it all together on race day, they will certainly be amongst the front runners. Abdullah Al-Sulaiti and Luca Nicolini, currently lying fifth in Qatar 95, are the pick of those running V8s, and fourth place in Arendal, a podium in Romania and fourth again in Qatar confirm their credentials.
The most improved outfit over the last three races is Negotiator, the only outfit in the championship running Sterling V8s, with Chris Parsonage and Bard Eker taking fifth, fourth and a podium last time out, and sees them on a hard-charge and climbing up the championship standings. Just two points behind them is Giampaolo Montavoci in Foresti & Suardi, who, after competing in the last two races in his second boat alongside Kolbjorn Selmer, is expected to be back in his favoured raceboat alongside Marco Pennesi, with Selmer remaining in Fainplast and likely to partner Mauro Esperto. Tom Barry-Cotter and Pal Nilsen will be trying to repeat the performances that have produced three top six finishes in their first season together, and will be aiming to add another, with Nicola Giorgi and Tomaso Polli hoping to see out the season in the Cougar with some solid points finishes. Whilst Jotun’s Christian Zaborowski and Jorn Tandberg will simply be wondering when the run of bad luck that has blighted their season, will end, and will be praying that they have a trouble-free race to realise their pace and potential.
The race weekend kicks off with official practice on Thursday, 29 November and the first opportunity for the teams to familiarise themselves with a revised course. A second practice session on Friday morning is followed by the Edox Pole Position in the afternoon and a final practice session on Saturday morning, followed by the Mina Seyahi Grand Prix.
Should be a good race! Good luck to all.
pat W
11-29-2007, 10:32 PM
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29/11/2007
QATAR 95 QUICKEST IN FIRST PRACTICE
Thursday, 29 November, DUBAI (UAE): Strong winds and rough seas greeted the teams as they took to the waters of the Arabian Gulf off the Mina Seyahi for today’s first official practice for Saturday’s Mina Seyahi Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the 2007 WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship.
Today’s session gave teams their first opportunity to run the new 4.4Nm course with the early pace set by Qatar 96, 3m 5.48s, Spirit of Norway, 3m 9.92secs, with Victory 7, posting 3m 14.73s before race officials called a 10-minute halt to proceedings to move two buoy positions in the section of the course running inside Palm Island.
When the course reopened the lap times came down, with Qatar 95’s Abdullah Al-Sulaiti and Luca Nicolini knocking five seconds off their previous time, posting the fastest time of the session with 3m 5.06s to upstage their team-mates who decided not to go again and settled for just one lap. Spirit of Norway went again and improved their time, going third quickest with 3m 6.06s. Negotiator knocked 12 seconds of their time to record fourth fastest ahead of Victory 7, with Spirit of Norway 20 completing the top six.
Official Practice:
1. Qatar 95 – A Al Sulaiti (QAT)/L Nicolini (ITA) – 3m 5.06s
2. Qatar 96 – H Al Thani (QAT)/M Nicolini (ITA) – 3m 5.48s
3. Spirit of Norway 10 – B Gjelsten (NOR)/S Curtis (GB) – 3m 6.06s
4. Negotiator 50 – B Eker (NOR)/C Parsonage (GB) – 3m 8.81s
5. Victory 7 – T Al Sayed (UAE)/N Hendi (UAE) – 3m 14.73s
6. Spirit of Norway 20 – T Barry-Cotter (AUS)/P Nilsen (NOR) – 3m 19.25s
7. Fainplast 2 – K Selmer (NOR)/G Carpitella (ITA) – 3m 36.84s
8. Victory 77 – A Al Zafeen(UAE)/JM Sanchez (FR) – 3m 55.56s
9. SeveneleveN 18 – T Polli (ITA)/N Giorgi (ITA) – 4m 16.57s
Foresti & Suardi 8 – M Pennesi (ITA)/G Montavoci (ITA) – dns
Jotun 90 – C Zaborowski (NOR)/J Tandberg (NOR) – dns
Todays update.
QATAR 95 QUICKEST IN FIRST PRACTICE
Thursday, 29 November, DUBAI (UAE): Strong winds and rough seas greeted the teams as they took to the waters of the Arabian Gulf off the Mina Seyahi for today’s first official practice for Saturday’s Mina Seyahi Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the 2007 WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship.
Today’s session gave teams their first opportunity to run the new 4.4Nm course with the early pace set by Qatar 96, 3m 5.48s, Spirit of Norway, 3m 9.92secs, with Victory 7, posting 3m 14.73s before race officials called a 10-minute halt to proceedings to move two buoy positions in the section of the course running inside Palm Island.
When the course reopened the lap times came down, with Qatar 95’s Abdullah Al-Sulaiti and Luca Nicolini knocking five seconds off their previous time, posting the fastest time of the session with 3m 5.06s to upstage their team-mates who decided not to go again and settled for just one lap. Spirit of Norway went again and improved their time, going third quickest with 3m 6.06s. Negotiator knocked 12 seconds of their time to record fourth fastest ahead of Victory 7, with Spirit of Norway 20 completing the top six.
Official Practice:
1. Qatar 95 – A Al Sulaiti (QAT)/L Nicolini (ITA) – 3m 5.06s
2. Qatar 96 – H Al Thani (QAT)/M Nicolini (ITA) – 3m 5.48s
3. Spirit of Norway 10 – B Gjelsten (NOR)/S Curtis (GB) – 3m 6.06s
4. Negotiator 50 – B Eker (NOR)/C Parsonage (GB) – 3m 8.81s
5. Victory 7 – T Al Sayed (UAE)/N Hendi (UAE) – 3m 14.73s
6. Spirit of Norway 20 – T Barry-Cotter (AUS)/P Nilsen (NOR) – 3m 19.25s
7. Fainplast 2 – K Selmer (NOR)/G Carpitella (ITA) – 3m 36.84s
8. Victory 77 – A Al Zafeen(UAE)/JM Sanchez (FR) – 3m 55.56s
9. SeveneleveN 18 – T Polli (ITA)/N Giorgi (ITA) – 4m 16.57s
Foresti & Suardi 8 – M Pennesi (ITA)/G Montavoci (ITA) – dns
Jotun 90 – C Zaborowski (NOR)/J Tandberg (NOR) – dns
Todays update.
11-29-2007, 10:58 PM
#3
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what about class 3
Platinum Member
11-30-2007, 10:20 AM
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30/11/2007
SIX IN A ROW FOR SPIRIT OF NORWAY
Friday, 30 November DUBAI (UAE): Spirit of Norway’s Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis made it six wins out of six after setting the fastest time in today’s Edox Pole Position, posting 3m 05.06s around the 4.4Nm circuit, on their first run of the qualifying session. "Going out first was the right thing to do and it is the same tactic we have applied pretty much all year, but our set-up wasn’t perfect and we didn’t actually have a great lap – but it was obviously better than anyone else could manage." said Steve Curtis. Norwegians Jorn Tandberg and Christian Zaborowski produced their best qualifying performance of the season to take second place in 3m 06.68s, with Abdullah Al-Sulaiti and Luca Nicolini, Qatar 95, also producing their best outing, going third quickest with a time of 3m 07.70s.
For Sheikh Hassan and Matteo Nicolini in Qatar 96, fourth fastest on the day may not have been the result they were looking for, knowing that they must go for the win in tomorrow’s Mina Seyahi Grand Prix, but they are where they need to be, ahead of their title rivals and championship leaders Victory 77, who, after suffering minor technical problems, will start from sixth position tomorrow, with Chris Parsonage and Bard Eker in Negotiator between them and Qatar 96, in fifth after producing their best performance in qualifying.
Spirit of Norway’s decision to try for a fast lap early in the session proved decisive as the strong winds and rough seas increased during the session, with the target time they set for their rivals, 3m 05.06s ultimately proving unbeatable. Spirit of Norway 20, Victory 77 and Fainplast’s new pairing, Kolbjorn Selmer and Giovanni Carpitella were next out but all failed to trouble the provisional pole sitters - Victory 77’s time of 3m 15.95s proving to be the best. The first real threat to Spirit of Norway came from Jotun with 3m 06.68s on their opener, missing out by less than two seconds to go second quickest, ahead of Victory 77. Negotiator’s opening gambit, 3m 18.09s fell short but put them into fourth spot, only to see their time immediately bettered by Qatar 95 with 3m 07.70s, and then by team-mates Qatar 96,with 3m 13.96s and both moving ahead of Victory 77.
Both Qatar boats went again, but failed to unseat Spirit of Norway or Jotun – despite Qatar 96 improving its time by six seconds - and with the clock counting down, Negotiator went for its second run and edged ahead of Victory 77, with Jotun failing to improve. Fainplast and SeveneleveN both improved on their second runs, with Victory 7 the only outfit to use all four laps, their best time, 3m 19.73s, set on their final run.
The championship leaders, Victory 77, line up for tomorrow’s Mina Seyahi Grand Prix in sixth place but with a 22-point lead, and know that if they can get ahead of their title rivals Qatar 96 and finish ahead of them, the world championship is theirs. But if Qatar 96 can stay ahead and finish with several boats between themselves and Victory 77, the championship will hinge on a nerve-tingling final race of the season in Dubai in a week’s time.
EDOX POLE POSITION – round 6
1. Spirit of Norway 10 – B Gjelsten (NOR)/S Curtis (GB) – 3m 05.06s
2. Jotun 90 – C Zaborowski (NOR)/J Tandberg (NOR) – 3m 06.68s
3. Qatar 95 – A Al Sulaiti (QAT)/L Nicolini (ITA) – 3m 07.70s
4. Qatar 96 – H Al Thani (QAT)/M Nicolini (ITA) – 3m 08.98s
5. Negotiator 50 – B Eker (NOR)/C Parsonage (GB) – 3m 15.29s
6. Victory 77 – A Al Zafeen(UAE)/JM Sanchez (FR) – 3m 15.95s
7. Victory 7 – T Al Sayed (UAE)/N Hendi (UAE) – 3m 19.73s
8. Spirit of Norway 20 – T Barry-Cotter (AUS)/P Nilsen (NOR) – 3m 21.07s
9. Fainplast 2 – K Selmer (NOR)/G Carpitella (ITA) – 3m 40.67s
10. SeveneleveN 18 – T Polli (ITA)/N Giorgi (ITA) – 3m 50.45s
Foresti & Suardi 8 – M Pennesi (ITA)/G Montavoci (ITA) – DNS
EDOX POLE POSITION CHAMPIONSHIP – after round 6 of 7
1. Spirit of Norway 10 – B Gjelsten (NOR)/S Curtis (GB) – 120pts
2. Victory 77 – A Al Zafeen(UAE)/JM Sanchez (FR) – 63pts
3. Qatar 96 – H Al Thani (QAT)/M Nicolini (ITA) – 61pts
4. Jotun 90 – C Zaborowski (NOR)/J Tandberg (NOR) 58pts
5. Victory 7 – A Al Sayed (UAE)/N Hendi (UAE) – 53pts
6. Qatar 95 – A Al Sulaiti (QAT)/L Nicolini (ITA) – 41pts
7. Spirit of Norway 20 – T Barry-Cotter (AUS)/P Nilsen (NOR) – 21pts
8. Foresti & Suardi 8 – M Pennesi (ITA)/G Montavoci (ITA) – 20pts
9. Negotiator 50 – B Eker (NOR)/C Parsonage (GB) – 19pts
10. SeveneleveN 18 – T Polli (ITA)/N Giorgi (ITA) – 7pts
11. Fainplast 2 – K Selmer (NOR)/G Carpitella (ITA) – 4pts
Was that for Class 1 or 3? As you can see above there was no news of an accident in class 1.
pat W
SIX IN A ROW FOR SPIRIT OF NORWAY
Friday, 30 November DUBAI (UAE): Spirit of Norway’s Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis made it six wins out of six after setting the fastest time in today’s Edox Pole Position, posting 3m 05.06s around the 4.4Nm circuit, on their first run of the qualifying session. "Going out first was the right thing to do and it is the same tactic we have applied pretty much all year, but our set-up wasn’t perfect and we didn’t actually have a great lap – but it was obviously better than anyone else could manage." said Steve Curtis. Norwegians Jorn Tandberg and Christian Zaborowski produced their best qualifying performance of the season to take second place in 3m 06.68s, with Abdullah Al-Sulaiti and Luca Nicolini, Qatar 95, also producing their best outing, going third quickest with a time of 3m 07.70s.
For Sheikh Hassan and Matteo Nicolini in Qatar 96, fourth fastest on the day may not have been the result they were looking for, knowing that they must go for the win in tomorrow’s Mina Seyahi Grand Prix, but they are where they need to be, ahead of their title rivals and championship leaders Victory 77, who, after suffering minor technical problems, will start from sixth position tomorrow, with Chris Parsonage and Bard Eker in Negotiator between them and Qatar 96, in fifth after producing their best performance in qualifying.
Spirit of Norway’s decision to try for a fast lap early in the session proved decisive as the strong winds and rough seas increased during the session, with the target time they set for their rivals, 3m 05.06s ultimately proving unbeatable. Spirit of Norway 20, Victory 77 and Fainplast’s new pairing, Kolbjorn Selmer and Giovanni Carpitella were next out but all failed to trouble the provisional pole sitters - Victory 77’s time of 3m 15.95s proving to be the best. The first real threat to Spirit of Norway came from Jotun with 3m 06.68s on their opener, missing out by less than two seconds to go second quickest, ahead of Victory 77. Negotiator’s opening gambit, 3m 18.09s fell short but put them into fourth spot, only to see their time immediately bettered by Qatar 95 with 3m 07.70s, and then by team-mates Qatar 96,with 3m 13.96s and both moving ahead of Victory 77.
Both Qatar boats went again, but failed to unseat Spirit of Norway or Jotun – despite Qatar 96 improving its time by six seconds - and with the clock counting down, Negotiator went for its second run and edged ahead of Victory 77, with Jotun failing to improve. Fainplast and SeveneleveN both improved on their second runs, with Victory 7 the only outfit to use all four laps, their best time, 3m 19.73s, set on their final run.
The championship leaders, Victory 77, line up for tomorrow’s Mina Seyahi Grand Prix in sixth place but with a 22-point lead, and know that if they can get ahead of their title rivals Qatar 96 and finish ahead of them, the world championship is theirs. But if Qatar 96 can stay ahead and finish with several boats between themselves and Victory 77, the championship will hinge on a nerve-tingling final race of the season in Dubai in a week’s time.
EDOX POLE POSITION – round 6
1. Spirit of Norway 10 – B Gjelsten (NOR)/S Curtis (GB) – 3m 05.06s
2. Jotun 90 – C Zaborowski (NOR)/J Tandberg (NOR) – 3m 06.68s
3. Qatar 95 – A Al Sulaiti (QAT)/L Nicolini (ITA) – 3m 07.70s
4. Qatar 96 – H Al Thani (QAT)/M Nicolini (ITA) – 3m 08.98s
5. Negotiator 50 – B Eker (NOR)/C Parsonage (GB) – 3m 15.29s
6. Victory 77 – A Al Zafeen(UAE)/JM Sanchez (FR) – 3m 15.95s
7. Victory 7 – T Al Sayed (UAE)/N Hendi (UAE) – 3m 19.73s
8. Spirit of Norway 20 – T Barry-Cotter (AUS)/P Nilsen (NOR) – 3m 21.07s
9. Fainplast 2 – K Selmer (NOR)/G Carpitella (ITA) – 3m 40.67s
10. SeveneleveN 18 – T Polli (ITA)/N Giorgi (ITA) – 3m 50.45s
Foresti & Suardi 8 – M Pennesi (ITA)/G Montavoci (ITA) – DNS
EDOX POLE POSITION CHAMPIONSHIP – after round 6 of 7
1. Spirit of Norway 10 – B Gjelsten (NOR)/S Curtis (GB) – 120pts
2. Victory 77 – A Al Zafeen(UAE)/JM Sanchez (FR) – 63pts
3. Qatar 96 – H Al Thani (QAT)/M Nicolini (ITA) – 61pts
4. Jotun 90 – C Zaborowski (NOR)/J Tandberg (NOR) 58pts
5. Victory 7 – A Al Sayed (UAE)/N Hendi (UAE) – 53pts
6. Qatar 95 – A Al Sulaiti (QAT)/L Nicolini (ITA) – 41pts
7. Spirit of Norway 20 – T Barry-Cotter (AUS)/P Nilsen (NOR) – 21pts
8. Foresti & Suardi 8 – M Pennesi (ITA)/G Montavoci (ITA) – 20pts
9. Negotiator 50 – B Eker (NOR)/C Parsonage (GB) – 19pts
10. SeveneleveN 18 – T Polli (ITA)/N Giorgi (ITA) – 7pts
11. Fainplast 2 – K Selmer (NOR)/G Carpitella (ITA) – 4pts
Was that for Class 1 or 3? As you can see above there was no news of an accident in class 1.
pat W
11-30-2007, 12:06 PM
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I am here in Dubai and there was no accidents today. Class III ran and it was:
1st: Old Mojo Boat with the Victory Team running the boat
2nd: Al Boom
3rd: H2o Magazine with Gary B. and Paul W. in the boat.
We are having a blast but the internet is somewhat lacking so I will post pics once I am back.
Class I tomorrow and I can't wait to see this show!!!
Cheers, Ben
1st: Old Mojo Boat with the Victory Team running the boat
2nd: Al Boom
3rd: H2o Magazine with Gary B. and Paul W. in the boat.
We are having a blast but the internet is somewhat lacking so I will post pics once I am back.
Class I tomorrow and I can't wait to see this show!!!
Cheers, Ben
