Pengar är en av de viktigaste ingredienserna i båtracing. Det bevisades med eftertryck vid VM-deltävlingarna i Arendal som hölls den gångna helgen. Dubais Victory Team var helt överlägset i race 2 i BMW Norwegian Grand Prix, där Fazza 3 och Fazza 1 kom etta och trea och den nyaste konstruktionen från Victorys stall, Spirit of Dubai, kom tvåa.
Starten på racet blev dramatisk när hemmafavoriten Welmax tog ledningen i ett drag-race till första giren. Därefter tog sig Fazza 1 förbi trots att båten nästan flippade och sedan följde en dramatisk tävling.
För andra gången i två Grands Prix tog det regerade världsmästarteamet, Arif Al Zafeen och Nadir Bin Hendi, en dubbelseger och utökade därmed sitt totala ledarskap i mästerskapet.
Här är racets egen pressrelease på engelska:
After passing the stationary Welmax on lap 2 they were able to cruise to the finish, to complete the 68.12Nm race in 43mins 23.23secs at an average speed of 173.15km/h. “We were not surprised by Welmax’s pace, we know they are fast and they showed that today. We were side-by-side at the start and then they went away like a rocket,” said Bin Hendi. “We were able to stay with them and make up some time in the turns and were in touch when they had a problem. Conditions at the far end of the course were quite rough and there were some big swells which were hard to see. We got caught out once or twice but then eased off a little.”
Giovanni Carpitella and Giorgio Manuzzi rounded off their impressive weekend with a third podium in Spirit of Dubai, splitting the two Fazza crews to finish in second place. “For sure we are satisfied,” said Italian throttleman, Carpitella. “This is the first time we use this boat and it is an unbelievable result for us. I am very happy to use this boat and engine combination. We start very well but both Mercury boats were very fast. We stay on the line we gave Fazza 3 some space and stayed in third place at the turn. We completed the race very easily and were in control of our position and didn’t want to push too hard or damage the boat before the next race.
“It is an unbelievable boat. I think one or two things to do still, but for the first race weekend – perfect.”
After missing out yesterday, Fazza 1’s Mohammed Al Marri and Abdullah Al Mehairbi bounced back to take their third podium of the year, finishing third, but first had to survive a scare at the start when the front-end went up in the wake of Relekta. “We got caught in the wake of 91 and up she went. But I managed to trim-down and down she came, said Al Marri. “We changed our set-up before the race but this didn’t help us, and then we had some problems with the steering and in the end I had to use the throttles to help Abdullah turn the boat.”
For Jorn Tandberg and Kolbjorn Selmer, it was a case of what might have been! After giving away 30-seconds at the start of race 1, a change of propellers and a different ratio setting gave them the advantage today, albeit momentarily, before they broke their rudder after crashing down heavily on the side of the boat in rough water. “The start was great but maybe we were pushing a little too hard.” said Tandberg.
For Zabo Racing’s Christian Zaborowski and Paul Gaiser the promising start to their season was halted on lap 5 when a broken compressor belt ended Relekta’s race, with Giorgioffshore’s poor weekend compounded when a broken prop-shaft ended theirs.
Today’s win, a sixteenth for Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi, increases their lead in the title race and puts them 29-points clear of the their team-mates and extends Victory team’s winning streak to 13-races.
Class 1 now heads to Uddevalla for the Swedish Grand Prix, 6-8 August.
BMW NORWEGIAN GRAND PRIX, RACE 2 – results
1. Fazza 3 – A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) 00.43.23,23
2. Spirit of Dubai – G Manuzzi (SMR) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 00.03,14
3. Fazza 1 – A Al Mehairbi (UAE) / M Al Marri (UAE) + 02.37,11
4. Relekta – P Gaiser (BRA) / C Zaborowski (NOR) dnf
5. Welmax – K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) dnf
6. Primatist – G Cappellini (ITA) / N Giorgi (ITA) dnf
UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP – after race 4 of 12
1. Fazza 3 – 82pts 2. Fazza 1 – 53pts 3. Welmax – 29pts 4. Spirit of Dubai – 27pts 5. Primatist – 23pts 6. Team Abu Dhabi – 16pts 7. Foresti & Suardi – SCAM – 11pts 8. Welmax Alianza – 10pts 9. Relekta – 7pts
(Championship points include bonus points allocated to teams for running engines for two consecutive Grand Prix)
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