NORWAY ANTICIPATES ‘home run’ WIN
For a region which has a long standing tradition in boat building – stretching back to the twelfth century – and where boats of varying shapes and sizes are a part of daily life – it might be fair to say that ‘Class 1 is heading home’.
The picturesque harbour town of Arendal, nestling amongst the inlets and islands of southern Norway is the magical setting for Round 3 of the U.I.M. Class 1 World Powerboat Championship - the Norwegian Grand Prix.
Built over 7 islands and cut by an intricate network of canals, Arendal, known as the ‘Venice of Scandinavia’, retains the atmosphere of bygone days when the port was home to Norway’s largest fleet of sailing ships. Most indicative of this is the area of Tyholmen with its wooden buildings that reflect the 300 year-old history of the town. It is an intimate and colourful part, dominated by the Town Hall the second largest wooden building in Norway, where trade and culture go hand in hand. A diversity of styles including Baroque, Rococco and Neo-Classicism, bear present-day witness to the outgoing culture from the time when Arendal was the most important harbour in Scandinavia.
The Grand Prix weekend is far more than just a race. It is a festival of street musicians and street peddlars as well as ‘speed’. For the 150,000 spectators expected to turn out there is an air of anticipation - a case of your country expects - and Norway’s Bjorn Gjelsten is hoping he can deliver the ‘home run’ win they are after.
The Anglo-Norwegian pairing of Gjelsten and Steve Curtis in their Lamborghini powered cat ‘Spirit of Norway’ are on a roll – having won the last three races (Emirates ’97, Bari and St. Petersburg ’98) - and clearly looking to tighten their grip on the championship with a fourth straight win.
But 41 year old Gjelsten is under no illusions as to the difficulty of the task that lies ahead. "Arendal is a very demanding race – in-fact you could say it’s two races in one," he commented. "Inside the Fjord the waters are flat and fast and on the outside it is usually quite rough. This means that mentally you have to re-adjust your attitude to suit the conditions yet remain 100 per cent focused. Also you have the problem of setting up the boat – do you go for a flat or rough water set-up or play safe and go for an intermediate set-up - we will wait and see!"
While race honours lie with ‘Spirit of Norway’, Pole Position has been dominated this season by the flamboyant hard charging Italian, Edoardo Polli and his new partner, defending World Champion, Laith Pharaon. Yet despite clear demonstrations in the opening rounds of the unquestionable power of the distinctive, flame-red, diesel powered Bilboa, reliability has proved their Achilles Heel. Polli believes that at times lack of lubrication in the gearbox, caused by the pounding that the boat takes in rough water, is the root of the problem. For Polli and Pharaon the targets in Arendal are two-fold; to finish the race and to topple Kjell Rokke’s blistering Pole Position time of 252.31km/h, set in Arendal last season.
Thirteen boats are scheduled to line-up in Arendal, but for some teams it is a desperate race against time to repair damage sustained in a season of mixed fortune.
The desperately unlucky Australians, Bill Barry-Cotter and Keith Hanson, have been dogged by bad luck and to date have been unable to demonstrate the full potential and power, housed in their huge Detroit diesels. Caught by a massive wave in the early stages last time out and landing heavily, Riviera sustained extensive damage to the back-end. Unperturbed, the spirited duo is fully confident that the repairs currently being carried out in Arendal will be completed in time. Describing themselves as a ‘pair who like rough conditions with a boat built for calmer european waters’ and with luck, the mixed waters off Arendal may be just what they are looking for.
Making a welcome return to the Class 1 stage after a one-race absence are Ken Thorne and Matteo Nicolini in Caesar Marine. "We have redesigned and rebuilt the back-end and have a new look to the boat," said Nicolini. "We will now run a two rudder set-up and a new steering system. We have managed some testing and are both looking forward to racing again in Arendal."
For the all U.A.E pairing of Khalfan Harib and Mohamed Al Ghaith the waiting is finally over. They take charge of their new, Mike Peters designed, Victory 4 in time for the race. Built in record time and despite limited testing, both Harib and Al Gaith are confident that the new machine will bring a change in their fortunes.
Although the Victory camp would be the first to admit that they have yet to hit top form they currently command three of the top four slots in the championship race – an impressive performance.
Also hoping for a better showing are the Nastro Azzurro backed boats of Vinicio Simone and Tomaso Polli – another team battling against time to repair rudder damage - and Gian Luigi Coletti and Claudio Dinisio who endured a frustrating non-start in St.Petersburg.
The dark horse of the weekend is boat number 90, Fiat Ugland piloted by 42 year old Andreas Ugland, making a welcome return to Class 1. The Norwegian is of course no stranger to racing with over 12 years of experience and a string of championships and trophies to his name. He won the Pole Position in Arendal in ‘94 and may well be out to spring a few surprises. His throttleman in ’94 was a certain Jann Hillestad – who will it be in Arendal?
The Norwegian Grand Prix takes place on Sunday 19th July. A total of seven laps with a race distance of 128.2nm will be run around the island of Tromoy with the race finishing in front of the town itself.