BRITAIN’S STEVE CURTIS MAKES HISTORY WITH THIRD WORLD TITLE
Steve Curtis and Bjorn Gjelsten second in Dubai Duty Free Grand Prix
Jolly Motor takes race honours
Britain’s Steve Curtis became the first man in the history of Class 1 powerboat racing to win the World title for the third time, after he and Norway’s Bjorn Gjelsten produced yet another calculated performance, taking second place in the Dubai Duty Free Grand Prix, clinching the 1998 U.I.M. Class 1 World Powerboat Championship.
Piloting their 43foot, Lamborghini powered catamaran, Spirit of Norway, the Anglo-Norwegian pairing controlled the race from start to finish, well aware that they needed only to finish ahead of Victory 7 to lift the coveted World crown.
"We wanted to control the race from the start – we went off fast but decided to back off after a couple of laps to save the engines, but made sure we protected our position ahead off Randy in Victory 7." said an ecstatic Curtis." We were happy to sit behind Jolly, then decided to push real hard in the closing laps, but really left it a bit late."
Following an electrifying start and leading the 12 lap, 126Nm race for the first two laps, Curtis and Gjelsten eased off the throttles and left the battle for race honours to be decided by Italy’s Jolly Motor and Victory 4.
Over the next four laps a titanic battle developed between Lamberto Leoni and Massimo Lippi, in Jolly Motor and the all Arab pairing of Khalfan Harib and Mohamed Al-Ghaith. In one of the closest duels of the season, the crews swapped the lead time and time again, before engine problems forced out Victory 4 and left Jolly Motor to ultimately cruise to their second win of the season.
For British throttleman, Curtis, second place was enough to give him his long awaited third World title, becoming the first man in the history of the sport to achieve this acolade. "Eleven years is a long time to wait in any sport for another title. I am pleased for Bjorn obviously but also for the crew. We have had a great season simply because we had a boat that was set-up perfectly. This was our season but that was the longest 12 laps I have had to sit through."
Curtis’ Norwegian driver and Wimbledon Football Club owner, Bjorn Gjelsten was quick to praise the skills of his throttleman. "Steve has done a heck of a job all season and I am lucky to have him sitting beside me," said Gjelsten. "Steve is, in my opinion the best throttleman in the world and has proved it this season in all conditions."
Securing the Championship on the penultimate race of the season, means that Curtis and Gjelsten can throw everything into the last race, the Emirates Grand Prix on Friday 27, to try to secure their fourth win of the season and maintain their record of appearing on the podium at every round this year.