Italian Grand Prix – POLE POSITION
POLLI AND PHARAON MAKE IT FIVE OUT OF FIVE
Italian Edoardo Polli and Saudi Arabia’s Laith Pharaon maintained their hundred per cent record to take their fifth straight win in the Pole Position ahead of tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix in Nettuno.
In high winds and rough seas, Polli and defending World Champion Pharaon, saved their fastest time for the second of their two runs to steer Bilba – a 45ft Seatek powered catamaran - over the timed kilometer in 19.986 seconds at an average speed of 176.52km/h.
Britain’s Ken Thorne and Italian throttleman, Matteo Nicolini piloting Caesar Marine, produced by far their best performance of the season, to take second place ahead of the Anglo Norwegian pairing of Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis in Spirit of Norway in third place.
1ST Edoardo Polli (Italy) & Laith Pharaon (Saudi Arabia) – Bilba
19.986 seconds. Top speed 176.52 km/h
"It was quite rough out there today, which wasn’t so obvious at first. We took the first run to access the sea conditions and then set the boat up a little bit differently for the second run. Laith did a great job driving.
"Since Istanbul we have made some changes to the turbines. I think we’ve lost a little power, but hopefully we’ve gained in reliability. If conditions stay like this for tomorrow I will love it, but it will be a really tough race."
2nd Ken Thorne (GB) & Matteo Nicolini (Italy) – Caesar Marine
20.211 seconds. Top speed 174.56 km/h
Ken Thorne: "It was quite lumpy out there today, but we seem to have got our act together and the boat ran beautifully. All the work the boys have done back at the factory has come good. If weather conditions stay the same tomorrow, we will keep the same set-up. We could do with a smaller propeller but we’re running the smallest we have."
3rd Bjorn Gjelsten (Norway) & Steve Curtis (UK) - Spirit of Norway
20.260 seconds. Top speed 174.14 km/h
"It was very bumpy today and I guess we pushed quite hard, but we always keep tomorrow’s race in the back of our mind. On our second run we were much luckier with the sea, although it was really hard to keep the boat in the water. We noticed Jolly Motor only doing one run so we didn’t push too hard. If conditions stay like this tomorrow we will be very confident of another podium finish – these rougher seas suit our boat. "