THE BATTLE OF THE BOSPHORUS
Three rounds gone five to go, including three new venues, Istanbul, Nettuno and Fujairah and the Championship wide open. This is the welcome news that greets the Class 1 fleet as the summer break draws to a close and the title race resumes in earnest in Istanbul, Turkey on September 6th.
Straddling both Europe and Asia, Turkey has proved a popular and decisive ‘battleground’ over the ages, shaping history and playing host to many great empires. It is therefore appropriate that Istanbul, one of the World’s most fascinating and exciting settings, provides the backdrop for Round 4 of the 1998 U.I.M. Class 1 World Powerboat Championship.
The 129Nm, 11 lap, Istanbul Grand Prix will be run on the Bosphorus. This narrow and magnificent stretch of water that divides the continents of Europe and Asia, is a fitting arena for the leading protagonists in this year’s Championship to resume their battle for supremacy.
Eleven teams will line-up in Istanbul, with the pressure firmly on the Anglo-Norwegian pairing of Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis in Spirit of Norway, to hold on to their Championship lead after an impressive opening to the season collecting two wins and a third place. "We are in good shape after testing," commented Bjorn Gjelsten. "We have worked with Lamborghini over the summer to find that extra power and concentrated on improving the overall handling of the boat."
The chasing pack is headed by the mighty Victory Team, who, despite the dramatic scenes witnessed in Arendal, when Victory 5 driven by Saeed Al Tayer and Felix Serralles, exploded and sank, command three of the top five places in the title race. Victory will however be at full strength in Istanbul. Henry Simon, crew chief to Tayer and Serralles has worked round the clock to change the set-up for his drivers who will be running in the old Victory 4.
If luck is to play any part in this year’s Championship, the Italian pairing of Massimo Lippi and Lamberto Leoni in Jolly Motor are due their share. Out in front on two occasions this year and seemingly heading for the winner’s podium, minor technical problems enforced a retirement and a 2nd place. "My dream is to win one race," said Massimo, after yet another 2nd place in Arendal.
Two teams determined to turn their luck around, are the Australian pairing of Bill Barry-Cotter and Keith Hanson in Riviera and Ken Thorne and Matteo Nicolini in Caesar Marine. Both teams have endured considerable misfortune to date, as well as structural damage, but are clearly hoping to demonstrate their potential in the latter stages of the season.
In terms of sheer speed, Edoardo Polli and defending World Champion, Laith Pharaon, in the Seatek powered Bilboa are clearly the undisputed ‘kings’ of the Pole Position with three straight wins, but reliability has proved their undoing. "We are working on developing the boat all the time and are satisfied with the results. We believe we have improved the reliability of our gearboxes and are confident about the outcome in Istanbul," said Edoardo Polli. It simply remains to be seen if the continued development of this new race package will bring the reliability needed to compete over the full race distance.