Round 3 – Norwegian Grand Prix – Arendal – Pole Position  

Saeed Al Tayer and Felix Serralles in Victory 44 won the most dramatic Class 1 Pole Position run in history today, setting a staggering new World Record speed of 161.26mph / 259.68kmh in Arendal, Norway, to beat American ‘World’ Champions Matt Alcone and Jerry Gilbreath in US1 into second place.

Third placed Edoardo Polli and Laith Pharaon in Hyatt were also impressive, breaking their own existing World Record for the fastest speed for a Class 1 diesel boat, with a time of 155.54mph / 250.47kmh. Local hero, Bjorn Rune Gjelsten and Steve Curtis, the defending World Champions in Spirit of Norway, finished fourth with a new personal best speed of 151.94mph / 244.66kmh.

"This is such a sweet feeling, because I’ve had my ups and downs here," said Al Tayer, whose previous boat sank in Arendal last year after he and team-mate Serralles were rescued from an on-board fire. "We were a little worried about the number of spectator boats so I just said to Felix, lets have tunnel vision, look straight ahead and focus on that beam at the end," he continued. "The world record has its own significance and I hope it will last for a couple of years at least, but tomorrow is the real importance for us."

In front of an estimated flotilla of 4,000 spectator boats nestling among the breathtaking Fjords of Southern Norway, the American Alcone Motorsport team, sporting the prestigious US1 mark awarded to the fastest Stateside Class 1 boat, briefly held the World Record, after smashing the 1997 benchmark of 252.31kmh set by Kjell Inge Rokke and Jim Dyke in Spirit of Norway 6.

Gracious in defeat, Matt Alcone countered by saying; "We’re very happy with a podium place, particularly as we missed the finish chute on our first run. Jerry and I had a friendly ‘disagreement’ as to the right course at 155mph on the first pass, so on the second we thought we’d just put down a safe straight run."

"I think we probably could have gone a little faster if we hadn’t been worried about the turns, but for an official timed run that was as good as we’ve ever done. It’s a much nicer, more festive atmosphere here than in the States, with better crowd support and more knowledgeable fans," added the 46 year-old marketing man from Irvine, California.

Italian industrialist and defending Pole Position Champion, Edoardo Polli, was also delighted with his new mark, on a day that he never intended to include a record attempt. "We were really testing a new set of props in race set-up and with a heavy fuel load, so I’m sure that we could have found a little more speed," he said.

Meanwhile, Bjorn Rune Gjelsten confessed to being very happy with the problem free run that secured him fourth place. "I’m particularly pleased with the attitude of the boat and the fact that we didn’t have any problems. We are slightly down on speed, but it’s going to be a drivers race tomorrow, so I’m hopeful that I can make up the shortfall with a good drive." He added.

As the teams prepare for tomorrow’s big race, one thing however looks certain. With even faster speeds predicted for next weekend’s Scandinavian Grand Prix in Oslo, the two records set today may be extremely short-lived.

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