Arendal - Norway
Three questions will be asked ahead of the 7 lap, 128Nm Norwegian
Grand Prix in Arendal. Can the Victory Team continue to dominate the Championship or will
the chasing pack, led by Jolly Motor redress the balance? Which of the Norwegian pairings
will come out on top in front of the home crowd? And how will America’s winningest
driver, Matt Alcone, making his debut in Arendal, fare in European waters and against the
world’s leading powerboats and racers.
With all three Victory boats performing well and currently holding 1,2,3, in the Championship, the ominous news for the fleet from the Dubai based team is that there is a fourth boat waiting to be unveiled. A completely modified ‘old’ Victory 4 but powered by Seatek Deisels will undergo a final shakedown in Arendal before a decision is taken whether or not to switch Ali Nasser and Randy Scism into the latest weapon in the Victory armoury.
The disappointing showing by Jolly Motor in Germany was unexpected and the only obstacle lying in front of them in order to put things right is a limited amount of testing time before the race. The strongest signs of encouragement are coming from the Hyatt stable with Edoardo Polli and Laith Pharaon enjoying a convincing run with their new all Italian gear boxes – but ironically – with reliability apparently achieved – speed is now the issue.
For the newly named ‘No Fear’ pairing of Thorne and Nicolini the frustrations continue but having established that their new gear boxes perform well but for a limited amount of time it was the engine that let them down last time out. But both men are confident that it is just a question of time before the overall package comes together.
For the Norwegian teams it is all about pride and
a friendly rivalry to see who will take the honours in front of what will undoubtedly be a
partisan crowd. Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis in Spirit of Norway have had a torrid
opening to the season as defending Champions, but clearly the only piece missing from
their set-up is luck. Having established the upper hand in the early stages of both the
opening rounds ‘frustrating’ problems thwarted their progress. But Gjelsten is
more than happy with the overall set-up, especially the handling and is looking to get
back on the podium.
Likewise, the all Norwegian pairing of Andreas Ugland and Jann Hillestad in Jotun showed promise in Germany and will be hoping that some extra testing with the new gear boxes will produce the potential they have yet to fulfil.
Although lacking in overall pace compared to some, both Claudio Dionisio and Roberto Biancalana in Binautica and Ugur Isik and Philippe Benhamou in Isiklar 22, have enjoyed solid performances this season and continue to amass points and will no doubt continue their own private battle.
The intrigue in Arendal will surround Matt
Alcone and Jerry Gilbreath who will compete in their Sterling-powered 45’ Skater,
aptly named US1. This long awaited clash, brought about by Alcone’s decision to take
on the best in the world, sets the stage for one of the most exciting confrontations ever
seen at the top level of the sport.
The leveller to all the possibilities that might happen in Arendal is the course itself. It will be decision time for all teams as to how they compensate for a course that includes fast flat-water inside the fjords and a potentially rough ‘offshore’ leg. It will be down to strategy, propeller choice and mental adjustment. But for the anticipated 150,000 spectators it will be a fascinating duel between the best teams in Class 1.