GERMAN GRAND PRIX, Travemunde – Round 2
History will be made on July 4th when the seaside resort of Travemunde hosts the first Class 1 powerboat Grand Prix to be staged in Germany. Round 2 of the ’99 Championship will mark the evolution of this quaint old town from former haven of tall ships and fishing vessels to race venue for the world’s premiere powerboats and Class 1 racers.Blue was very much the dominant colour in round 1 with the Victory Team collecting the pole and race trophies as well as the psychological advantage of drawing first blood to lead the Championship. But far from resting on their laurels after seeing the fruits of their winter test programme pay off in emphatic style, the team has spent the last two weeks testing extensively although a cautious team manager, Gianfranco Venturelli, pointed out that this was simply part of a long-term programme.
Testing has been the key word throughout the fleet with positive news coming from both the Caesar Marine and Jotun camps – two teams that had high hopes of early season success dashed in Savona due to technical problems.
A confident Ken Thorne confirmed that after some much needed testing time things were looking up. " We have improved the weight distribution throughout the boat and made one or two adjustments and ratio changes to the drop box, but more importantly the new gearboxes worked well and our overall speed was impressive."
Whilst a positively ecstatic Jann Hillestad revealed that the new gearboxes had arrived from America and, after a first full test, with team manager Jan Zaborowski taking over test duties from Andreas Ugland, overall the boat was very improved. "It was a good feeling to go out in the boat and have a proper run. The handling was excellent into the turns and the acceleration out was perfect. We had no problems with the new boxes and I am sure we will be competitive in Germany."
With safety paramount to all concerned in modern day racing, several teams have made modifications to meet the stringent requirements enforced by U.I.M. Technical Commissioner Michael Robert. Both Isiklar 22 and 23, Ugur Isik’s double entry this year, have had their canopies strengthened. "We have made several modifications to both the boats and will be running with new engines in 22. Both boats have tested and I am happy with the way things are going." commented Ugur Isik. Other teams having to make modifications to canopies are Roberto Biancalana’s, Binautica Racing and after the disappointment of an unexpected retirement in Italy, the ever-popular Giovanni Giorgi climbs back into a modified Immersion to partner Giampaolo Montavoci and take-over the throttles.
Spirit of Norway’s uncharacteristic troubles in Savona were soon identified following the opening round and clearly a problem out of their control but both Gjelsten and Curtis believe normal service will be resumed in Travemunde. "We have not tested since the first race but have worked hard on the boat to improve balance and weight distribution. There is in fact very little that we need to do. We ran well for ten out of 12 laps in Savona and obviously could not anticipate the problem that effectively prevented a win. That is behind us and I am sure we will run well in Germany." said Gjelsten.
Like wise, Edoardo Polli is confident that their problems in Savona have been ironed out and it is a case of which gearboxes to run, after all, lack of speed has never been a problem. "We have been testing both the old and new gearboxes and have made one or two adjustments to gearing ratios and drop box. We had a very positive test and ran for just on 2 hours without any problems and have taken the decision to run with the new Italian designed and built gearboxes." said an enthusiastic Polli.
After a very positive season opener for the new pairing of Leonardo Polli and Jim Dyke, the Jolly Motor camp is hoping to improve their performance by at least one or two places in Travemunde. Like many teams they have also tested extensively to ensure that first win of ’99 comes sooner than later. "Up until now we have had limited test time on good flat water so we have concentrated on prop selection and establishing a base level so we can gauge what prop suits what conditions best in terms of out and out speed," commented throttleman Jim Dyke. "We know we have good engines and overall the set-up of the boat is great but remember, Leonardo and I are still getting used to each other and the more time we spend testing the better, but so far everything is gelling well."
Twelve boats will line-up on Sunday 4th July for the 13 lap, 125Nm German Grand Prix.