Round 2 – German Grand Prix – Travemunde
BLUE WHITEWASH IN FASTEST CLASS 1 RACE EVER
* Victory Team score dominant 1-2-3 at German GP, with fastest speeds ever*
The distinctive blue-liveried Victory Team, three time winners of
the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship in 1993, 1995 and 1996, today made the
clearest declaration yet of its determination to regain the World Crown, with a dominant
1-2-3 finish at the German Grand Prix in Travemunde, north of Hamburg.
In front of a vast 100,000 plus crowd, 1993 World Champion, Khalfan Harib and team-mate Mohamed Al Ghaith, completed the 120NM, 12 lap course in Victory 4 at an average speed of 224kmh / 139mph - the fastest ever witnessed in the history of Class 1 powerboat racing.
Pushing their teammates all the way to the line after leading briefly from lap three until lap seven, were second placed Saeed Al Tayer and Felix Serralles in Victory 44 and third placed Randy Scism and Ali Nasser in Victory 7. However, after reporting steering failure in the last minutes of the race, Victory 7 was in fact lucky to complete the course at all and even more fortunate to return safely to port, after a Baltic Ferry curtailed the crew’s celebrations when it glanced the side of the boat.
Despite their apparent dominance on the day however, the Victory boats were by no means unchallenged, with Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis in Spirit of Norway opening an impressive early lead, after making a spectacular passing manoeuver on the inside of the tightest corner on the course.
Sadly for the Anglo-Norwegian pairing though, their luck ran out on lap three when a prop shaft shattered in a freak incident, sending them out of the race and a $6,000 propeller to the bottom of the Ost See (East Sea.) "It’s particularly frustrating because the set up was excellent and we certainly had the speed and handling to win," said Gjelsten afterwards. "We usually change the prop shafts twice a year, so it’s surprising that it broke so early in the season," he added.
Edoardo Polli and Laith Pharaon in Hyatt were also impressive, and in running a new all-Italian designed and built gearbox, appeared to have banished the transmission problems that have dogged the team for the past year. Despite holding third place for much of the race however, Hyatt was eventually classified fourth ahead of Norwegian crew, Andreas Ugland and Jann Hillestad in Jotun.
"This is the best thing that has ever happened," enthused
Khalfan Harib wrapped in a chequered flag after the race. "It’s just like 1993
only better, because we were written off for a while and now we are back on form,"
added the 1993 World Champion.
"It was a beautiful experience," agreed Mohammed Al Ghaith. "Victory 44 had better acceleration through the turns, but I think we held a better line and kept the revs up, which was the key on such a tight course," added the UAE fighter pilot and team driver.
"This is a dream come true," continued Saeed Al Tayer as celebrations continued on the dockside. "Today was all about team work and hard work paying dividends. I can’t wait for Norway," he added.
Lower down the field, Jolly Motor experienced a moment of drama when a fire broke out in the engine in the aftermath of a blown gearbox. Fire extinguishers soon got the flames under control however and the distinctive red and grey boat limped back to port to fight another day.
The Caesar Marine Team, now re-named ‘No Fear’ following a recent sponsorship deal with a clothing company, also experienced a disappointing weekend. After problems with a new Italian gearbox, they suffered a blown engine on lap 3 and retired in a cloud of black smoke.
The teams now head for the majestic Fjords of Arendal and the Norwegian Grand Prix on July 18, where Spirit of Norway will be hoping to stage a fight back in front of their home crowd.