1999 U.I.M. CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 4 – SCANDINAVIAN GRAND PRIX – OSLO, NORWAY
29TH – 31ST JULY 1999
TECHNICAL COMMISSIONER’S REPORT.
Boat No. 1 "Spirit of Norway" A
good weekend for this team, a team that has not had any luck with reliability this year.
The reason for the engine trouble in the last race was found to be a flywheel
disintegrating, something Lamborghini haven’t had for over three years. Recorded
144.61mph. (232.87 kph.) in the pole run for fourth place championship points. The race
they led from the front with a race average speed of 127.54 mph. (205.26 kph). They said
they were under propped and had lost the port side drive trim hydraulics.
Boat No.3 "No Fear" Running
without gearboxes, in what would be the equivalent of 3rd gear, in a quest to
retain some reliability and at least finish a race. Managed only seventh place
in pole with 137.02 mph. (220.64 kph.). Were running really well in the race having a good
battle with Jolly Motor only to have the rudder assembly break off the stern of the boat.
Up until that time had averaged 115.61 mph. (186.06 kph), but had no mechanical faults all
weekend.
Boat No.4 "Victory Team" This is
the original No.7 boat brought out from retirement after Khalfan and Mohamed wrote off
their own boat in Arendal. Recorded 133.43 mph (214.86 kph) for eighth championship place
in pole. They were running really hard in the race having a good battle for third with
No’s 27, US.1, 44 and 7 but flipped over at the end of lap three at about 100 mph. A
lot of speed appeared to have been scrubbed off in the roll, the cockpit didn’t
appear to take an extreme impact and was totally undamaged, as was the rest of the boat.
The crew exited through the escape hatch in the floor and waited for the rescue team to
arrive, other than being cold and wet they received no injuries.
Boat No.5 "Binautica" Another
reliable weekend for this consistent team, A. Gunaydin taking the place of C. Dionisio at
the wheel for this meeting. Recorded 123.85 mph. (199.43 kph.) in pole. Finished in sixth
championship place in the race, two laps down, at a race average speed of 103.64 mph.
(166.79kph.) to record their fourth finish in four starts.
Boat No.7 "Victory Team" Another
good weekend for the Scism / Nasser combination. A win in pole position at a speed of
151.30 mph. (243.65 kph.) takes them to third place in the pole position championship.
Changed a turbo charger over night for the race, otherwise no problems. Had a great race
long battle to finish in third place, which extends their World Championship lead to
fourteen points. Averaged 126.45 mph. (203.51 kph.) for the thirteen laps, another boat
with 100% start / finish record.
Boat No. 8 " Immersion" Saying
they did not expect their ageing Lamborghini two valve engines to even last the pole
position runs, but managed to do both, with the quickest run being 104.63 mph. (168.48
kph.). Only did four laps in the race before the one engine lost power and they had to
retire.
Boat No.9 "Jolly Motor" Recorded
139.55 mph (224.71 kph.) in pole, almost twelve miles an hour down on the fasted boat of
the day. On race day finished in fifth championship place averaging 117.90 mph.
(189.75kph.) ten miles per hour off the race winner’s average speed. A disappointment
after the championship win last time out, the crew were having to cope with an
intermittent electrical fault causing the r.p.m. to drop on one engine for no apparent
reason.
Boat No.22 "Isiklar" Another team
to be running the older two valve Lamborghini engines, with a heavy aluminium boat added
up to a pole position speed of 91.17mph (146.82kph). Retired on lap four when one of the
engines lost oil pressure and had to be shut down.
Boat No.27 "Hyatt" Third
championship place in pole position with 144.80mph (233.18kph). Finished the race in
second place, thirty seconds behind the winning boat at an average speed of 126.58mph
(203.72kph) and four seconds in front of it’s closest diesel powered rival, No.7.
They too were not having a trouble free race, an intermittent sensor fault on the gearbox
causing a turbo - charger to run erratically at times.
Boat No.44 "Victory Team" Beaten
for the first time this year in the pole position championship, by 0.090 seconds, 2.77mph,
to record 148.53mph (239.19kph). Finished in fourth championship place in the race with an
average speed of 124.73mph (200.73kph), saying they had the wrong choice of props.
Boat No.90 "Jotun" Testing new
propellers at this meeting and still getting to grips with the boat. Ran 138.58mph
(223.15kph) in pole, good enough for sixth championship place. In the race were running as
high as fifth championship place, at a best lap average speed on lap two of 119.53mph
(192.38kph). They retired on lap ten when a fifty cent "O" ring broke on the
turbo oil feed line.
Boat No.US1 "Alcone Motorsports"
Another good race weekend for this team which were competing in their second and last race
this season against The World Championship fleet. They must now go away and think about
how competitive they will be against the W.O.C. fleet on equal terms, engine air
restriction, controlled fuel and lower compression ratio etc. Everyone hopes that they
will be back to compete for a full season next year and will offer all the help and
assistance they can. Finished second overall in Oslo pole position with a speed of
150.37mph (242.14kph). Came rushing into the pits ten minutes before the race to change
props, told they could not because they were out of time. Had a good race long battle with
No’s 7, 44 and 4 while it was still running, said "today they were beaten by the
gearbox. " Recorded a race average speed of 126.10mph (203.51kph), with the Sterling
V8 engines not missing a beat.
We have had two different types of accident in two races at around 100mph, with no injury, and no damage to the safety cells in either. Testament indeed to the new type of safety cell introduced over the last couple of years. I’m not so sure the older type of canopy installation would have stood up to these two accidents so well, which is even more reason to phase this older type of canopy out as quickly as possible. BUT, there still has not been an accident at this new breed of boat’s top speed, so although there has not been any injuries over the last couple of years in Class One we should not become complacent. We must continue with safety development and try to stop anymore increase in speeds, whether it be by fuel, weights or actual hull restrictions, we will have to decide soon.
M.B.Robert