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U.I.M. CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP
BRITISH GRAND PRIX, PLYMOUTH
VICTORY 77 WINS TO COMPLETE THE DOUBLE IN PLYMOUTH
Sunday, 6 August, PLYMOUTH: Victory 77’s Mohammed Al Marri and Jean Marc Sanchez completed a brilliant double in Plymouth after winning a dramatic Honda British Grand prix to put their title challenge back on course and jump from fourth to second place in the championship standings with Qatar 95 finishing second and Victory 7’s Nadir Bin Hendi and Ahmed Al Suwaidi taking their first podium, finishing third.
It was an incident packed race which saw Qatar 96, second in the championship before the race retire on lap 2, championship leader’s Spirit of Norway drop from third to seventh after returning to the pits to replace a broken propeller with Chris Parsonage and James Sheppard in King of Shaves crashing out on lap 8 and a pace boat deployed to control proceedings whilst the boat was being towed from the course.
Qatar 96 produced a blistering start to lead the from the flag, with Victory 77 in second ahead of Spirit of Norway and King of Shaves, but it was to be short lived with Sheikh Hassan and Matteo Nicolini forced to retire a lap later when a drive belt on the supercharger broke. Victory 77 took the lead, chased by King of Shaves and with Spirit of Norway taking their first long lap early, Qatar 95 moved into third ahead of Jotun. The leading trio maintained position until lap 6, King of Shaves went for a long lap, Al Sulaiti and di Biase were into second and Spirit back up to third, but then had to head for the pits to change a propeller.
And then on lap eight as they pushed to catch Qatar 95, Parsonage and Sheppard rolled King of Shaves and a pace boat was deployed to control proceedings - Victory 7 had come from tenth place on lap two and were now up into second ahead of Qatar 95, Foresti&Suardi - Roscioli Hotels with Jotun in fifth and Ceramiche Flaminia enjoying their best performance running sixth, SeveneleveN in seventh with Spirit of Norway back in the race but down in eighth.
When the pace boat eventually showed the green flag Al Marri and Sanchez first had to fight off a challenge from their team-mates and with the race reduced to 15 laps, then had to hold off Qatar 95 for two laps who had moved ahead into second place, eventually running out the winners to take their first win of the season. "Victory is back - it was a fantastic race but a little hectic when we were behind the pace boat," said Jean Marc Sanchez. "Although 96 was faster at the start we were confident we could catch them on the outside leg but then they had a problem. I think we had the perfect set-up today – it’s a great result for the team with both boats on the podium."
Victory 77 are now just 10 points behind Spirit of Norway in the World Championship standings but today’s win puts them into first place in the European Championship with the next race in Slovenia on 3 September.
BRITISH GRAND PRIX - results:
1. Victory 77 – Al Marri (UAE)/Sanchez (FR) 00.59.53,42
2. Qatar 95 – Al Sulaiti (QAT)/Di Biase (ITA) 01.00.03,31
3. Victory 7 – Hendi (UAE)/Al Suwaidi (UAE) 01.00.12,89
4. Foresti & Suardi-Roscioli Hotels – Montavoci (ITA)/Cirilli (ESP) 01.00.48,76
5. Jotun – Tandberg (NOR)/Zaborowski (NOR) 01.00.05,92
6. Ceramiche Flaminia – Chillocci (ITA)/Lepppala (FIN) 01.01.09,79
7. Spirit of Norway – Gjelsten (NOR)/Curtis (GB) 01.00.21,34
8. SeveneleveN – Giorgi (ITA)/Nilsen (NOR) 01.02.09,82
King of Shaves – Parsonage (GB)/Sheppard (GB) DNF
Qatar 96 – Al Thani (QAT)/Nicolini (ITA) DNF
U.I.M. CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP
NORWEGIAN GRAND PRIX, ARENDAL
JOTUN TAKE MAIDEN WIN IN ARENDAL
Sunday, 23 July, ARENDAL (Norway): Jotun's Jorn Tandberg and Christian Zaborowski produced a faultless performance in front of their home crowd to win today's Norwegian Grand Prix in Arendal with the Championship leader's Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis in Spirit of Norway second and Victory 77's Mohammed Al Marri and Jean Marc Sanchez coming home in third.
It was an impressive display by Tandberg and Zaborowski in the Mercury powered Jotun, who, after starting on the outside of the first of two start lines, powered their way to the front to lead into the first corner and by the end of lap one had opened up a six second lead. With clear water in front the all-Norwegian pairing took full advantage and were never challenged, extending their lead lap by lap and going on to take their maiden Class 1 win, completing the 12 lap, 93.84Nm course in 52mins 50 .62secs at an average speed of 122.05mph/196.38kmh. "We made a very good tight first turn and managed to power our way through to the front," said Christian Zaborowski. "With Spirit behind us we knew we would have to push hard all the way and we just kept at it. It's wonderful not only to win but to win in Norway is very special."
For the second time in two days Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis had to settle for second place, but with their main rivals Qatar 96 struggling with steering problems from the start and finishing fourth, Spirit of Norway extended their championship lead to 37points. "To be honest we under propped today. Jotun got a fantastic start and we realised that to catch them we might have done something stupid so we decided to hold our position and secure the points," said Steve Curtis.
Victory 77's Al Marri and Sanchez kept their title hopes alive, coming home in third with Sanchez full of praise for the event. "First, I have to say that this race course is fantastic, I mean not only the course but the people. All the way around the course the crowds were incredible. It was amazing. The start was good and worked well but Jotun surprised us with their extra power and went straight past us and then we were in spray and had to go carefully."
Fifth place went to Victory 7's Nadir Bin Hendi and Ahmed Al Suwaidi ahead of Giampaolo Montavoci and Domenico Cirilli in Foresti & Suardi-Roscioli Hotels with Abdullah Al Sulaiti and Lino Di Biase, Qatar 95 suffering mechanical problems on lap 9 whilst running in fourth, classified in seventh. For King of Shaves, yesterday's Pole Position winners, today turned to despair when they were forced to retire on lap 2 with SeveneleveN retiring on lap 3 and Ceramiche Flaminia failing to make the start line.
NORWEGIAN GRAND PRIX - results:
1. Jotun - Tandberg/Zaborowski 00.52.50,62
2. Spirit of Norway - Gjelsten/Curtis 00.53.37,56
3. Victory 77 - Al Marri/Sanchez 00.54.31,06
4. Qatar 96 - Al Thani/Nicolini 00.55.20,64
5. Victory 7 - Al Suwaidi/Hendi 00.56.10,56
6. Foresti & Suardi-Roscioli Hotels - Cirilli/Montavoci 00.51.12,32 (+1lap)
7. Qatar 95 - Al Sulaiti/Di Biase 00.41.35,60 (+3laps)
King of Shaves - Sheppard/Parsonage DNF
SeveneleveN - Nilsen/Giorgi DNF
Ceramiche Flaminia - Chillocci/Leppala DNS
U.I.M. CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP
NORWEGIAN GRAND PRIX, ARENDAL - POLE POSITION
KING OF SHAVES WIN POLE POSITION IN ARENDAL
Saturday, 22 July, ARENDAL (Norway): Chris Parsonage and James Sheppard produced their best performance of the season, going quickest in today's official qualifying in Arendal to put King of Shaves into Pole position for Sunday's Norwegian Grand Prix with Spirit of Norway second quickest and Victory 77, third.
Parsonage and Sheppard went fifth out onto the water setting a time of 4mins 26.48secs on their first run to eclipse the provisional pole time of 4mins 27.70secs set by Qatar 95 and then produced an even more impressive second lap to shave three seconds off their time to take their first Pole Position of the season in a time 4mins 23.34secs around the 7.73Nm lap. And for the second time this season Parsonage and Sheppard had to sit it out and wait to see if their time would be bettered - this time it wasn't with Victory 77, Jotun and Spirit of Norway all falling short. "Absolutely fantastic, I am over the moon," said Chris Parsonage. "Yesterday we broke a propeller in practice so to come out today and produce this performance is wonderful."
But for Spirit of Norway's Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis, the last team out onto the water there was frustration at being kept waiting by Qatar 96, who, after a problem on their warm up lap returned to the pits but were allowed back out onto the course to complete a qualifying time. "I don't know what 96 was playing at," said a clearly irate Steve Curtis. "We were kept waiting for ages and just had to sit there and watch as the conditions changed and by the time we were eventually told we could go out, our set-up was wrong."
Victory 77's Mohammed Al Marri and Jean Marc Sanchez went third quickest with Sanchez admitting that they 'paid the price' after making a mistake in one of the turns with Qatar 95 and Jotun completing the first line of five boats for tomorrow's two line start procedure.
For Sheikh Hassan and Matteo Nicolini, currently lying second in the title race in Qatar 96 behind Spirit, today's outcome could prove costly for them as they will have to start tomorrow's race on the second row, alongside Victory 7 who posted the sixth fastest time ahead of SeveneleveN, with Foresti&Suardi-Roscioli Hotels and Ceramiche Flaminia failing to post times.
Parsonage and Sheppard's first Pole position win moves them into second place in the Pole Position Championship and sets up an intriguing battle in tomorrow's Norwegian Grand Prix between them and Spirit of Norway, the current championship leaders'.
NORWEGIAN GRAND PRIX - POLE POSITION
1. King of Shaves - Sheppard/Parsonage 04.23,34
2. Spirit of Norway - Gjelsten/Curtis 04.25,34
3. Victory 77 - Al Marri/Sanchez 04.26,09
4. Qatar 95 - Al Sulaiti/Di Biase 04.27,70
5 Jotun - Tandberg/Zaborowski 04.29,23
6. Victory 7 - Al Suwaidi/Hendi 04.32,04
7. SeveneleveN - Nilsen/Giorgi 05.14,92
Foresti & Suardi-Roscioli Hotels - Cirilli/Montavoci DNF
Qatar 96 - Al Thani/Nicolini DNF
Ceramiche Flaminia - Chillocci/Leppala DNF
UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP
MIDDLE EAST GRAND PRIX, DOHA, QATAR
KING OF SHAVES CRUELLY ROBBED OF FIRST WIN
Thursday, 4 May, DOHA (Qatar): King of Shaves’ Chris Parsonage and James Sheppard suffered the cruellest of blows and were robbed of their first win in Class 1 when, after leading for 10 out of 18 laps in the Middle East Grand Prix, a driveshaft broke on lap 11 ending their race. “It was heartbreaking,” said an emotional Chris Parsonage. “We had that race in the bag. We got a great start and led from the first corner. We were able to dictate the pace and gradually we extended our lead. We knew that the teams chasing us would take their long laps early but we knew we could leave it late with the lead we had. The boat was running perfectly and James and I were in total control but then on 11 it all went wrong.
Instead it was Qatar 95’s Abdullah Al Sulaiti and Lino Di Biase who celebrated their first win together in Class l, leading home a Team Qatar one – two with Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al Thani and Matteo Nicolini in Qatar 96 finishing second. In third place and completing a clean sweep of the podium for the teams running the Mercury HP1075SCi were Norwegians Jorn Tandberg and Christian Zaborowski in Jotun.
In an open and unpredictable race, it was Al Sulaiti and Di Biase who produced one of the most impressive starts, coming from the outside of the pack and 10th on the start line to second place at the end of the first lap, but it was the all British pairing of Chris Parsonage and James Sheppard in King of Shaves who led, with pre-race favourites Spirit of Norway third, Victory 77 down in sixth and Qatar 96 in seventh. By the end of lap three Victory 77 and Qatar 96 had both picked up a place and with both Spirit and Qatar 96 taking their long laps early, Victory 77 moved into third place but a broken propeller on lap ten ended their race. But out front King of Shaves was extending its lead and seemingly in control and after leading from the start seemed to be on course for the win before disaster struck on lap11 and a broken driveshaft ended their race.
Qatar 95 was now comfortably out in front and being chased by Spirit in second with Qatar 96 in third and Jotun recovering from eighth on lap one to move into fourth place. It was now a straight race to the line with Mercury powered boats running first, second and fourth. And despite the efforts of Bjorn Gjlesten and Steve Curtis, Qatar 95 was increasing its lead. On lap 16, Spirit’s challenge ended with a broken propeller and Team Qatar going on to take first and second spot with Jotun coming home in third to complete the clean sweep for Mercury.
Giampaolo Montavoci and Domenico Cirilli produced a good performance to finish in fourth place in Foresti&Suardi-Roscioli Hotels with Nadir Bin Hendi and Ahmed Al Suwaidi fifth in Victory 7, the fourth Mercury powered boat with Spirit of Norway managing to limp round to complete the top six.
MIDDLE EAST GRAND PRIX – results:
1. Qatar 95 – Al Sulaiti/Di Biase 20pts
2. Qatar 96 – Al Thani/Nicolini 15pts
3. Jotun - Tandberg/Zaborowski 12pts
4. Foresti & Suardi-Roscioli Hotels – Cirilli/Montavoci 9pts
5. Victory 7 – Al Suwaidi/Hendi 7pts
6 Spirit of Norway – Gjelsten/Curtis 5pts
7. Ceramiche Flaminia – Chillocci/Esperto 4pts
8. SeveneleveN – Nilsen/Giorgi 3pts
King of Shaves – Sheppard/Parsonage DNF
Victory 77 – Al Marri/Sanchez DNF
UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP
QATAR GRAND PRIX, DOHA
KING OF SHAVES LOOKS IMPRESSIVE IN QATAR
Saturday, 29 April, DOHA (Qatar): King of Shaves, throttled by team owner, Chris Parsonage and driven by James Sheppard, the first all British Team to compete in the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship for over a decade produced an impressive performance in Saturday's Qatar Grand Prix finishing fourth, posting notice that they will be title challengers this season.
Parsonage, with Sheppard making his Class 1 debut and racing together in Class 1 for the first time were on the pace from the start, going third quickest in two out of three practice sessions and then pushing the
defending World Champions, Spirit of Norway to the limit in qualifying, finishing second, completing the 5.13Nm lap in a time of 3mins 01.87secs. "I can't believe it - they were two of the fastest laps I've driven in my short time in a Class 1," said an elated Sheppard. "Chris did a fantastic job on the throttles, balanced the boat well never backed off even when we had one or two flighty moments - brilliant start for the team."
But on race day, it was, Spirit of Norway's Bjorn Rune Gjelsten and Steve Curtis who produced a commanding performance to complete the double, going quickest in qualifying and winning the Qatar Grand Prix ahead of their arch rivals Victory 77 and Qatar 96.
Gjelsten and Curtis took full advantage of being in pole position, leading from the start to get to the first turn buoy ahead of the chasing pack and from then on controlled the race, extending their lead lap by lap, going on to win the 18 lap. 93.36Nm Qatar Grand Prix by 12 seconds ahead of Mohammed Al Marri and Jean Marc Sanchez in Victory 77 and HE Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al Thani and Matteo Nicolini in Qatar 96.
With Spirit of Norway disappearing off into the distance, the battle for podium honours was fought out between Victory 77, Qatar 96 and King of Shaves, the three holding station before Qatar 96 peeled off to take both their two mandatory long laps consecutively, elevating King of Shaves to third. By lap 12, the leading posse of four boats had all completed their long laps with the running order restored and Victory 77 going on to finish second ahead of Qatar 96 and King of Shaves. "We've had a good solid start
to the season. The race wasn't going to be won on the first corner and the championship won't be decided in the first race," said Parsonage. "The conditions were too flat, didn't suit our boat which is slightly heavier than the others but I think we will benefit from the rougher conditions in Europe. We had a good set up and kept up a good pace. This is James' first season driving a Class 1 and my first season on the throttles - so it is a bit of a learning curve for both of us. We both made one or two mistakes but we know we can improve - overall a good start."
QATAR GRAND PRIX - results:
1 Spirit of Norway - Gjelsten/Curtis 20pts
2. Victory 77 - Al Marri/Sanchez 15pts
3. Qatar 96 - Al Thani/Nicolini 12pts
4. King of Shaves - Sheppard/Parsonage 9pts
5. Victory 7 - Al Suwaidi/Hendi 7pts
6. Qatar 95 - Al Sulaiti/Di Biase 5pts
7. Ceramiche Flaminia - Chillocci/Esperto 4pts
SeveneleveN - Nilsen/Giorgi DNF
Jotun - Tandberg/Zaborowski DNF
Foresti & Suardi-Roscioli Hotels - Cirilli/Montavoci DNF
Round 1 of the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship
Round 1 of the UIM Middle East Championship
CLASS 1 SET FOR DOHA SEASON OPENER
Monday, 24 April, DOHA (Qatar): Ten boats, five revised driver line-ups, new rulings and some pent up emotions provides the mix for what promises to be a dramatic start to the 2006 season in Doha – where last year’s title race was turned on its head with the spectacular coming together of Qatar 96 and Spirit of Norway, with Victory 77 surviving a big moment in their wake, in the second race - the talking has not subsided!
Four times World Champion, Bjorn Rune Gjelsten returns to racing after a year’s sabbatical to re-establish his partnership with defending World Champion, Steve Curtis, in Spirit of Norway. After a year out of the boat, Gjelsten, whose impressive strike rate of 26 Grand Prix and 27 Pole wins from 66 starts is unequalled, is looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead. “I have a great respect for the racing. Will it take me time to get back into the swing of things – I will let you know after the first race,” he said.
Italian presence is headed by Veneta Marina’s two-boat entry; Giampaolo Montavoci and Domenico Cirilli produced an impressive run in the second half of 2005 and will be aiming to up the stakes again this season. The pair will be running the same boat and engine package but under the new colours of Italian companies Foresti & Suardi and Roscioli Hotels, with Mauro Esperto, also returning to racing after a year out, taking the throttles in Ceramiche Flaminia alongside Pino Chillocci. GiorgiOffshore has also confirmed a new sponsor, SeveneleveN and a revised driver line-up with Norwegian, Pal Virik Nilsen joining Nicola Giorgi for only the second time in the Cougar - their first, a rather eventful outing in Trondheim last year.
The first of this season’s newcomers is James Sheppard, stepping into the driver’s seat with team owner, Chris Parsonage, switching over to throttle King of Shaves, the first all British team in Class 1 for over a decade. Parsonage and Sheppard first hooked up together in 2005, setting a new record for a circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight in Negotiator and whilst Sheppard has an impressive racing record, winning the Honda Formula 4 Stroke British Championship four years on the bounce, Class 1 is an altogether different prospect.
Victory will have taken every opportunity to prepare fully for the battle ahead as they look to recapture the world title which they last held in 2001. The team is keeping their activities close to their chests, and as yet have not officially announced their driver line-ups or preferred engine packages!!
The challenge to those outfits running V12 power plants comes from Jotun and Qatar’s two boat entry – all running the Mercury HP1075SCi. Norwegians Jorn Tandberg and Christian Zaborowski line up in Jotun and will be looking to build on a strong debut year in 2005, taking two podiums and a first pole position win.
Team Qatar, looking for their first win on home waters, also fields an unchanged line-up with the defending European Champions, HE Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al Thani and Matteo Nicolini in Qatar 96 leading their attack, with Abdulla Al Sulaiti alongside Lino di Biase in Qatar 95. “It looks like being a very exciting season,” said Sheikh Hassan. “Last year promised so much and I was disappointed with the finish we made to the year after starting so well. I suppose it is a case of having unfinished business in the championship.”
As for predicting the race outcome, factor in some of the ‘new’ rulings; the Mercury set at 930hp, the compression for the V12 drops to 10-1 and teams opting to run forged propellers instead of cast, which will be mandatory in 2007, will incur a 350kgs weight penalty above the minimum weight of 4800kg. The other ruling that will certainly spice up the racing is the mandatory two long laps instead of one – the long lap clearly affecting the outcome of several races in 2005.
And the leveler for all teams is a very fast and demanding course; 92.35kms run over 18 laps, including two long laps around the spectacular Doha Bay in front of the City’s impressive Corniche, where course and weather conditions are known to be deceptive and have, on more than one occasion caught teams out.
Race distance: 18 laps, 92.35Nm
Start lap 3.92Nm + 15 x 5.13Nm laps + 2 x Long laps 5.74 Nm