shifter

15/11/2007

TITLE CONTENDERS TRADE BODY BLOWS IN FIRST OFFICIAL PRACTICE FOR QATAR GRAND PRIX

Thursday, 15 November, DOHA (Qatar): Teams took to the waters of Doha Bay for the first time today for the first official practice session ahead of Saturday’s Qatar Grand Prix, round six of the WPPA Class One World Powerboat Championship.

It developed into an enthralling two-hour session between the sports top three, with championship leader’s, Arif Saif Al-Zafeen and Jean-Marc Sanchez in Victory 77 setting the fastest time to edge out the defending champions, Bjorn Rune Gjelsten and Steve Curtis in Spirit of Norway, with Sheikh Hassan and Matteo Nicolini in Qatar 96, third quickest.

The three teams dealt body blows to each other’s confidence throughout the session, with all three taking turns to hold the fastest time. Eventually Victory 77 edged the session with a fastest lap of 2m 41.56s, a mere 0.25s in front of Spirit of Norway and 1.09s ahead of the local favourites, Qatar 96. Victory 7’s Talib Al Sayed and Nadir Bin Hendi went fourth fastest in 2m 45.75s, ahead of Abdullah Al-Sulaiti and Luca Nicolini, Qatar 95, with Bard Eker and Chris Parsonage completing the top six in Negotiator.

Official Practice
1. Victory 77 – Arif Saif Al Zafeen(UAE)/Jean-Marc Sanchez (F) 2m 41.56s
2. Spirit of Norway 10 – Bjorn Gjelsten (N)/Steve Curtis (GB) 2m 42.21s
3. Qatar 96 – Hassan Al Thani (QA)/Matteo Nicolini (I) 2m 42.65s
4. Victory 7 – Talib Al Sayed (UAE)/Nadir Bin Hendi (UAE) 2m 45.75s
5. Qatar 95 – Abdullah Al Sulaiti (QA)/Luca Nicolini (I) 2m 49.95s
6. Negotiator 50 – Bard Eker (N)/Chris Parsonage (GB) 2m 50.12s
7. Jotun 90 – Christian Zaborowski (N)/Jorn Tandberg (N) 2m 55.00s
8. Spirit of Norway 20 – Tom Barry-Cotter (AUS)/Pal Virik Nilsen (N) 2m 58.28s
9. SeveneleveN 18 – Tomaso Polli (I)/Nicola Giorgi (I) 3m 25.32s
Foresti & Suardi 8 – Kolbjorn Selmer (I)/Giampaolo Montavoci (I) DNS

This is from Class-1.com

More tomorrow.
pat W

shifter

6/11/2007

SPIRIT OF NORWAY WIN EDOX POLE POSITION WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Friday, 16 November DOHA (Qatar): Spirit of Norway’s Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis maintained their perfect record in qualifying to win their fifth Edox Pole Position of the season and clinch the Edox Pole Position World Championship, the Norwegian teams seventh consecutive pole position title.

Going out onto the waters of Doha Bay first in today’s 75 minute qualifying session for Saturday’s Qatar Grand Prix, Gjelsten and Curtis produced an almost perfect run on their first lap and a time that was to prove unbeatable, posting 2m 36.53s – almost four seconds quicker than Victory 7’s Talib Al Sayed and Nadir bin Hendi, with their main title rivals Victory77 five seconds adrift in fourth place and Qatar 96 managing only fifth fastest.

Producing their best time of the weekend and equalling their best qualifying result of the year was the all-Norwegian outfit Jotun, with Jorn Tandberg and Christian Zaborowski going third quickest in a time of 2m 40.43s.

With Spirit of Norway back in the pits after their stunning opening lap, Qatar 95, Jotun and Qatar 96 were the first trio out to try to unseat them, with Qatar 96 the quickest, but falling short of the provisional pole time, posting 2m 42.95s. Victory 77’s Arif Al Zafeen and Jean Marc Sanchez’s opening lap was cut short when the championship leader’s returned to the pits with a broken propeller. Jotun went back out for their second run to set the second quickest time only to see Victory 7 post 2m 40.81s on their first lap, to drop them to third place and Qatar 96 to fourth.

Midway through the session Sheikh Hassan and Matteo Nicolini edged out Jotun to take back third spot with 2m 41.76 only to see it bettered, first by Victory 77 with 2m 41,42s and then by Jotun, jumping three place and up to second spot with their best time of 2m 40.43s on their final lap. Qatar 96’s final run, 2m 41.07s failed to trouble the top three and with the clock counting down, both Victory boats went again. Victory 7 produced their best time, 2m 40.06s to regain second place, with Victory 77 edging out Qatar 96 to take fourth place with their best time, 2m 40.96s. Qatar 95 completed the top six.

Spirit of Norway will line up for Saturday’s 20 lap, 93.39Nm Qatar Grand Prix, exactly where they need to be, in pole position, with the two boats currently ahead of them in the title race in fourth and fifth place on the start line. For Gjelsten and Curtis a win is the only result they can consider if they are to take the title race into the final two races in Dubai.

EDOX POLE POSITION – round 5
1. Spirit of Norway 10 – B Gjelsten (NOR)/S Curtis (GB) – 2m 36.53s
2. Victory 7 – T Al Sayed (UAE)/N Hendi (UAE) – 2m 40.06s
3. Jotun 90 – C Zaborowski (NOR)/J Tandberg (NOR) – 2m 40.43s
4. Victory 77 – A Al Zafeen(UAE)/JM Sanchez (FR) – 2m 40.96s
5. Qatar 96 – H Al Thani (QAT)/M Nicolini (ITA) – 2m 41.07s
6. Qatar 95 – A Al Sulaiti (QAT)/L Nicolini (ITA) – 2m 48.04s
7. Negotiator 50 – B Eker (NOR)/C Parsonage (GB) – 2m 50.35s
8. Spirit of Norway 20 – T Barry-Cotter (AUS)/P Nilsen (NOR) – 2m 51.35s
9. Foresti & Suardi 8 – K Selmer (NOR)/G Montavoci (ITA) – 3m 02.25s
10. SeveneleveN 18 – T Polli (ITA)/N Giorgi (ITA) – 3m 15.76s

EDOX POLE POSITION CHAMPIONSHIP – after round 5 of 7
1. Spirit of Norway 10 – B Gjelsten (NOR)/S Curtis (GB) – 100pts
2. Victory 77 – A Al Zafeen(UAE)/JM Sanchez (FR) – 58pts
3. Qatar 96 – H Al Thani (QAT)/M Nicolini (ITA) – 52pts
4. Victory 7 – A Al Sayed (UAE)/N Hendi (UAE) – 49pts
5. Jotun 90 – C Zaborowski (NOR)/J Tandberg (NOR) 43pts
6. Qatar 95 – A Al Sulaiti (QAT)/L Nicolini (ITA) – 29pts
7. Foresti & Suardi 8 – M Pennesi (ITA)/G Montavoci (ITA) – 20pts
8. Spirit of Norway 20 – T Barry-Cotter (AUS)/P Nilsen (NOR) – 18pts
9. Negotiator 50 – B Eker (NOR)/C Parsonage (GB) – 12pts
10. SeveneleveN 18 – T Polli (ITA)/N Giorgi (ITA) – 6pts
11. Fainplast 2 – K Selmer (NOR)/M Esperto (ITa) – 2pts

shifter

17/11/2007

VICTORY 77 WINS IN STYLE IN DOHA

Saturday, 17 November, DOHA (Qatar): Victory 77’s Arif Saif Al Zafeen and Jean-Marc Sanchez took a giant step towards the coveted Class 1 world title after producing a championship winning performance to take their fourth win of the season in today’s Qatar Grand Prix, round 6 of the WPPA Class1 World Powerboat Championship, and now lead the title race by 22 points, with the final two rounds in Dubai in two weeks.

Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani and Matteo Nicolini kept their title hopes alive, bringing Qatar 96 home in second place, taking their sixth podium of the season, with Chris Parsonage and Bard Eker producing their best performance of the year to grab their first podium together, taking a well deserved third place.

But for the defending World Champions, Spirit of Norway, who started today’s race from pole position, there was bitter disappointment, with Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis retiring on lap 15 with a broken engine, and their title aspirations in tatters and the hopes of a sixth world title now beyond their reach.

The race was all but decided on the opening lap, with Victory 77 producing a spectacular lap to move from fourth place on the start line to lead at the end of lap one, with Spirit of Norway second, followed by Qatar 96 and Negotiator. "We had a good start and arrived at the first turn alongside Spirit," said Jean-Marc Sanchez. "We stayed on the outside and I knew if we could stay with them we had the inside line on the next turn. It was very close. We nearly touched but we managed to push them over a bit and then pushed hard. We watched for their long laps and then took ours. We lost a little time in the middle of the race with back markers but the boat ran perfectly and our set-up was perfect."

With the three title rivals holding station and opening up a lead, Negotiator came under increasing pressure from a hard charging Jotun, who grabbed fourth place on lap four, but Negotiator responded immediately to regain the position a lap later and two laps later a technical problem ended Jotun’s race. Negotiator then held of a challenge from Abdullah Al-Sulaiti and Luca Nicolini in Qatar 95, who in turn had Victory 7, who dropped from second at the start to eighth after hooking the boat at the first corner, breathing down their necks.

Over the course of the next six laps the leading trio exchanged long laps. Qatar 96 went first, followed by Spirit of Norway and the race leaders. By lap 13, with both long laps taken, Spirit of Norway had reduced the gap to Victory 77 from 12 to four seconds, but two laps later the defending champions were out, a broken engine destroying their title bid.

Now in an unassailable position Victory 77 were able to cruise home and take the chequered flag and the win, with Qatar 96 crossing the line over a minute behind them. "It was a hard and fast race. We made a good start but I think we lacked a little in top end speed. But the performance of Victory 77 was very very strong today. But what was important was for us to finish on the podium and we are still in with a chance of the title" said Nicolini.

For Chris Parsonage and Bard Eker, the first podium of the year for Negotiator was a rich reward for the team. "This is a great result for us and I am delighted for the team. The guys have worked hard all weekend – all season - to get us here," said Parsonage. "We had a bit of a tussle with Jotun and Qatar 95 but eventually got into our stride. The boat ran well and now we can concentrate on further improvement for Dubai."

Qatar 95 were able to stave of the persistent challenge of Victory 7, with Spirit of Norway 20 taking their third top six finish of the season with Foresti & Suardi finishing in the points in Seventh, with SeveneleveN retiring early in the race.

Class 1 now heads to Dubai for the Mina Seyahi Grand Prix on Saturday, 1 December, the first of two races in a week. The title race is now between two – Victory 77 and Qatar 96.

QATAR GRAND PRIX, DOHA - RESULTS
1. Victory 77 – A Al Zafeen (UAE)/JM Sanchez (FR)
2. Qatar 96 – H Al Thani (QAT)/M Nicolini (ITA) + 01.17,73
3. Negotiator 50 – B Eker (NOR)/C Parsonage (GB) + 01.57,97
4. Qatar 95 – A Al Sulaiti (QAT)/L Nicolini (ITA) + 02.19,67
5. Victory 7 – T Al Sayed (UAE)/N B Hendi (UAE) + 2.29,41
6. Spirit of Norway 20 – T Barry-Cotter (AUS)/P Nilsen (NOR) + 1 lap
7. Foresti & Suardi 8 – K Selmer (NOR)/G Montavoci (ITA) + 2 laps
8. Spirit of Norway 10 – B Gjelsten (NOR)/S Curtis (GB) + 5 laps
Jotun 90 – C Zaborowski (NOR)/J Tandberg (NOR) dnf
SeveneleveN 18 – T Polli (ITA)/N Giorgi (ITA) dnf

WPPA CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP – after round 6 of 8
1. Victory 77 – A Al Zafeen (UAE)/JM Sanchez (FR) – 116pts
2. Qatar 96 – H Al Thani (QAT)/M Nicolini (ITA) – 94pts
3. Spirit of Norway 10 – B Gjelsten (NOR)/S Curtis (GB) – 76pts
4. Victory 7 – T Al Sayed (UAE)/N B Hendi (UAE) – 53pts
5. Qatar 95 – A Al Sulaiti (QAT)/L Nicolini (ITA) – 49pts
6. Negotiator 50 – B Eker (NOR)/C Parsonage (GB) – 37pts
7. Foresti & Suardi 8 – M Pennesi (ITA)/G Montavoci (ITA) – 35pts
8. Spirit of Norway 20 – T Barry-Cotter (AUS)/P Nilsen (NOR) – 29pts
9. SeveneleveN 18 – T Polli (ITA)/N Giorgi (ITA) – 14pts
10. Jotun 90 – C Zaborowski (NOR)/J Tandberg (NOR) - 12pts
11. Fainplast 2 – K Selmer (NOR)/M Esperto (ITA) – 5pts


pat W

Starflite X

Some pics.

http://www.proprider.com/forum/showt...=2047#post2047