Dubai’s Victory Team will be without defending Class 1 World and
European Champion, Arif Saif Al Zafeen, when the intense rivalry between
the sport’s top two teams is reignited at this weekend’s Hypo Group
Montenegrin at the Adriatic resort of Budva, round two of the 2008 Class
1 World Powerboat Championship and the first of four races for the
Class 1 tour in Europe. Victory 1’s Al Zafeen, winner of the opening
Edox Pole Position and Grand Prix of the season in Qatar in March is
forced to sit out the race on medical advice after sustaining serious
back injuries in a crash during a Formula 2 race in Egypt several weeks
ago. But whilst the loss of Al Zafeen, who has won five Grands Prix from
just nine starts, is a bitter blow for the team, Victory has been able
to call on the services of former World and Middle East Champion,
Mohammed Al Marri, a veteran of 55 Grands Prix, with nine race wins and
26 podiums under his belt to step into the driver’s seat. Victory’s main
championship rivals, Qatar 96, will see this enforced change as an
opportunity to put pressure on the championship leaders and close the
gap in the title race by taking their first win of the season. And
although Hassan and Curtis will be running their spare boat for a second
consecutive race, after wrecking their number one boat in qualifying in
Qatar a switch from the Mercury-Class1 V8s back to Skema V12
power-plants, and considerable modifications to Qatar 96 carried out by
Nicolini Offshore in Italy, may well give them the extra edge they need.
Whilst the Victory and Qatar camps will be intent on maintaining their
early stranglehold on the top four positions in the championship
standings Victory 7 lying in third place ahead of Qatar 95 wait for any
challenge to their race hopes could well depend largely on the
conditions that the teams will face in Budva, when they line up for the
23-lap, 94.50 Nm Hypo Group Montenegrin Grand Prix. If the seas on the
outside leg of the course around the Island of Sveti Nikola are rough,
Foresti & Suardi and Jotun may well be amongst the challengers for
podium positions. Foresti & Suardi’s Italian-Norwegian pairing are
back in their favoured number one raceboat and have clocked up the miles
testing on Italy’s Lake Iseo in the last two weeks, hoping that they
can build on their fifth place in the season opener, especially if rough
conditions prevail. Ugland Offshore Racing will be looking to
kick-start their title challenge and put points on the board after
seeing a probable podium finish slip from their grasp in the last race,
and the all-Norwegian crew will be boosted by the fact that their
Mercury-Class 1, V8 powered raceboat, Jotun, has undergone a significant
overhaul in recent weeks. Giorgioffshore produced a very solid top-six
finish last time out, and will be looking to build on their performance
and expect an improved showing when they line up in Budva in only their
second outing in their Michael Peters-designed Victory-built hull,
SeveneleveN, with the all-new Spanish outfit of Roscioli Hotels Roma and
American-based, Windmare Racing, making their 2008 debuts this weekend.
Montenegro is the first of two new venues on the eight race calendar in
2008, and the picturesque resort of Budva on the Adriatic coast
provides a spectacular backdrop for the championship’s first race on
European waters this year. First practice takes place on Friday 23,
followed by a second session and the Edox Pole Position on Saturday,
with a final practice before Sunday afternoon’s 23-lap, 94.50Nm Hypo
Group Montenegrin Grand Prix. CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP - after round 1 of 8
1. Victory 1 – A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) – 20pts
2. Qatar 96 - H Al-Thani (Qatar) / S Curtis (England) – 15pts
3. Victory 7 – A Al Mehairbi (UAE) / JM Sanchez (France) – 12pts
4. Qatar 95 - A Al-Sulaiti (Qatar) / Matteo Nicolini (Italy) – 9pts
5. Foresti & Suardi 8 – K Selmer (Norway) / G Montavoci (Italy) – 7pts
6. SeveneleveN 18 - G Manuzzi (Italy) / N Giorgi (Italy) – 5pts
7. Negotiator 50 - B Eker (Norway) / C Parsonage (England) – 4pts
Jotun 90 - B Jacobsen (Norway) / J Tandberg (Norway)
White 4 – M Al Nasser (Qatar) / L Nicolini (Italy)
Windmare 21 – J Brarda (France) / TBC
Roscioli Hotels Roma 88 – S Carrasco (Spain) / D Cirilli (Spain)
EDOX POLE POSITION CHAMPIONSHIP – after round 1 of 8
1. Victory 1 – A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) – 20pts
2. Qatar 96 - H Al-Thani (Qatar) / S Curtis (England) – 15pts
3. Qatar 95 - A Al-Sulaiti (Qatar) / Matteo Nicolini (Italy) – 12pts
4. Jotun 90 - B Jacobsen (Norway) / J Tandberg (Norway) – 9pts
5. Negotiator 50 - B Eker (Norway) / C Parsonage (England) – 7pts
6. White 4 – M Al Nasser (Qatar) / L Nicolini (Italy) – 5pts
7. Victory 7 – A Al Mehairbi (UAE) / JM Sanchez (France) – 4pts
8. Foresti & Suardi 8 – K Selmer (Norway) / G Montavoci (Italy) – 3pts
9. SeveneleveN 18 - G Manuzzi (Italy) / N Giorgi (Italy) – 2pts
Windmare 21 – J Brarda (France) / TBC
Roscioli Hotels Roma 88 – S Carrasco (Spain) / D Cirilli (Spain)
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