Ten
boats will line up on Italy’s Lake Como this week, October 14-16 when
Cernobbio hosts the Italian Grand Prix, round 3 of the UIM Class 1 World
Powerboat Championship and the title decider for the 2011 European
Championship.
Whilst it is not
the first time that Class 1 has graced the waters of Lake Como, the late
Bruno Abbate organising a special event in October 1987 which was won
by former Italian tennis champion Adriano Panatta it is a first for
hosts Cernobbio and the first time that the fleet rolls out for an
official round of the World Championship.
Victory’s
Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir bin Hendi lead the World Championship
standings and will be intent on retaining their European crown, but the
defending Champions will have to come from behind and overturn a five
point deficit to do so, after losing out to their arch-rivals Spirit of
Qatar 96 in Norway.
The
Emirati-duo, who won the season-openers in Abu Dhabi, have won three out
of the last four races in Italy, and will be looking for their 24th
career-wins to extend Victory Team’s enviable record on Italian water’s,
winning 14-times in 13 years, their [team] first win coming in 1993 in
Ischia.
The return of the Spirit
of Qatar Team has added spice to the Championship as their rivalry with
their Middle East cousins intensifies on and off the water. Sheikh
Hassan and Steve Curtis’ victory in Norway ended their 12-race
win-drought, and they now go in search of their first major Class 1
title together - Curtis hunting down a record fifth European crown and
Sheikh Hassan a second, on what will be his 50th Grand Prix outing. The
team has made one or two upgrades and worked on modifications to improve
performance, specifically acceleration which Curtis believes is crucial
for the type of courses being run these days.
But
Sheikh Hassan and Curtis will also need to keep very close tabs on
teammates Ali Al Neama and Matteo Nicolini - who lines up for his 100th
Grand Prix and the last Italian to win a major Class 1 trophy lifting
the European title in 2005 - who have out-gunned them in both qualifying
sessions this season and sit behind them in the standings, after taking
two podium finishes.
Two outfits
looking to end a long and well overdue wait for an Italian win on home
waters - the last by Edoardo Polli and Lamberto Leoni in Tarranto in
1997 - are DAC Racing and Fendi Racing; Guido Cappellini and Giampaolo
Montavoci lead the all-Italian challengers in the World and European
title races and, after carrying out further modifications to their DAC
40 Poliform, will be looking to improve on their fourth place in Norway
and step-up to challenge for their first win together.
Fendi
Racing’s first outing with their new Outerlimits boat-engine package
did not give Luca Formilli Fendi and Giovanni Carpitella the performance
or results they were expecting, with the team announcing an immediate
switch of engine supplier after only one outing with the Outerlimits
Powertrain SCI 850 V8s, confirming that they have signed an agreement
with SCAM Technology to run their 8.2litre V12 engines, stating that the
American engines need a further period of development.
Further
Italian interest will focus on GiorgiOffshore, who return to racing
with an upgraded boat after missing the last event, with Nicola Giorgi
lining-up alongside Sandro Sardelli in MITI Tech Power, the partnership
teaming-up for the first time in Abu Dhabi in 2010, taking two fifth
place finishes.
Team
D’Alessio-SCAM make their first appearance in the Championship with the
experienced Luca Nicolini, who made his Class 1 debut in 1993 and has 14
starts under his belt, taking two podium finishes in 2007, on the
throttles in the Victory built, V12 powered FA.RO. ACCIAI., with
Belgium’s Frank Hemelaer set to make his Class 1 driving debut.
Team
Abu Dhabi has announced an eleventh-hour call-up for F1H2O star Ahmed
Al Hameli who steps in to substitute for Rashed Al Tayer, forced to sit
out the event after picking up an injury at a Jet Ski event in America.
Al Hameli, who made his Class 1 debut in 2009, teams-up with
fellow-Emirati Majed Al Mansoori - both making just their second Grand
Prix starts in Class 1.
An
unexpected announcement by Welmax Offshore Racing sees a revised driver
line-up with the 2010 Edox Pole Position Champions Kolbjorn Selmer and
Jorn Tandberg stepping aside and Bjorge Jacobsen and Kurt Olsen stepping
in to take over race duties. The team has also opted to run the
Maritimo hull over the MTI, retaining the name Welmax.
Zabo
Racing’s Ugur Isik and Christian Zaborowski will be looking to improve
on their performances after picking up just ten points from three
outings in Relekta, and will arrive in Italy confident that they can
turn things around. Team principal Jan Zaborowski has confirmed that
they have made considerable modifications to the Victory hull, which
they debuted in Norway, and that they will be in good shape in Italy.
The
Grand Prix weekend gets underway with first official practice at midday
on Friday. A second practice session, qualifying in the Edox Pole
Position and race 1 take place on Saturday, with a final practice
session on Sunday morning followed by race 2 in the afternoon.
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