9:42 PM Sat 3 Oct 2009 GMT
Italian Grand Prix round 4 of the UIM-WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship.
A post-race long-lap time penalty cost Maritimo their maiden Class 1 victory, handing the win to Victory 1 and with it the lead in the European and World Championship standings. An already enthralling Race 1 of the Italian Grand Prix, round 4 of the UIM-WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, saw championship leaders Fazza suffer engine problems on lap five and finish seventh.
Victory 1's Mohammed Al Mehairi and Jean-Marc Sanchez who finished the race in second place were sensationally handed the race win and moved a step closer to the European title. 'It is not a good feeling to win like this, but I have lost a few in my career,' said Sanchez, 'We thought we had Maritimo at the start, then I looked out of my mirror and they were right there. They had the inside line and got to the turn first.'
After crossing the line in first place, to have the victory snatched away from them with a post-race penalty frustrated Maritimo's Tom Barry-Cotter and Pal Nilsen. A brilliant start-lap and Fazza's problems followed by a near perfect drive, should have given the Australian-Norwegian pairing their first Class 1 win, but instead they found themselves on the second step of the podium following the penalty handed to them. 'To lose it after getting a great start and matching the pace of the Victory boats, then finishing first leaves a real bitter taste in our mouths,' fumed Barry-Cotter.
A first podium finish for Victory 77's pairing of Mohammed Al Marri and Abdullah Al Mehairbi, saw them fighting for position with Giorgioffshore and coming out on top. In only their third race in the cockpit together it betters their fourth place from the last race. 'It feels good to be back on the podium,' said the 2008 World Champion, 'and for me and Abdullah it shows that we are gelling.'
A good performance by Giorgioffshore's Nicola Giorgi and Kurt Olsen saw the Italian team take fourth place. After starting in sixth, they had a battle with Victory 77 off the start lap, trading places over the first two laps. 'I'm happy with the result, we had a good fight with 77 and were pushing as hard as we could but we just couldn't catch them,' said Giorgi, before adding, 'It is good to be the top Italian team in Class 1's return to Italy.'
Further down the field, C.A.M.'s Giovanni Carpitella and Christian Rivolta came fifth ahead of Foresti & Suardi-Roscioli Hotels' Giampaolo Montavoci and Roberto Lo Piano. Welmax's Jorn Tandberg and Kolbjorn Selmer had a fuel pump problem that ended their race on lap seven.
Fazza 3's Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi's engine problem has dropped them to third and second in the European and World Championship standings respectively. 'It is very frustrating and I'm very angry,' commented Bin Hendi, 'but that is racing for you, you never know what is going to happen.'
ITALIAN GRAND PRIX - race 1
1. Victory 1 - M Al Mehairi (UAE) / JM Sanchez (FRA) - 29.01,76
2. Maritimo 11 - T Barry-Cotter (AUS) / PV Nilsen (NOR) + 00.08,60
3. Victory 77 - A Al Mehairbi (UAE) / M Al Marri (UAE) + 01.18,96
4. Giorgioffshore - K Olsen (NOR) / N Giorgi (ITA) + 01.27,35
5. C.A.M. - C Rivolta (ITA) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 01.51,34
6. Foresti & Suardi-Roscioli Hotels - R Lo Piano (ITA) / G Montavoci (ITA) + 03.09,70
7. Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) + 4 laps
8. Fazza 3 - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) DNF
CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP - after race 1, round 4 of 6
1. Victory 1 - 76pts 2. Fazza - 71pts 3. Maritimo 11 - 55pts 4. Welmax - 38pts 5= Foresti & Suardi-Roscioli Hotels - 32pts 5= Giorgioffshore - 32pts 7. Victory 77 - 21pts 8. C.A.M. - 16pts 9. Qatar 96 - 15pts 10. Maritimo 12 - 12pts 11. Qatar 95 - 4pts
(World Championship points include bonus points allocated to teams for running engines for two consecutive races - one point, per engine, per race)
CLASS 1 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP - after race 1, round 3 of 3
1. Victory 1 - 60pts 2. Maritimo 11 - 51pts 3. Fazza - 47pts 4. Welmax - 32pts 5= Foresti & Suardi-Roscioli Hotels - 23pts 5= Giorgioffshore - 23pts 7. Victory 77 - 21pts 8. Maritimo 12 - 12pts 9. C.A.M. 7pts
website:
www.class-1.com
by Nigel Quilter
|
Mawson, TAS
