Spirit of Norway notch second straight win

Dubai: Spirit of Norway picked up their second straight win to end the 2007 Class One World Powerboat Championship on a winning note at the Dubai Grand Prix on Saturday.

Starting from Pole Position and then briefly surrendering the lead to Victory 77, the Spirit of Norway duo of Bjorn Rune Gjelsten and Steve Curtis had the strongest of finishes to end 2007 with 120 points and along with the Middle East Championship.

The Victory 77 combination of Aref Saif Al Zafein and Jean Marc Sanchez, who were last week crowned the new world champions, came in second to take their world championship tally to 144 points, while Shaikh Hassan Bin Jaber Al Thani and Matteo Nicolini in Qatar 96 had to stay content with the third spot in the race and the world championship.

Lieutenant General Saif Al Shaffar, President of the UAE Watersports Federation, gave away the prizes in the presence of Tim Clarke, President of Emirates Airline and Saeed Hareb, President of WPPA.

"We had a strong two races towards the end of the season. Had this been the situation at the start of the season then we could have retained the world crown," Bjorn Rune Gjelsten told Gulf News.

"All in all it has been a good season for us. But things would have been perfect had we been able to defend our title. There were a few bad incidents at the start of the season that denied us the title," the Norwegian added.

With the world title returning to Dubai for the first time in five years, Sanchez and Al Zafein were all too keen to go all out for a win during the Dubai Grand Prix. But a vibration in the boat midway through the race forced them to slow down and concentrate on finishing the race.

"We had to pull back a bit and then just concentrate on completing the race," the Frenchman said.

Qatar 96, who has been miffed with the Victory boats for the past few races due to allegedly wrong starts, stressed the need for a level playing field. "I am not happy at all. They [Victory 7 in particular] should have played right and clean and then things could have been a little bit better for us," Shaikh Hassan commented.

Victory Team's General Manager Gian Franco Venturelli admitted he could not ask for more than what the team has achieved this year. "We have the world crown and the European Championship. What more can we ask for?" Venturelli questioned.

"Victory 77 has been the most reliable boats throughout the season. Ours is the only boat that has not suffered a breakdown even once during the eight races," the Italian pointed out.

All 11 boats will continue to be in Dubai during the winter after which they will make their way to Doha for the Qatar Grand Prix in March next year.

Results:

Results of the Dubai Grand Prix: 1. Spirit of Norway - Bjorn Rune Gjelsten/Steve Curtis; 2. Victory 77 - Aref Saif Al Zafein/Jean Marc Sanchez; 3. Qatar 96 - Shaikh Hassan Bin Jaber Al Thani/Matteo Nicolini; 4. Victory 7 - Nader Bin Hendi/Talib Al Sayed; 5. Qatar 95 - Abdullah Al Sulaiti/Luca Nicolini; 6. Foresti & Suardi - Giampaolo Montavoci/Marco Pennesi; 7. SeveneleveN - Nicola Giorgi/Giorgio Manuzzi; 8. Negotiator - Chris Parsonage/Bard Eker; 9. Jotun - Jorn Tandberg/Christian Zaborowski; 10. Fainplast - Kolbjorn O. Selmer/Mauro Esperto; 11. Spirit of Norway 20 - Tom Barry-Cotter/Pal Virik Nilsen.

Middle East Championships standings: 1. Spirit of Norway - Bjorn Rune Gjelsten/Steve Curtis (63 points); 2. Victory 77 - Aref Saif Al Zafein/Jean Marc Sanchez (56); 3. Qatar 96 - Shaikh Hassan Bin Jaber Al Thani/Matteo Nicolini (44); 4. Negotiator - Chris Parsonage/Bard Eker (33); 5. Qatar 95 - Abdullah Al Sulaiti/Luca Nicolini (31); 6. Victory 7 - Nader Bin Hendi/Talib Al Sayed (23); 7. Foresti & Suardi - Giampaolo Montavoci/Marco Pennesi (20); 8. Spirit of Norway 20 - Tom Barry-Cotter/Pal Virik Nilsen (10); 9. Jotun - Jorn Tandberg/Christian Zaborowski (5); 10. Fainplast - Kolbjorn O. Selmer/Mauro Esperto (3); 11. SeveneleveN - Nicola Giorgi/Giorgio Manuzzi (1).

World Championship positions: 1. Victory 77 - Aref Saif Al Zafein/Jean Marc Sanchez (144 points); 2. Spirit of Norway - Bjorn Rune Gjelsten/Steve Curtis (120); 3. Qatar 96 - Shaikh Hassan Bin Jaber Al Thani/Matteo Nicolini (112); 4. Qatar 95 - Abdullah Al Sulaiti/Luca Nicolini (75); 5. Victory 7 - Nader Bin Hendi/Talib Al Sayed (73); 6. Negotiator - Chris Parsonage/Bard Eker (51); 7. Foresti & Suardi - Giampaolo Montavoci/Marco Pennesi (48); 8. Spirit of Norway 20 - Tom Barry-Cotter/Pal Virik Nilsen (38); 9. SeveneleveN - Nicola Giorgi/Giorgio Manuzzi (19); 10. Jotun - Jorn Tandberg/Christian Zaborowski (16); 10. Fainplast - Kolbjorn O. Selmer/Mauro Esperto (12).