Sport | Other Sports
Spirit of Norway take the field as strong favourites
Spirit of Norway go in as strong favourites in the Honda British Grand Prix the fifth round of the UIM Class One World Powerboat Championship in Plymouth this week.
- Staff Report
- Published: 00:00 August 5, 2006
Dubai: Spirit of Norway go in as strong favourites in the Honda British Grand Prix the fifth round of the UIM Class One World Powerboat Championship in Plymouth this week.
Though Spirit of Norway lead the title race by 17 points, they have not had it going their way this season.
And when the defending World Champions line up in Plymouth tomorrow, they will be wary of the threat that the list of would-be challengers is growing after each race this season.
Midway through the 2006 season, with four races run, the championship is developing into one of the most unpredictable and compelling for many years.
Five boats have taken either pole position and/or race wins so far.
Spirit of Norway and King of Shaves, running the Lamborghini-Skema V12 and Foresti&Suardi-Roscioli Hotels with the Lamborghini-Scam V12 have set the pace in qualifying to grab pole position and Spirit, with Qatar 95 and Jotun, both running the Mercury Class 1 V8, taking race wins.
Difficult to predict
So, trying to predict a winner in Plymouth is almost impossible with any one of six, possibly seven boats capable of making the podium on their day, given the right conditions.
Spirit of Norway, second last time out, will be looking to re-establish their authority and extend their overall lead as Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis go in search of their 29th grand prix win together and Spirit's third in Plymouth.
Behind them, just 18 points separate the next five boats.
The Victory Team has a good record in Plymouth, winning three times in five years. But Victory 77's Mohammad Al Merri and Jean Marc Sanchez still have some work to do to get their challenge fully back on track.
League tables:
Championship points: 1. Spirit of Norway Gjelsten (Norway)/Curtis (GB) 68 pts; 2. Qatar 96 Al Thani (Qatar)/Nicolini (Italy) 51 pts; 3. Jotun Tandberg (Norway)/Zaborowski (Norway) 48 pts; 4. Victory 77 Al Merri (UAE)/Sanchez (France) 42 pts; 5. Qatar 95 Al Sulaiti (Qatar)/Di Biase (Italy) 36 pts; 6. Foresti & Suardi-Roscioli Hotels Montavoci (Italy)/Cirilli (Spain) 33 pts; 7. Victory 7 Hendi (UAE)/Al Suwaidi (UAE) 29 pts; 8. King of Shaves Parsonage (Great Britain)/Sheppard (Great Britain) 22 pts; 9. Ceramiche Flaminia Chillocci (Italy)/Esperto (Italy) 18 pts; 10. Seveneleven Giorgi (Italy)/Nilsen (Norway) 9 pts.
More from Other sports
More from Sport
Sport Editor's choice
-
Diarra brace sinks formidable Al Ahli
Emirates Club score a major upset while 10-man Dubai split points with Al Shabab
-
Godolphin seek big-race clues
Dubai Prince and Prince Bishop in the spotlight at Dubai World Cup Carnival meeting
-
Quiros chases Dubai hat-trick
Spaniard not taking win for granted
