Spirit of Norway secure pole

Dubai: Steve Curtis once again underlined his status as the most successful throttleman in UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship history by taking Spirit of Norway to his fifth Pole Position world title in Dubai yesterday.

Curtis and Bard Eker made it six wins out of six in 2005 and they will become the first combination to make a clean sweep of Pole Position races in a season if they win the final qualifier in Dubai next Thursday.

Their latest triumph, secured in brilliant style through a one-lap strategy, underlined their position as overwhelming favourites to win today's Mina Seyahi Grand Prix, sponsored by Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina, and move within reach of the overall Class 1 world crown.

After Jorn Tandberg and Christian Zaborowski in Jotun had set the pace with a time of 2:53:15 on the first of two laps off Dubai International Marine Club, Mohammad Al Merri and Jean Marc Sanchez in Victory 77 came closest to overhauling them with a time of 2:54:82.

Like Victory 77, Curtis and Eker chose to use the first lap as a warm-up before charging their mighty Lamborghini engines on lap two to take victory by just over half a second.

Dubai's Victory Team are now hoping for a home win in the Mina Seyahi Grand Prix to mark the UAE's National Day celebrations, although Al Merri and Sanchez face a tough test starting in third place.

"It's almost better to start in fifth rather then third in this line up," said Al Merri.

"In fifth you can take advantage of the clearer waters."

He added: "The boat was running beautifully today. We were feeling good and making good time, but then we hit a wave, the boat lifted, we nearly flipped and when we landed we almost spun out."

After their crash in Qatar team-mates Nader Bin Hindi and Rashid Al Merri in Victory 7 are back in action with the team's reserve boat, but they found more problems.

Going into their second Pole Position lap they suffered a left engine problems and had to be towed into the pits.

"It is definitely not our year." said a disappointed Bin Hindi. "We had a good set up after changing a few things since this morning, plus we were really getting comfortable with the boat."

Nicola Giorgi and Tomaso Polli in Roscioli Hotels missed the penultimate Pole Position race of the Class 1 season after breaking the transmission during morning practice, and they were waiting for parts to be delivered from Italy overnight to allow them to start the Mina Seyahi Grand Prix.