The Spirit of Norway pairing of Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis charged to their fifth straight Pole wins at the UIM Class 1 Superfund Powerboat World Championship for the Austrian Grand Prix on Lake Traunsee yesterday.

In with a second fastest time was the Dubai pairing of Saeed H. Al Tayer and Mohammed Al Marri in Victory 77, thus laying claim to a strong finish today.

Al Tayer and Al Marri look to be in a menacing form especially more comfortable with the boat and the new set-up.

"We had a great run. Every time we take the boat out there is a huge improvement. We getting comfortable with the new system on the boat so we are really looking forward to the race," said Al Marri.

Highlander's Eduardo Polli and Lamberto Leoni had them snatch third place on the podium, a snap moment ahead of fourth fastest Aussie boat Maritimo.

Known for not pushing too hard for the Pole Position, the big white boat looked in splendid form actually taking the fastest turn around the north buoy.

Struggling with the flat calm conditions, Victory 7's Ali Al Qama and Ahmed Al Tayer were forced to settle for fifth place.

"It's a heavy boat. Not very suitable for the condition. At this stage, we are looking to Fujairah and Dubai to do better. But we are very pleased for Saeed and Mohammed," said Al Qama.

"For today's race, we are looking for the second or third place."

Despite a mechanical snag that had Jotun shorten their number of runs, the red boat took a commendable sixth place ahead of Damas and Roscioli Hotels. Unable to finish a lap, GFN Gibellato and Overwave failed to pick up any points.

Meanwhile, cold and heavy rain continued through the day obscuring visibility to the point that pre-Pole, teams were forced to test under a torrential downpour.

With visibility looking to jeopardize the Pole Position, the River Traun that leads into the 13 km lake added to the threat by littering the course with debris washed down from the mountains. Clean up boats were put into action to ensure a clean path and safety for the competing boats.

Leading the championship standings with 75 points is Spirit of Norway. However, the World Champions will have to watchout and resist the strong advances to their throne from other teams during today's race.

The race is scheduled to kick-off at 2pm (UAE time) and will be broadcast live by the Dubai Sports Channel.