Class 1 - Italy Grand Prix 2011 Preview

Ten boats will line up on Italy’s Lake Como this week, October 14-16 when Cernobbio hosts the Italian Grand Prix, round 3 of the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship and the title decider for the 2011 European Championship.

Whilst it is not the first time that Class 1 has graced the waters of Lake Como, the late Bruno Abbate organising a special event in October 1987 which was won by former Italian tennis champion Adriano Panatta it is a first for hosts Cernobbio and the first time that the fleet rolls out for an official round of the World Championship.

Victory’s Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir bin Hendi lead the World Championship standings and will be intent on retaining their European crown, but the defending Champions will have to come from behind and overturn a five point deficit to do so, after losing out to their arch-rivals Spirit of Qatar 96 in Norway.

The Emirati-duo, who won the season-openers in Abu Dhabi, have won three out of the last four races in Italy, and will be looking for their 24th career-wins to extend Victory Team’s enviable record on Italian water’s, winning 14-times in 13 years, their [team] first win coming in 1993 in Ischia.

The return of the Spirit of Qatar Team has added spice to the Championship as their rivalry with their Middle East cousins intensifies on and off the water. Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis’ victory in Norway ended their 12-race win-drought, and they now go in search of their first major Class 1 title together - Curtis hunting down a record fifth European crown and Sheikh Hassan a second, on what will be his 50th Grand Prix outing. The team has made one or two upgrades and worked on modifications to improve performance, specifically acceleration which Curtis believes is crucial for the type of courses being run these days.

But Sheikh Hassan and Curtis will also need to keep very close tabs on teammates Ali Al Neama and Matteo Nicolini - who lines up for his 100th Grand Prix and the last Italian to win a major Class 1 trophy lifting the European title in 2005 - who have out-gunned them in both qualifying sessions this season and sit behind them in the standings, after taking two podium finishes.

Two outfits looking to end a long and well overdue wait for an Italian win on home waters - the last by Edoardo Polli and Lamberto Leoni in Tarranto in 1997 - are DAC Racing and Fendi Racing; Guido Cappellini and Giampaolo Montavoci lead the all-Italian challengers in the World and European title races and, after carrying out further modifications to their DAC 40 Poliform, will be looking to improve on their fourth place in Norway and step-up to challenge for their first win together.

Fendi Racing’s first outing with their new Outerlimits boat-engine package did not give Luca Formilli Fendi and Giovanni Carpitella the performance or results they were expecting, with the team announcing an immediate switch of engine supplier after only one outing with the Outerlimits Powertrain SCI 850 V8s, confirming that they have signed an agreement with SCAM Technology to run their 8.2litre V12 engines, stating that the American engines need a further period of development.

Further Italian interest will focus on GiorgiOffshore, who return to racing with an upgraded boat after missing the last event, with Nicola Giorgi lining-up alongside Sandro Sardelli in MITI Tech Power, the partnership teaming-up for the first time in Abu Dhabi in 2010, taking two fifth place finishes.

Team D’Alessio-SCAM make their first appearance in the Championship with the experienced Luca Nicolini, who made his Class 1 debut in 1993 and has 14 starts under his belt, taking two podium finishes in 2007, on the throttles in the Victory built, V12 powered FA.RO. ACCIAI., with Belgium’s Frank Hemelaer set to make his Class 1 driving debut.

Team Abu Dhabi has announced an eleventh-hour call-up for F1H2O star Ahmed Al Hameli who steps in to substitute for Rashed Al Tayer, forced to sit out the event after picking up an injury at a Jet Ski event in America. Al Hameli, who made his Class 1 debut in 2009, teams-up with fellow-Emirati Majed Al Mansoori - both making just their second Grand Prix starts in Class 1.

An unexpected announcement by Welmax Offshore Racing sees a revised driver line-up with the 2010 Edox Pole Position Champions Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tandberg stepping aside and Bjorge Jacobsen and Kurt Olsen stepping in to take over race duties. The team has also opted to run the Maritimo hull over the MTI, retaining the name Welmax.

Zabo Racing’s Ugur Isik and Christian Zaborowski will be looking to improve on their performances after picking up just ten points from three outings in Relekta, and will arrive in Italy confident that they can turn things around. Team principal Jan Zaborowski has confirmed that they have made considerable modifications to the Victory hull, which they debuted in Norway, and that they will be in good shape in Italy.

The Grand Prix weekend gets underway with first official practice at midday on Friday. A second practice session, qualifying in the Edox Pole Position and race 1 take place on Saturday, with a final practice session on Sunday morning followed by race 2 in the afternoon.

www.class-1.com

Class 1 - Norway Grand Prix 2011 Race 2

Heavy rains, strong winds and rough seas have forced the hands of race officials into canceling race 2 of the BMW Norwegian Grand Prix. “It is very disappointing for everyone involved but our absolute priority is the safety of competitors and everyone who is out on the water,” said UIM race director, Gordon Sutherland. “We had hoped the weather would lift but unfortunately it hasn’t.

“Course officials have been out in the safety boat twice during the afternoon to check the conditions and reported four meter seas and very strong gusting winds. It was clear that rescue boats would not be able to operate or in a position to respond to any incidents, leaving us no option but to cancel.”

UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP - after race 3

1. 3 Victory - 55pts

2. 96 Spirit of Qatar - 50pts

3. 95 Spirit of Qatar - 31pts

4. 10 Fendi Racing - 23pts

5. 74 kim.com - 19pts

6. 5 Team Abu Dhabi - 18pts

7. 90 Welmax - 10pts

8. 50 Parsonage Racing - 8pts

9= 69 ferskfisken.no - 5 pts

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP - after race 1

1. 96 Spirit of Qatar - 20pts

2. 3 Victory - 15pts

3. 95 Spirit of Qatar - 12pts

4. 74 kim.com - 9pts

5. 90 Welmax - 7pts

6. 69 ferskfisken.no - 5pts

7. 10 Fendi Racing - 4 pts

8. 91 Relekta - 3pts

9= 5 Team Abu Dhabi - 0 pts

9= 50 Parsonage Racing - 0pts

www.class-1.com

Class 1 - Norway Grand Prix 2011 Race 1

Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani celebrated his 50th race start and his first win in Class 1 alongside Steve Curtis with a superb flag-to-finish victory in race 1 of the BMW Norwegian Grand Prix.

Victory’s Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi shrugged off the disadvantage of having to run an extra ‘penalty lap’ to finish in an impressive second place, with Ali Al Neama and Matteo Nicolini making it a double podium celebration for the Spirit of Qatar Team.

Today’s win finally ended Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis’ long wait for their first win together since teaming-up in 2008 and hinged on a spectacular start by the Spirit of Qatar pairing, who moved from third place on the start line to immediately challenge pole-sitters, Victory’s Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi, for the lead at the first turn.

The run down the long straight saw the Victory and Qatar boats dicing side-by-side, with Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis holding their nerve to win the drag race and grab the advantage and go on to lead at the end of the first lap.

From the front they were able to control the race and go on to win the 8-lap, 52.45Nm race by over 8 seconds at an average speed of 186.61km/h.

Second place for the defending World Champions keeps them at the top of the points table, but sees their lead cut to five points.

Matteo Nicolini marked his 100th race start with his second podium in three races with newcomer Ali Al Neama, but was clearly unimpressed finishing in third place.
Guido Cappellini and Giampaolo Montavoci, also making his 100th start, produced an impressive showing in kim.com and enjoyed a race long duel with Team Abu Dhabi, passing the Emirati duo of Mansoori and Al Tayer on lap 3 and holding off their sustained challenge to finish fourth.

But Team Abu Dhabi’s fifth place was short lived following their post-race disqualification.

Welmax, Fendi Racing and ferskfisken.no enjoyed their own private battle in the lower order, swapping places throughout the race - Fendi Racing incurring a post race penalty lap dropping them to seventh, with Relekta having a frustrating outing, finishing eighth.

BMW NORWEGIAN GRAND PRIX, RACE 1 - results

1. 96 Spirit of Qatar - H Al Thani (QAT) / S Curtis (ENG) 00.31.13,89

2. 3 Victory - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) + 00.07,90

3. 95 Spirit of Qatar - A Al Neama (QAT) / M Nicolini (ITA) + 00.21,46

4. 74 kim.com - G Cappellini (MON) / G Montavoci (ITA) + 00.34,00

5. 90 Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) + 02.16,70

6. 69 ferskfisken.no - F Sundsdal (NOR) / B Jacobsen (NOR) + 02.37,50

7. 10 Fendi Racing - L Formilli Fendi (ITA) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 02.34,76*

8. 91 Relekta - U Isik (TUR) / C Zaborowski (NOR) + 2 Laps

9. 5 Team Abu Dhabi - R Al Tayer (UAE) / M Al Mansoori (UAE) + 00.44,12**

- 50 Parsonage Racing - G Manuzzi (SMR) / P Virik Nilsen (NOR) dns

* N°10 1 Long Lap penalty applied

** N°5 disqualified - rule 29.07
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Class 1 - Norway Grand Prix 2011 Preview

Victory’s Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir bin Hendi will be the target and team to beat at this weekend’s BMW Norwegian Grand Prix (15-17 July) in Arendal, round 2 of the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship.

The defending World Champions lead the points table after taking maximum points at the season-opener in Abu Dhabi, and will be intent on adding to their 23 career wins and maintaining the team’s enviable record in Arendal, where they have won eight times from 14 starts – winning both races last year.

Ten boats will line up for the 14th Grand Prix in Arendal since 1994, and the tens-of-thousands of partisan spectators who are expected to turn out for what is considered one of the great events and race circuits on the Class 1 tour, will be baying for a Norwegian win.

The fight for Norwegian supremacy and a win on home waters is between Welmax and Relekta; Jorn Tandberg and Christian Zaborowski won in Arendal in 2006, but nowadays line up in opposing teams, Tandberg winning again in 2008, the year he clinched the European title.

Tandberg partners Kolbjorn Selmer in the Mercury V8-powered Welmax, the all-Norwegian partnership enjoying considerable success since pairing in Arendal in 2009, taking ten podium finishes from 21 starts and six wins in pole position, five of them last year to win the Edox Pole Position Championship.

Team owner Tandberg has also confirmed they will run a second boat, ferskfisken.no - the Maritimo-designed and built hull that they ran as Welmax Alianza in Brazil last year - and will announce their driver pairing this week.

After a promising and then rather spectacular start to the year for Relekta’s Ugur Isik and Christian Zaborowski, posting fifth quickest in qualifying then crashing out in race 1, Zabo Racing has upped the stakes in its bid for silverware, buying the championship-winning hull, Fazza, from Victory Team.

The team has enjoyed a roller-coaster ride since its launch at the Norwegian Grand Prix last season, grabbing its first podium in Abu Dhabi last year and there is now an air of excitement within the team that they have the complete package to step up their title challenge.

Fendi Racing also fields a new boat whilst Austrian-based DAC Racing roll-out a cut-down version of their Tencara.

Luca Formilli Fendi and Giovanni Carpitella will unveil their new Outerlimits boat-engine package; their decision to run with the Outerlimits hull and twin 850 SC Outerlimits Powertrain engines sees the American high-performance boat manufacturer making its debut in the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship.

Fendi and Carpitella teamed-up in Class 1 last season and have taken two podium finishes in six starts, with Carpitella hoping they can at least repeat his three visits to the podium in Arendal last year.

DAC Racing’s Guido Cappellini is confident that the extreme modifications to his Tencara – cutting 120cm from the mid-section and reducing the overall weight by several hundred kilos – and upgrades to his Mercury engines, giving 50hp more per engine, will give him and throttleman, Giampaolo Montavoci, who starts his 100th race in Arendal, a real shot at competing at the front of the pack and challenging for race honours.

The team runs the restyled DAC 40 as kim.com for the first time in Arendal.

Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and Steve Curtis will lead the Spirit of Qatar Team’s two-boat attack out onto the fjords, looking for the win that has so far eluded them in Class 1 since they joined forces in 2008.

And whilst they [Sheikh Hassan and Curtis] have enjoyed considerable success together, winning six times and lifting both national and world titles racing in America, they have had to settle for podium finishes - six - from their 12 starts in Class 1.

The team made an impressive return to the Championship earlier this year stepping onto the podium four times, Sheikh Hassan and Curtis grabbing two second places, with Matteo Nicolini aiming to keep the pressure on his teammates and build on his impressive performance with rookie driver Ali Al Neama, finishing third-quickest in qualifying and third in race 2 - both outfits running Victory-built hulls with SKEMA V12 engines.

And whilst Curtis is the only member of the team and one of only five of this seasons’ 22 competitors to have won in Arendal - in 2002 with Bjorn Gjelsten - both Sheikh Hassan and Nicolini - albeit now in opposing boats - will be hoping for a repeat of previous successes on Norwegian fjords in Arendal this week, the pair winning in Oslo in 2004 and in Trondheim in 2005, the year they won the European Championship.

Team Abu Dhabi has announced a change in their line-up, bringing in Emirati Majed Al Monsoori to partner wheelman, Rashed Al Tayer. Both are experienced racers; Al Tayer already a triple race-winner in Class 1 in just his second season, whilst Monsoori has come up through the ranks from Jet Ski competition and single-seater circuit racing. The duo also competes together in the XCat series and may well be a force to be reckoned with.

Chris Parsonage Racing retains the same driver-pairing with Giorgio Manuzzi alongside Norwegian throttleman Pal Virik Nilsen. The former teammates at Maritimo Offshore have both enjoyed podium success in Arendal, Manuzzi getting second and third last year and a third, behind Nilsen, in 2009.

The Grand Prix weekend gets underway with first practice on Friday afternoon. A second practice on Saturday afternoon is immediately followed by qualifying in the Edox Pole Position and race 1, with a final practice session and race 2 on Sunday.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

1. 3 Victory Team - 40pts

2. 96 Spirit of Qatar - 30pts

3= 10 Fendi Racing - 19pts

3= 95 Spirit of Qatar - 19pts

5. 5 Team Abu Dhabi - 18pts

6. 74 Poliform - 10pts

7. 50 Parsonage Racing - 8pts

8. 18 MITI - 4pts

9. 90 Welmax - 3pts

10. 91 Relekta - 2pt

www.class-1.com

Class 1 - Abu Dhadi Grand Prix 2011

Race 1

Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir bin Hendi made the perfect start to the defence of their World title, winning race 1 of a dramatic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which saw Relekta crash out on lap 4 and the race red-flagged.

Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and Steve Curtis marked their return to Class 1 bringing Spirit of Qatar 96 home in second place, with Fendi Racing's Luca Fendi and Giovanni Carpitella completing the podium.

Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi made a strong start passing pole-sitters Team Abu Dhabi to lead at the end of lap 1, with Spirit of Qatar 95 in third ahead of their teammates, Fendi Racing and Relekta.

By the end of lap 3 the Dubai pairing had opened up a comfortable 15-second lead over their country rivals. Spirit of Qatar 96 moved into third and Relekta's Ugur Isik and Christian Zaborowski were up to fourth place.

But their race ended in spectacular fashion half-a-lap later when they rolled Relekta to bring out the red flag, ending what had been an impressive race weekend debut for the new pairing.

From the restart Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi made no mistake, immediately opening up a lead and going on to take a 22nd career victory and win a reduced nine lap, race 1 of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by 16 seconds.

Team Abu Dhabi's hopes of adding a podium to their win in the morning's qualifying ended when they took their long lap and were passed by both Spirit of Qatar 96 and Fendi Racing, both oufits taking their long laps before the red flag was raised.

After the frustration of qualifying down in seventh place, Sheikh Hassan was more than satisfied with second place.
For Luca Fendi and Giovanni Carpitella it was a repeat podium success of their Class 1 debut together in Abu Dhabi last year.

Spirit of Qatar 95 were unable to reproduce the pace that put them third quickest in qualifying, finishing in fifth place ahead of Poliform and Parsonage Racing.

There was frustration for MITI's Nicola Giorgi and Tomaso Polli, stopping on lap 6, with Welmax enduring what wheel-man Selmer described as a 'crankshaft nightmare', failing to make the start but getting out for the restart just to test the boat.

ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX, RACE 1 - results

1. 3 Victory Team - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) 00.47.20,67

2. 96 Spirit of Qatar - H Al Thani (QAT) / S Curtis (ENG) + 00.16,18

3. 10 Fendi Racing - L Formilli Fendi (ITA) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 00.21,15

4. 5 Team Abu Dhabi - R Al Tayer (UAE) / J Tomlinson (USA) + 00.26,56

5. 95 Spirit of Qatar - A Al Neama (QAT) / M Nicolini (ITA) + 00.37,23

6. 74 Poliform - G Cappellini (MON) / G Montavoci (ITA) + 01.44,43

7. 50 Parsonage Racing - G Manuzzi (SMR) / P Virik Nilsen (NOR) + 2 laps

8. 18 MITI - N Giorgi (ITA) / T Polli (ITA) + 3 laps

90 Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) dnf

91 Relekta - U Isik (TUR) / C Zaborowski (NOR) dnf

Race 2

Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir bin Hendi produced an emphatic performance to make it two wins out of two, storming to victory in race 2 of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Second and third places on the podium went to Spirit of Qatar 96 and 95, with Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis taking their second race-podium of the weekend, leading home Ali Al Neama and Matteo Nicolini.

It was a clinical demonstration by the World Champions, but they were made to work hard and had to come from behind to take their 23rd race win.

The long start-run on the outside of Lulu Island strung the boats out as they battled the rough conditions and it was Spirit of Qatar 96 who grabbed the advantage and edged ahead of Victory to lead at the first turn, with Fendi Racing in third.

The lead trio held position for four laps when Victory went on their long lap. A lap later Spirit of Qatar took theirs and Victory moved ahead, overturning a 17- second deficit to lead the race.

The Emirati duo then eased away, going on to win by over 43 seconds and will leave Abu Dhabi with a ten-point lead in the championship standings.

This afternoon's double podium finish completed a highly successful weekend for the Spirit of Qatar Team. Spirit of Qatar 95 produced one of the best performances of the afternoon, moving up from fifth place at the start to give Ali Al Neama a first race-podium on his Grand Prix debut.

A steering problem during the race put paid to any hopes of a second podium finish for Fendi Racing's Luca Fendi and Giovanni Capitella, who slipped to fifth after running in third place for four laps, before being overhauled by both Spirit of Qatar 95 and Team Abu Dhabi.

Guido Cappellini and Giampaolo Montavoci managed a second sixth place finish of the weekend in Poliform, ahead of Parsonage Racing and Welmax, with Relekta completing the race to pick up points after yesterday's crash, ahead of Nicola Giorgi and Tomaso Polli in MITI.

ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX, RACE 2 - results

1. 3 Victory Team - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) 00.37.57,89

2. 96 Spirit of Qatar - H Al Thani (QAT) / S Curtis (ENG) + 00.43,48

3. 95 Spirit of Qatar - A Al Neama (QAT) / M Nicolini (ITA) + 00.50,89

4. 5 Team Abu Dhabi - R Al Tayer (UAE) / J Tomlinson (USA) + 01.05,07

5. 10 Fendi Racing - L Formilli Fendi (ITA) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 01.37,89

6. 74 Poliform - G Cappellini (MON) / G Montavoci (ITA) + 02.34,73

7. 50 Parsonage Racing - G Manuzzi (SMR) / P Virik Nilsen (NOR) + 1 lap

8. 90 Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) + 1 lap

9. 91 Relekta - U Isik (TUR) / C Zaborowski (NOR) + 1 lap

10. 18 MITI - N Giorgi (ITA) / T Polli (ITA) + 3 laps

UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP - after race 2

1. 3 Victory Team - 40pts

2. 96 Spirit of Qatar - 30pts

3= 10 Fendi Racing - 19pts

3= 95 Spirit of Qatar - 19pts

5. 5 Team Abu Dhabi - 18pts

6. 74 Poliform - 10pts

7. 50 Parsonage Racing - 8pts

8. 18 MITI - 4pts

9. 90 Welmax - 3pts

10. 91 Relekta - 2pts

MIDDLE EAST CHAMPIONSHIP - after race 2

1. 3 Victory Team - 40pts

2. 96 Spirit of Qatar - 30pts

3= 10 Fendi Racing - 19pts

3= 95 Spirit of Qatar - 19pts

5. 5 Team Abu Dhabi - 18pts

6. 74 Poliform - 10pts

7. 50 Parsonage Racing - 8pts

8. 18 MITI - 4pts

9. 90 Welmax - 3pts

10. 91 Relekta - 2pts

www.class-1.com

Class 1 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2011 Preview

Ten boats will line up off Lulu Island for next week's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, 13-15 April, round 1 of the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, for what promises to be an intriguing season-opener.

A raft of new technical rulings, a promise of strict enforcement of regulations, new teams and driver line-ups and the return of Spirit of Qatar all add spice to a season where the form book of previous years may have little bearing.

The season-opener sees the Class 1 Championship fielding one of its most competitive fleets in recent years; three Middle East teams take on six from Europe, seven of the ten outfits opting to run V12 power-plants over V8, with four World Champions lining-up in Abu Dhabi.

Reverting to running in the more familiar blue colours of Victory Team, Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir bin Hendi shoulder full responsibility as the Dubai team's sole entry.

The Champions have dominated the last two seasons and set-out in defence of their World, European and Middle East titles looking to add to their 21 career-wins apiece as they start their campaign to try to lift an eleventh world title for the team.

Team Abu Dhabi will be hoping to benefit from home advantage, with Emirati Rashed Al Tayer and American race-ace, John Tomlinson, who won the World and European titles in 1997, looking to kick-start their season with a repeat of last year's win on home waters.

Lining up in Class 1 for the first time in 18 months, Spirit of Qatar fields a two-boat attack; Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and eight-times World Champion Steve Curtis lead the team's assault as the Qatari outfit bids for its first World crown, and they in turn look for their first win in Class 1 since teaming-up in 2008. Matteo Nicolini, who won the European title alongside Sheikh Hassan in 2005 and grabbed the team's last win in the championship in Dubai in 2008, partners Class 1 rookie, Ali Al Neama. Spirit of Qatar 95 and 96 will both run Skema-Lamborghini V12s.

Norwegian hopes for success hang with Welmax and Relekta - both running Mercury-Class 1 V8s.

Welmax's all-Norwegian partnership of Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tandberg will be aiming for the perfect start to the defence of their Edox Pole Position crown, and intent on taking their first outright race-win together to add to their ten podium finishes and five pole position wins since joining forces in 2009.

A revised driver line-up sees Zabo Racing, who made their championship debut in Norway last season, taking their first podium in Abu Dhabi, bring in Turkish driver Ugur Isik, back racing in Class 1 for the first time in over a decade, to partner race and pole position winner Christian Zaborowski in Relekta.

Of the three all-Italian pairings, two are new team entries but all three are experienced partnerships.

Fendi Racing's Luca Formilli Fendi and Giovanni Carpitella - a double race winner in 2010 - have put their plans to run their new Outerlimits boat-engine package on hold for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and will unveil it in Norway, and run a Michael Peters-designed Victory built hull with Victory V12 engines.

GiorgiOffshore stay with the same boat-engine package and driver line-up that ended 2010, but with Nicola Giorgi, set to start his 75th Grand Prix, behind the wheel and Tomaso Polli taking the throttles in the Victory built, SCAM-Lamborghini powered MITI Tech Power.

DAC Racing's Guido Cappellini and Giampaolo Montavoci maintain their partnership that began in Brazil last year with a podium and ended the year with a podium, running a Michael Peters-designed Tencara powered by Mercury-Class 1 V8s.

Plymouth based Chris Parsonage Racing also run a new driver line-up with Italian Giorgio Manuzzi starting a fifth term in Class 1 alongside his former teammate at Maritimo Racing, Norway's Pål Virik Nilsen.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix gets underway with first practice on Wednesday afternoon. A second practice on Thursday morning is immediately followed by qualifying in the Edox Pole Position with race 1 in the afternoon. A final practice session on Friday morning is followed by race 2.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi - UAE

Wednesday, 13 April

12.30 drivers course viewing on Class 1 rib

14.00-16.00 official practice

Thursday, 14 April

09.30-10.00 official practice

10.15-11.30 Edox Pole Position

15.30 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - race 1

Friday, 15 April

09.30-11.00 official practice

15.30 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - race 2

www.class-1.com

Class 1 - 2011 Calendar

The UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship will field one of its strongest line-ups in recent years, with promoter Nicolò di San Germano confirming an eleven boat entry for the 2011 season-opener in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, 14-16 April. Announcing the news at today's press conference in Monaco, San Germano also revealed the dates for ten races at five Grand Prix, with Norway, Italy, Brazil and Abu Dhabi joining Dubai as the season venues, with the possibility of a sixth event to be announced in the coming weeks. It promises to be a closely-contested and intriguing season as old rivalries are renewed, as well as a titanic fight for supremacy in what is being billed as a Middle East versus Europe showdown, as teams prepare to go head-to-head for title honours. Defending World, European and Middle East Champions Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir bin Hendi - the dominant drivers in Class 1 over the last four years - will steer Victory Team's single boat attack. The triple World Champions took nine wins from 12 starts last season and know that they will face stiffer opposition in 2011, not just from neighbours Team Abu Dhabi and Middle East rivals Spirit of Qatar, but the seven teams from Europe - all intent on breaking the stranglehold that Victory Team has held over the championship since 2007. After an impressive debut season for Team Abu Dhabi and Class 1 rookie Rashed Al Tayer, taking three wins and one podium finish, Al Tayer is retained in the driver's seat, with the team still to announce who will take the throttles alongside him. Spirit of Qatar's recently announced return to racing renews their great rivalry with the Victory Team. Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and English throttleman Steve Curtis lead the team's two-boat assault on the championship in Qatar 96, with Class 1 debutant Ali Al Neama teaming-up with the experienced Italian, Matteo Nicolini in Qatar 95. Leading the line for European team success will be 2010 Edox Pole Position Champions Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tanberg, the all-Norwegian pairing maintaining their partnership in Welmax for a third season, whilst fellow Norwegian outfit Zabo Racing look likely to maintain their 2010 pairing, with Paul Gaiser alongside throttleman Christian Zaborowski in Relekta. Italy rolls out four teams and three all-Italian pairings in 2011: Fendi Racing will make its championship debut with owner-driver Luca Formilli Fendi and Giovanni Carpitella continuing a promising Class 1 partnership that began in Abu Dhabi last season with a podium, running an Outerlimits boat and engine package. GiorgiOffshore has confirmed that throttleman Nicola Giorgi, who lines up for his 75th Grand Prix in Dubai, will partner Tomaso Polli who he first raced with in 2002, with Guido Cappellini resuming his partnership with Giampaolo Montaovoci, the pair teaming-up last year for fives races and grabbing two podium finishes. Both Team D'Alessio-SCAM and Chris Parsonage Racing, the sole English entry, have confirmed their participation but are still to reveal their driver line-ups. TEAMS 2011 - summary

Team: VICTORY TEAM (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) Boat: #3 Victory

Pilots: Arif Saif Al Zafeen (D) UAENadir Bin Hendi (T) UAE Team: TEAM ABU DHABI (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) Boat: #5 Abu Dhabi

Pilots: Rashed Al Tayer (D) UAEtbc (T) Team: FENDI RACING (Italy) Boat: #10 Fendi Racing

Pilots: Luca Formilli Fendi (D) ITAGiovanni Carpitella (T) ITA Team: GIORGIOFFSHORE (Italy) Boat: #18 GiorgiOffshore

Pilots: Tomaso Polli (D) ITANicola Giorgi (T) ITA Team: CHRIS PARSONAGE RACING (England) Boat: #50

Pilots: tbc (D)tbc (T) Team: TBC (Italy) Boat: #74

Pilots: Guido Cappellini (D) ITAGiampaolo Montavoci (T) ITA Team: WELMAX OFFSHORE RACING (Norway) Boat: #90 Welmax

Pilots: Kolbjorn Selmer (D) NORJorn Tandberg (T) NOR Team: ZABO RACING (Norway) Boat: #91 Relekta

Pilots: Paul Gaiser (D) BRAChristian Zaborowski (T) NOR Team: SPIRIT OF QATAR (Qatar) Boat: #95 Qatar

Pilots Ali Al Neama (D) QAT Matteo Nicolini (T) ITA Boat: #96 Qatar Pilots: Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani (D) QATSteve Curtis (T) ENG Team: D'ALESSIO-SCAM (Italy) Boat: # Pilots: tbc (D)tbc (T)
2011 CALENDAR

15/16 April - Dubai, UAE

June - TBA

16/17 July - Arendal, Norway

24/25 September - Stresa, Italy

22/23 October - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (tbc)

1/2 December - Abu Dhabi, UAE

www.class-1.com

Class 1 - Dubai Grand Prix

Race 1

Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi today underlined why they are triple World Champions with a faultless flag-to-finish win in race 1 of the Emirates/Dubai Duty Free Dubai Grand Prix. The Fazza pairing, who secured the 2010 Class 1 World title two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi, produced an effortless performance dominating the race from the start, completing the 12 lap, 50.42Nm race in 34mins 39.78secs at an average speed of 160.53kmh. Today's twentieth career win for Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi, already Victory Team's most successful partnership, makes them the third most successful partnership in the sport behind Steve Curtis and Bjorn Gjelsten. With the Champions out front and heading off into the distance, the race for the podium was fought out between Team Abu Dhabi and GSG Ceramic Design. The battle was eventually won by Team Abu Dhabi's Rashed Al Tayer and John Tomlinson, producing yet another impressive outing, improving on their third place in qualifying to take second place, their second podium in five race starts. After a disastrous morning practice session which saw GSG Ceramic design sidelined after a blown engine, a podium finish for Guido Cappellini and throttleman Giampaolo Montavoci, on his 51st birthday, was more than they had expected.

But their podium celebrations were short lived after GSG Ceramic Design failed post race scrutineering for a technical infringement relating to the restrictor, blow off valve and air box size specifications, and was subsequently disqualified. The post-race ruling elevates Welmax's Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tandberg, who earlier in the day clinched the 2010 Edox Pole Position Championship to third spot, ahead of Negotiator in fourth, with Relekta and Skydive 2010 completing the top six. There was disappointment for MITI/GiorgiOffshore who stopped after three laps.
EMIRATES/DUBAI DUTY FREE DUBAI GRAND PRIX, RACE 1 - results
1. Fazza - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) 00.34.39,78

2. Team Abu Dhabi - R Al Tayer (UAE) / J Tomlinson (USA) + 00.14,25

3. GSG Ceramic Design - G Cappellini (ITA) / G Montavoci (ITA) + 00.22,79*

4. Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) + 00.46,90

5. Negotiator - L Formilli Fendi (ITA) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 02.27,59

6. Relekta - P Gaiser (BRA) / C Zaborowski (NOR) + 1 lap

7. Skydive 2010 - G Manuzzi (SMR) / A Al Marri (UAE) + 1 lap

8. GiorgiOffshore - T Polli (ITA) / N Giorgi (ITA) dnf * GSG Ceramic Design disqualified after post race engine inspection
Race 2

Arif Al Zafeen and Nader Bin Hendi brought down the curtain on the 2010 UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship with their ninth win of the season on a day of mixed emotions at the Emirates/Dubai Duty Free Dubai Grand Prix. On the first anniversary of the tragic loss of powerboat champions Mohammad Al Mehairi and Jean-Marc Sanchez, the Dubai Victory Team's Fazza crew wanted to mark the occasion with a win dedicated to their team-mates. And on a day when Class 1 produced the race of the season, they delivered a fitting tribute to Al Mehairi and Sanchez winning from the front despite a titanic effort by Edox Pole Position Champions Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tandberg in Welmax. The Norwegians pushed the UAE stars all the way losing out by just 3.81s after 67.74Nm of intense competition. Fazza wrapped up the 21st Class 1 win of his career with Al Zafeen at an average speed of 178.38kmph. Win number nine in 2010 also secured the Middle East Class 1 Championship for Fazza to add to the World and European crowns they had in the bag prior to the race. But the victory was never a forgone conclusion with the Welmax crew piling on the pressure throughout the race as they claimed second by just over fifteen seconds from Italians Guido Cappellini and Giampaolo Montavoci in GSG Ceramic Design in third. Behind the two leaders GSG Ceramic Design's Guido Cappellini and Giampaolo Montavoci produced their second impressive performance of the weekend to make it two podiums from six outings together this season. It was a stunning finale to a Class 1 season that has seen Bin Hendi and Al Zafeen win 75% of the races they have started and take the world title by a record 96 points over their nearest rivals. While Fazza and Welmax were having their own private battle at the front of the field, there were other bragging rights being fought over elsewhere. With their closest rivals Talib Al Sayed and Abdullah Al Mehairbi sitting out the final two races of the season after crashing in Abu Dhabi, Italians Giovanni Carpitella and Luca Fendi needed just four points to claim second spot in the World Championship and they grabbed the overall silver medal by claiming fifth in the race in British boat Negotiator. It meant Al Sayed and Al Mehairbi claimed third in the world in SkyDive Dubai. In the Middle East Championship, Team Abu Dhabi's Rashed Al Tayer and John Tomlinson claimed overall second place behind Fazza thanks to a hard-earned sixth place despite starting well behind the field thanks to a propeller problem on the first lap. Third place in the Middle East series goes to Selmer and Tandberg. Fourth place for Skydive 2010 was a marked improvement on yesterday's performance, but there was frustration for MITI/GiorgiOfshore completing just four laps before an engine problem ended their race, with Relekta stopping six laps later with a gearbox problem.
EMIRATES/DUBAI DUTY FREE DUBAI GRAND PRIX, RACE 2 - results
1. Fazza - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) 00.41.34,50

2. Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) + 00.03,81

3. GSG Ceramic Design - G Cappellini (ITA) / G Montavoci (ITA) + 00.15,29

4. Skydive 2010 - G Manuzzi (SMR) / A Al Marri (UAE) + 1 lap

5. Negotiator - L Formilli Fendi (ITA) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 1 lap

6. Team Abu Dhabi - R Al Tayer (UAE) / J Tomlinson (USA) + 5 laps

7. Relekta - P Gaiser (BRA) / C Zaborowski (NOR) dnf

8. GiorgiOffshore - T Polli (ITA) / N Giorgi (ITA) dnf
UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP - after race 12 of 12
1. Fazza - 212pts

2. Negotiator - 116pts

3. Skydive Dubai - 110pts

4. GSG Ceramic Design - 95pts

5. Welmax - 91pts

6. Team Abu Dhabi - 62pts

7. Relekta - 54pts

8. GiorgiOffshore - 42pts

9. Skydive 2010 - 28pts

10. Foresti & Suardi - SCAM - 11pts

11. Welmax Alianza - 10pts
MIDDLE EAST CHAMPIONSHIP - after race 4 of 4
1. Fazza - 65pts

2. Team Abu Dhabi - 49pts

3. Welmax - 42pts

4= Negotiator - 28pts

4= Skydive 2010 - 28pts

6. Relekta - 26pts

7. GSG Ceramic Design - 19pts

8. GiorgiOffshore - 14pts

9. Skydive Dubai - 0pts

www.class-1.com

Class 1 - Dubai Preview

With the 2010 UIM Class 1 World title already decided, teams now turn their attentions on the Edox Pole Position and Middle East Championships in the final qualifying session and two races of the season at this weekend's Emirates/Dubai Duty Free Dubai Grand Prix. Welmax's Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tandberg will be looking to end their season on a high as they bid to become the first ever all-Norwegian pairing to win the Pole Position Championship and the first Norwegians to win a major trophy since Tandberg's European title success in 2008. They go into the final qualifying session of the year in an almost unassailable position with a 15-point lead over World Champions Fazza, knowing sixth place will give them the title. But 'playing it safe' is not written in the Selmer-Tandberg racing manual, with the Norwegians likely to maintain their flamboyant, marauding style as they go after a fifth consecutive win in qualifying and their first 'recorded' race win of the year. Having already secured the 2010 UIM Class 1 World and European Championships, Fazza's Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi now focus their attentions on trying to successfully defend their Middle East title. But to do so they will have to come from behind and overhaul rivals and neighbours Team Abu Dhabi who, after two of four races, lead the Middle East title race by a slender four points. The Fazza pairing has dominated this season, their seven race wins moving them onto 19 career wins a piece, to climb above multiple World Champions Saeed Al Tayer, Ali Nasser and Khalfan Harib to become the most successful partnership in the history of the Victory Team. With the news from Victory Team that they have very sportingly thrown their resources behind helping to repair Negotiator - their main rival in the fight for the runners-up slot in the World Championship - and by doing so confirm that Skydive Dubai, the boat that collided with Negotiator, will not race - the battle for the remaining podium place in the overall World Championship standings looks to be a two-way fight between four Italians. Negotiator's Luca Fendi and Giovanni Carpitella grabbed third place on their debut outing together in race 1 in Abu Dhabi and currently hold third spot, 16 points adrift of Skydive Dubai. Assuming their boat is repaired and ready to race, they should be able to defend their 26-point advantage over Guido Cappellini and Giampaolo Montavoci in GSG Ceramic Design, and look the most likely of the two outfits to finish in the top three, and possibly steal second place from Skydive Dubai. Cappellini and Montavoci, podium finishers in the season-opener in Brazil, will be looking to erase the memory of a torrid and frustrating last Grand Prix beset by technical issues and will be looking to get back on track in Dubai. Whilst a top three finish in the World standings, to add to his second place in the Europeans, would be a remarkable achievement by Carpitella in a season that has seen him team-up with four drivers in two different boats. Zabo Racing go into the last Grand Prix of the season full of confidence and looking to build on their last performance after it all came good for the team in Abu Dhabi. A solid qualifying session and fourth place in race 1 was eclipsed by a simply brilliant drive in race 2 by Paul Gaiser and Christian Zaborowski in Relekta, which gave the Norwegian outfit their first podium of the year, putting them third overall in the Middle East standings. Fresh from their famous first win together in race 1 of the their home Grand Prix, Team Abu Dhabi's Rashed Al Tayer and American race-ace John Tomlinson will be determined to end their season with a flourish and a title. Since teaming-up in Italy they have developed a formidable partnership and will look to cut out the costly errors that lost them podium places in Italy and Abu Dhabi, as they defend their slender lead in the Middle East Championship. After a promising first outing for GiorgiOffshore's Nicola Giorgio with Sandro Sardelli, picking up valuable points in both races in Abu Dhabi, a last minute change of driver sees Tomaso Polli return to partner Giorgi for the second time this season. Mohammed Al Marri and Giorgio Manuzzi enjoyed an eventful first race weekend together in the new Victory design, Victory 2010, grabbing a podium in race 1 and then spectacularly crashing out at the start of race 2 in Abu Dhabi. With the boat fully repaired the Italian-Emirati duo are likely to be up at the front challenging for podium places, but will now run in the colours of the sidelined Skydive Dubai. The action starts with first practice on Thursday afternoon, a second practice on Friday morning is immediately followed by qualifying in the Edox Pole Position and Race 1 - 51.07Nm, 12 laps including one long lap.Ā A final practice on Saturday morning is followed by Race 2 - 68.56Nm, 16 laps, including two long laps.
UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP - after round 5 of 6, race 10 of 12
1. Fazza - 172pts

2. Skydive Dubai - 114pts

3. Negotiator - 98pts

4. GSG Ceramic Design - 72pts

5. Welmax - 56pts

6. Relekta - 43pts

7. Team Abu Dhabi - 42pts

8. GiorgiOffshore - 38pts

9. Victory 2010 - 15pts

10. Foresti & Suardi - SCAM - 11pts

11. Welmax Alianza - 10pts
MIDDLE EAST CHAMPIONSHIP - after round 1 of 2, race 2 of 4
1. Team Abu Dhabi - 29pts

2. Fazza - 25pts

3. Relekta - 21pts

4= Victory 2010 - 15pts

4= Welmax - 15pts

6. GiorgiOffshore - 14pts

7. Negotiator - 12pts

8. Skydive Dubai - 4pts

9. GSG Ceramic Design - 0pts
EDOX POLE POSITION CHAMPIONSHIP - after round 5 of 6
1. Welmax - 95pts

2. Fazza - 80pts

3. Skydive Dubai - 42pts

4. Negotiator - 35pts

5. Team Abu Dhabi - 24pts

6. Relekta - 23pts

7. GSG Ceramic Design - 19pts

8. GiorgiOffshore - 15pts

9. Victory 2010 - 9pts

10. Welmax Alianza - 7pts

11. Foresti & Suardi SCAM - 5pts
www.class-1.com

Class 1 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Race 1

Team Abu Dhabi's Rashed Al Tayer and John Tomlinson are celebrating a famous victory after winning race 1 of their home Grand Prix, ahead of Victory 2010's Mohammed Al Marri and Giorgio Manuzzi, with Giovanni Carpitella and Class 1 debutant Luca Fendi completing the podium in Negotiator. But there was disappointment for World Champions Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi in Fazza, who, having led from the first corner saw their race lead disappear on lap 10 after pulling off the course with an electrical problem. For Al Tayer and Tomlinson their first win together was rich reward for pushing the World Champions hard from the start, narrowly failing to overhaul them to lead at the end of lap one. After taking all their long-laps early and trading places with Skydive Dubai and Victory 2010 they moved back into second place on lap seven, taking the lead on lap 10 and going on to take the victory, completing the 12 lap, 53.29Nm course in 31mins 44.59secs at an average speed of 179.19kmh.

Second place for Mohammed Al Marri and Giorgio Manuzzi in their first race together and in the new Victory designed boat on its first competitive outing, was some consolation for the team, after seeing Skydive Dubai's Abdullah Al Mehairbi and Talib Al Sayed retire on lap 7 with engine problems and a race win disappear three laps later. There was also an impressive performance by Class 1 newcomer Luca Fendi, racing alongside fellow-Italian Giovanni Carpitella, making-up four places from their start position to bring Negotiator home in third place.

Relekta's Paul Gaiser and Christian Zaborowski produced their best result of the season, improving on their sixth position in qualifying, to take fourth place to finish ahead of Nicola Giorgi and another Class 1 newcomer, Sandro Sardelli, in GiorgiOffshore. Fazza and Skydive Dubai were classified in seventh and eighth places, with GSG Ceramic Design failing to make the start of the race due to engine problems. Any hopes of a possible pole and race win double for pole-sitters Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tandberg, who briefly led the race from the start flag, ended early on lap 2, retiring with oil pressure problems after all but turning Welmax over on the run to the first corner.
ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX, RACE 1 - results
1. Team Abu Dhabi - R Al Tayer (UAE) / J Tomlinson (USA) 00.31.44,59

2. Victory 2010 - G Manuzzi (SMR) / A Al Marri (UAE) + 00.37,94

3. Negotiator - L Formilli Fendi (ITA) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 01.07,41

4. Relekta - P Gaiser (BRA) / C Zaborowski (NOR) + 01.57,48

5. GiorgiOffshore - S Sardelli (ITA) / N Giorgi (ITA) + 1 lap

6. Fazza - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) + 2 laps

7. Skydive Dubai - A Al Mehairbi (UAE) / T Al Sayed (UAE) + 5 laps

8. Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) dnf

9. GSG Ceramic Design - G Cappellini (ITA) / G Montavoci (ITA) dns

Race 2

Defending World Champions Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi produced a Championship winning drive to clinch a tenth World title for Dubai's Victory Team, winning a dramatic and incident filled race 2 of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with two separate incidents involving Victory 2010 and a collision between Skydive Dubai and Negotiator, forcing race officials to immediately red flag the race and call for a restart. Second place went to Welmax's Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tandberg after a titanic battle for podium honours with their Norwegian rivals Relekta, with Paul Gaiser and Christian Zaborowski producing an outstanding performance to take their first podium of the year. The drama unfolded at the first corner when race leader's Mohammed Al Marri and Giorgio Manuzzi spun-out and then rolled Victory 2010, with both pilots emerging unscathed from the upturned hull.

The high-impact coming together between Abdullah Al Meharibi and Talib Al Sayed in Skydive Dubai and Italians Luca Fendi and Giovanii Carpitella in Negotiator, that sidelined both boats, happened almost immediately. From the restart the World Champions were in a class of their own, emerging from the outside start-leg with Fazza out front and comfortably clear of the chasing pack, with Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi going on to take their 19th career wins, completing the shortened 12-lap race in 30mins 26.42secs.

Behind the race leader's a titanic three-way race-long fight for the remaining two podium places was played out with just seconds separating Relekta, Team Abu Dhabi and Welmax, with Welmax coming through to take second place from Relekta on the penultimate-lap. Relekta's first podium of the season was the result of an outstanding drive by Paul Gaiser and Christian Zaborowski who heroically held off their challengers for ten laps before finally conceding second spot. For race 1 winner's, Team Abu Dhabi, it was a case of the podium that got away from them after Rahed Al Tayer and John Tomlinson were given a penalty long-lap for missing a turn buoy at the end of lap six, dropping them to fourth place, with GiorgiOffshore's Sandro Sardelli and Nicola Giorgi completing a solid points scoring weekend finishing fifth, whilst an already frustrating weekend for Guido Cappellini and Giampaolo Montavoci in GSG Ceramic Design ended with them stopping just minutes after the restart. With their third World titles already secured Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi will now turn their attentions to trying to overhaul Team Abu Dhabi in the battle for the Middle East Championship in the final Grand Prix of the season in Dubai, 9-11 December.
ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX, RACE 2 - results
1. Fazza - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) 00.30.26,42

2. Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) + 00.24,62

3. Relekta - P Gaiser (BRA) / C Zaborowski (NOR) + 00.43,72

4. Team Abu Dhabi - R Al Tayer (UAE) / J Tomlinson (USA) + 00.54,48

5. GiorgiOffshore - S Sardelli (ITA) / N Giorgi (ITA) + 01.47,45

6. GSG Ceramic Design - G Cappellini (ITA) / G Montavoci (ITA) dnf

Skydive Dubai - A Al Mehairbi (UAE) / T Al Sayed (UAE) dns

Victory 2010 - G Manuzzi (SMR) / A Al Marri (UAE) dns

Negotiator - L Formilli Fendi (ITA) / G Carpitella (ITA) dns
UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP - after race 10 of 12
1. Fazza - 172pts

2. Skydive Dubai - 114pts

3. Negotiator - 98pts

4. GSG Ceramic Design - 72pts

5. Welmax - 56pts

6. Relekta - 43pts

7. Team Abu Dhabi - 42pts

8. GiorgiOffshore - 38pts

9. Victory 2010 - 15pts

10. Foresti & Suardi - SCAM - 11pts

11. Welmax Alianza - 10pts
MIDDLE EAST CHAMPIONSHIP - after race 2 of 4
1. Team Abu Dhabi - 29pts

2. Fazza - 25pts

3. Relekta - 21pts

4= Victory 2010 - 15pts

4= Welmax - 15pts

6. GiorgiOffshore - 14pts

7. Negotiator - 12pts

8. Skydive Dubai - 4pts

9. GSG Ceramic Design - 0pts

www.class-1.com

Class 1 - Abu Dhabi Preview

Nine boats will line up for this week's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and a repeat of last year's race win-double by World Champions Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi will seal the Emirati duo their third World titles.

The Fazza pairing already has one trophy under their belts after clinching the 2010 European Championship at the Italian Grand Prix in Stresa in October, taking six wins from a possible eight this season, and head into the penultimate Grand Prix of the season carrying a 33-point advantage over their teammates in Spirit of Dubai. And, barring any kind of technical meltdown are on course to give Victory Team a tenth World crown.

For the Spirit of Dubai crew the title may be beyond their reach but they know they can cover off the 2010 Champions elect from an unlikely but still mathematically possible title challenge from either Negotiator or GSG Ceramic Design, and will be looking to defend their second place in the points standings by adding to their tally of four podium finishes since teaming-up in Sweden.

Three teams field new pairings this week; Italian outfit GiorgiOffshore bring in Italian motor racing driver Sandro Sardelli to take the driver's seat in the Lamborghini-SCAM powered GiorgiOffshore to make his Class 1 debut alongside experienced throttleman Nicola Giorgi.

Giorgi makes his 73rd Grand Prix start in Abu Dhabi and will be looking to try to repeat his podium success in the Edox Pole Position last year, and to consolidate on this season's performances, which saw him start strongly to finish fifth and fourth in Brazil, grab a podium in race 1 in Sweden and finish sixth in race 2 in the Italian Grand Prix.

UK based Chris Parsonage Racing field an all-Italian driver line up, with Giovanni Carpitella who raced with team owner Parsonage last time out in Italy joined in the Lamborghini V12-powered Negotiator by Class 1 debutant, Luca Formilli Fendi, who has competed in XCAT and Class 3 and for the last three years in P1, lifting the European Championship in 2008.

Carpitella, who made his Class 1 debut in 2002, will not be fazed by a seventh driver change in 30 race starts. In 2009 he guided Al Hameli to a podium on his Class 1 race debut in Abu Dhabi and this season powered two of his drivers to podium successes and race wins, Manuzzi in Norway and Al Tayer in Sweden, on his way to finishing second overall in this season's European Championship.

Looking to build on an already impressive debut season in Class 1 with four podium finishes and currently lying in fourth place in the overall points table GSG Ceramic Design's Guido Cappellini reforms his partnership with fellow Italian Giampaolo Montavoci, who earlier this year won the GPS (P1) World title.

The pair raced together at the season-opener in Brazil, finishing fourth and third, with Montavoci, who last year achieved his best-ever finish in the overall World Championship standings in his twelve years of racing, finishing fourth, looking to continue his extraordinary run of consecutive points-finishes, which began back in Arendal in 2007, and now extends to 22 Grands Prix and 26 races.

Denied their first race win together in race 1 in Italy after being handed a post-race penalty-lap, Welmax's all-Norwegian partnership of Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tandberg has, on occasion this season, looked the crew most likely to upset Fazza's dominance and although out of the running in the race for the World title, a run of three consecutive wins in qualifying puts them at the top of the Edox Pole Position Championship standings, ten points clear of their arch rivals. A fourth win this weekend would all but secure the title barring any major mishaps.

Relekta's relatively new Norwegian-Brazilian pairing, who came together at the Norwegian Grand, will be aiming to up the pace this weekend and to build on their fifth place finish last time out, as more time on the water gives Christian Zaborowski and Paul Gaiser the opportunity to fine tune and develop their partnership.

Team Abu Dhabi will line up for the first time in their home Grand Prix and in front of a partisan crowd, double race winner, Rashed Al Tayer, and American John Tomlinson will be confident that they have the credentials to target a podium finish after narrowly missing out on their debut outing together in Italy.

After taking podiums in Brazil and Norway, then stepping back from race duties in Sweden, Victory Team's double World Champion Mohammed Al Marri returns to the cockpit to make his 70th Grand Prix appearance in the team's third boat, Victory 2010, teaming up with Italian Giorgio Manuzzi, also returning to racing after double podium success in Norway.

The action starts with first practice on tommorow Wednesday afternoon, a second practice on Thursday morning followed by qualifying in the Edox Pole Position and Race 1 - 53.29Nm, 12 laps including three long laps. A final practice on Friday morning is followed by Race 2 - 71.39Nm, 16 laps, including five long laps.

UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP - after round 4 of 6, race 8 of 12

1. Fazza - 143pts

2. Skydive Dubai - 110pts

3. Negotiator - 82pts

4. GSG Ceramic Design - 72pts

5. Welmax - 41pts

6. GiorgiOffshore - 24pts

7. Relekta 20pts

8. Foresti & Suardi - SCAM - 11pts

9. Welmax Alianza - 10pts

10. Team Abu Dhabi - 9pts

EDOX POLE POSITION CHAMPIONSHIP - after round 4 of 6

1. Welmax - 75pts

2. Fazza - 65pts

3. Skydive Dubai - 35pts

4. Negotiator - 31pts

5. GSC Ceramic Design - 19pts

6. Relekta - 18pts

7= Team Abu Dhabi - 12pts

7= GiorgiOffshore - 12pts

9. Welmax Alianza - 7pts

10. Foresti & Suardi SCAM - 5pts
www.class-1.com

Class 1 - Italy Grand Prix

Race 1

Welmax post-race celebrations after their flag-to-finish win in race 1 of the Italian Grand Prix, ahead of Fazza and Primatist-GSG Ceramic Design, were sensationally cut short after being disqualified from the race and this morning’s Edox Pole Position, after the boat failed a post-race scrutinising inspection for an infringement relating to restrictive, blow off valve and air box specifications.

The result hands the win to the defending World Champions, Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi, extending their lead in the World Championship standings, but crucially putting them into first place in the European Championship points table, one point ahead of Negotiator who finished fifth, with the final race tomorrow.

Guido Cappellini and Marcello Menegatto who improved on their performance in qualifying during the race, jumping Team Abu Dhabi on lap seven, to move from fourth up to third place and pushing Fazza all the way to the finish, to give Cappellini his third podium of the year and Menegatto a first, are elevated to second place.

After a strong start and running in third place for six laps, Team Abu Dhabi hopes of a podium finish on the American’s return to Class 1 began to fade, being passed first by Primatist on lap seven and then two laps later by Skydive Dubai, who are elevated to third place.

ITALIAN GRAND PRIX, RACE 1 - results

1. Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) DQ

2. Fazza - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) + 00.23,38

3. Primatist - GSG Ceramic Design - G Cappellini (ITA) / M Menegatto (CHE) + 00.27,46

4. Skydive Dubai - A Al Mehairbi (UAE) / T Al Sayed (UAE) + 00.42,92

5. Team Abu Dhabi - R Al Tayer (UAE) / J Tomlinson (USA) + 00.52,10

6. Negotiator - C Parsonage (ENG) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 01.56,61

7. Relekta - P Gaiser (BRA) / C Zaborowski (NOR) + 1 lap

8. Giorgioffshore - T Polli (ITA) / N Giorgi (ITA) + 2 laps

Race 2

Fazza's Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi produced a champions' drive to win race 2 of the Italian Grand Prix to become the 2010 UIM Class 1 European Champions, with Primatist-GSG Ceramic Design finishing second ahead of Skydive Dubai. It was a clinical performance by the World Champions who mastered the difficult conditions and poor visibility, to complete a flag to finish 18th career win for Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi, and secure an eighth European crown for the Victory Team, completing the 16 lap 64.60Nm course in 39mins 31.20secs at an average speed of 180.25kmh/112.03mph.

But it was the titanic three-way fight for the final podium places between Primatist-GSG Ceramic Design, Skydive Dubai and Welmax, running line-astern and separated by just seconds for over half the race distance, that produced a nail biting and dramatic finish-line incident at the end of the race. After moving up into second place on lap 8, Primatist-GSG Ceramic Design held off a sustained challenge from Skydive Dubai, themselves under severe pressure from a hard charging Welmax, who had moved from eighth on the start line to fourth place. On the penultimate lap, Welmax moved into third place and closed in on Primatist-GSG Ceramic Design when, with the finish line in sight, the Norwegian outfit suddenly slowed, veering off the course with Skydive Dubai crossing the line third place. Both Relekta and Giorgiofshore overcame the conditions to earn valuable points, finishing in fifth and sixth places. There was disappointment for Negotiator stopping on lap thirteen, but classified seventh picking up four points to secure second place in the European Championship for Giovanni Carpitella and Chris Parsonage, and frustration for Rashed Al Tayer and John Tomlinson, whose race ended on lap 9 after running in second place in Team Abu Dhabi.
ITALIAN GRAND PRIX, RACE 2 - results
1. Fazza - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) 00.39.31,29

2. Primatist - GSG Ceramic Design - G Cappellini (ITA) / M Menegatto (CHE) + 00.15,28

3. Skydive Dubai - A Al Mehairbi (UAE) / T Al Sayed (UAE) + 00.17,52

4. Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) + 00.18,83

5. Relekta - P Gaiser (BRA) / C Zaborowski (NOR) + 1 lap

6. Giorgioffshore - T Polli (ITA) / N Giorgi (ITA) + 3 laps

7. Negotiator - C Parsonage (ENG) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 4 laps

8. Team Abu Dhabi - R Al Tayer (UAE) / J Tomlinson (USA) dnf
UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP - after race 8 of 12

1. Fazza - 143pts

2. Skydive Dubai - 110pts

3. Negotiator - 82pts

4. Primatist - GSG Ceramic Design - 72pts

5. Welmax - 41pts

6. Giorgioffshore - 24pts

7. Relekta 20pts

8. Foresti & Suardi - SCAM - 11pts

9. Welmax Alianza - 10pts

10. Team Abu Dhabi - 9pts
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP - after race 6 of 6

1. Fazza - 95pts

2. Negotiator - 78pts

3. Skydive Dubai - 72pts

4. Primatist - GSG Ceramic Design - 51pts

5. Welmax - 29pts

6. Relekta - 18pts

7. Team Abu Dhabi - 9pts

8. Giorgioffshore - 8pts

www.class-1.com

Class 1 - Italy Preview

Eight boats will line up on Lake Maggiore this weekend when Class 1 teams resume rivalries in the Italian Grand Prix, round 4 of the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, where the first major title of the season, the European Championship, will be decided and Class 1 celebrates its 150th Grand Prix of the modern era. World Champions Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi lead the race for the world title and will be aiming to continue their imperious form in Fazza, taking wins in Brazil and Norway, but will have to come from behind if they are to successfully defend the team's European title, which was won last year in Stresa by Mohammad Al Mehairi and Jean-Marc Sanchez. Standing between Fazza and the title is Italian Giovanni Carpitella who leads the European standings by 12 points over his Middle East rivals. Carpitella, bidding to be the first Italian to win a major Class 1 title since Matteo Nicolini lifted the European crown in Trondheim in 2005, switches team in Stresa, but carries his points from two podium finishes in Norway and maximum points in Sweden to race alongside Chris Parsonage in Negotiator, returning to Class 1 after a year out of the sport. Abdullah Al Mehairbi and Talib Al Sayed, in Skydive Dubai, have an outside shot at the European title and start their second Grand Prix together looking to continue the impressive form they showed in Sweden, finishing on the podium twice. Local interest will be fixed on the battle between the all-Italian pairings headed by Nicola Giorgi and Guido Cappellini, who were teammates in Norway and Sweden, but have since gone their separate ways and line up in Stresa as rivals. Tomaso Polli returns to Class 1 after a two-year absence to renew his partnership with Giorgi in Giorgioffshore, whilst Cappellini brings in Class 1 debutant, Marcello Menegatto, to throttle Primatist. After taking a battering last time out in Sweden, both Norwegian outfits return to the fray, fully repaired and ready to race. Welmax will be looking to get their title challenge back on track and are chasing a hat-trick of wins in the Edox Pole Position, whilst Relekta will hope to reproduce the pace they have shown in previous outings as they target a season-best finish above fifth spot. Following Carpitella's exit, Team Abu Dhabi has confirmed a new driver line up, bringing in American powerboat ace, John Tomlinson, who raced in Class in 1997, winning the World and European titles with Laith Pharaon, to race alongside Rashed Al Tayer who took his maiden Grand Prix in Sweden. Adding spice to the European title race will be the outcome of Victory Team's appeal against the post-race time penalty imposed on Fazza in Sweden to deny them the win in race 2. A successful outcome for Victory Team will see Carpitella's 12 point advantage shrink to a mere two points.
UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP - after round 3, race 6 of 12

1. Fazza - 103pts

2. Skydive Dubai - 86pts

3. Negotiator - 71pts

4. Primatist - 42pts

5. Welmax - 27pts

6. Giorgioffshore - 16pts

7. Foresti and Suardi - SCAM - 11pts

8. Welmax Alianza - 10pts

9. Relekta - 7pts
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP - after round 2, race 4 of 6

1. Negotiator - 67pts

2. Fazza - 55pts

3. Skydive Dubai - 48pts

4. Primatist - 21pts

5. Welmax - 15pts

6. Relekta - 7pts
EBOX POLE POSITION CHAMPIONSHIP - after round 3 of 6

1. Welmax - 55pts

2. Fazza - 50pts

3. Skydive Dubai - 30pts

4. Negotiator - 24pts

5. Relekta - 14pts

6. Primatist - 10pts

7. Giorgioffshore - 9

8. Welmax Alianza - 7pts

9. Foresti and Suardi SCAM - 5pts

www.class-1.com

Class 1 - Sweden Grand Prix

Race 1

Team Abu Dhabi's Giovanni Carpitella and Rashed Al Tayer celebrated their maiden Grand Prix win in a dramatic and incident-filled first race of the Swedish Grand Prix, which saw the race red-flagged twice, with pole-sitters Welmax crashing out on lap 1 and both Relekta and Fazza going-out on lap 1 of the re-start. A third start saw a reduced fleet take the green flag, with Team Abu Dhabi, winning the drag-race to the now infamous first turn buoy, ahead of Skydive Dubai and Primatist. Carpitella and Al Tayer, in their first race together, were able to control the race from the front, to complete the reduced 9-lap race in 21mins 47.98secs at an average speed of 178.35kmh to win by eight seconds. A podium for Skydive Dubai's new pairing of Abdullah Al Mehairbi and Talib Al Sayed, in their first competitive outing in a Class 1 together, was some consolation for them and the team, after seeing their team-mates sidelined on the second restart, with Guido Cappellini and Nicola Giorgi capitalising on the earlier incidents to take a welcome podium spot in third place in Primatist. For pole-sitters and pre-race favourites, Jorn Tandberg and Kolbjorn Selmer, any hopes of converting their win in the Edox Pole Position earlier in the day into a race-win, ended dramatically at the first corner of lap 1, crashing out of the Swedish Grand Prix after taking evasive action to avoid Fazza, with both pilots emerging unscathed from the escape hatch of the upturned Welmax.

The restart saw Team Abu Dhabi lead into the first corner with Relekta's Christian Zaborowski and Paul Gaiser going into the turn in second place after another impressive start, only to hook the boat right into the path of the oncoming World Champions, Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir bin Hendi, who drove into and over the back of the stricken raceboat, launching Fazza skywards. Both teams now face a race against time through the night to see if there is any chance of getting both boats to the start-line for tomorrow's race.
Race 2

Fazza's Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi put yesterday's race-retirement behind them to ease to a comfortable win in race 2 of the Swedish Grand Prix. Rashed Al Tayer and Giovanni Carpitella capped an impressive weekend for Team Abu Dhabi, finishing second, to make it a hat-trick of podium successes in Uddevalla, with Abdullah Al Mehairbi and Talib Al Sayed in Skydive Dubai completing the podium and make it an all U.A.E. affair. The World Champions took no time in bouncing-back from their hair-raising collision with Relekta in race 1 that launched Fazza skywards and put Relekta out of today's race, winnng the three-boat U.A.E. drag race to the first turn, the scene of yesterday's carnage. Once out in front Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi never looked threatened, going on to complete the 16 laps in 39mins 19.29secs at an average speed of 178.99kmh to win by over 20 seconds. Despite today's second place, to compliment a third place in the Edox Pole Position and a first Class 1 win for Rashed Al Tayer and Giovanni Carpitella, the Team Abu Dhabi throttleman was not happy with his rivals on the run to the first turn. Skydive Dubai's Abdullah Al Mehairbi and Talib Al Sayed celebrated their new partnership in Class 1, taking their second podium of the weekend - with Al Sayed giving a masterful solo rendition of the U.A.E. national anthem on the podium when the sound system failed, which was greeted by cheers and rapturous applause from the crowd. A second, consecutive points-haul for Italians Guido Cappellini and Nicola Giorgi, finishing fourth in Primatist, puts them into fourth place in the Championship standings, as they look ahead to their home Grand Prix in October.

But there was bitter frustration for Jorn Tandberg, Kolbjorn Selmer and the Welmax technicians when the boat narrowly failed to make the start, despite their night-long efforts to repair and have the boat ready to race after yesterday's first corner crash. Today's 17th career-win for Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi puts them within one win of the Victory Team record of 18, shared by former multiple Champions, Saeed Al Tayer and Ali Nasser, and also puts the World Champions 22-points clear of their team-mates at the top of the overall Championship standings. Class 1 now heads to Stresa on Lake Maggiore for the Italian Grand Prix and the European Championship decider in October, and what promises to be an interesting showdown between the new team on the block, Team Abu Dhabi, who lead the European points table by two-points from the current World Champions, Fazza.

Update: Team Abu Dhabi will walk away with maximum points from this weekend’s Swedish Grand Prix, after today’s race winners’, Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Nendi, were handed a post-race time penalty for an overtaking infringement on the start-lap. The 27.62secs long-lap time penalty added to the World Champions overall race time gives Rashed Al Tayer and Giovanni Carpitella a second Grand Prix win in two days, and on the weekend that marked the team’s full time entry into the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship. Victory Team general manager, Gianfranco Venturelli, confirmed that the team has lodged a protest against the penalty.

SWEDISH GRAND PRIX, RACE 1 - results

1. Team Abu Dhabi - R Al Tayer (UAE) / G Carpitella (ITA) 00.21.47,98

2. Skydive Dubai - A Al Mehairbi (UAE) / T Al Sayed (UAE) + 00.07,81

3. Primatist - G Cappellini (ITA) / N Giorgi (ITA) + 1 LAP

Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) dnf

Relekta - P Gaiser (BRA) / C Zaborowski (NOR) dnf

Fazza - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) dnf SWEDISH GRAND PRIX, RACE 2 - results

1. Fazza - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) 00.39.19,29 (+ 00.00.27,62)*

2. Team Abu Dhabi - R Al Tayer (UAE) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 00.20,99

3. Skydive Dubai - A Al Mehairbi (UAE) / T Al Sayed (UAE) + 00.40,41

4. Primatist - G Cappellini (ITA) / N Giorgi (ITA) + 1 LAP

Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) dns

Relekta - P Gaiser (BRA) / C Zaborowski (NOR) dns

UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP - after round 3, race 6 of 12

1. Fazza - 103pts

2. Skydive Dubai - 86pts

3. Team Abu Dhabi - 71pts

4. Primatist - 46pts

5. Welmax - 31pts

6= Foresti & Suardi - SCAM - 11pts

6= Relekta - 11pts

8. Welmax Alianza - 10pts (Championship points include bonus points allocated to teams for running engines for two consecutive Grand Prix)
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP - after round 2, race 4 of 6

1. Team Abu Dhabi - 67pts

2. Fazza - 55pts

3. Skydive Dubai - 48pts

4. Primatist - 21pts

5. Welmax - 15pts

6. Relekta - 7pts

www.class-1.com

Class 1 - Sweden Preview

Fazza 3 will be looking to complete a hat-trick of season-win-doubles in Uddevalla this weekend when the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship makes its Grand Prix debut in Sweden the coming weekend from the sixth to the eight August. The defending World Championsof Fazza 3 are in imperious form and seemingly unbeatable. But both men know that they will come under increasing pressure from a trio of outfits, as they look to extend their Championship lead and close in on the long-standing team record of 18 race wins, held by former triple World Champion Saeed Al Tayer and double World Champion Ali Nasser. Leading the assault to try and un-seat the Championship leaders are their team-mates, race-veteran, Mohammed Al Marri, making his 70th Grand Prix appearance and Abdullah Al Mehairbi, running for the first time as Skydive Dubai, previously Fazza 1. They know that they will have to be on the top of their game, not only if they are to close the gap on Fazza 3, but to stave off the challenge they too face from Welmax and Team Abu Dhabi the ex Spirit of Dubai. Welmax head the Norwegian attack and will be hoping that they can repeat their scintillating showing in qualifying last time out - their win putting them on equal terms in first place in the Edox Pole Position Championship with Fazza 3 - and go one better than second-place in race 1 in Arendal, as they look to reduce the points deficit between them and the team dubbed 'the black alliance', by Welmax wheel-man, Selmer. Italians Giovanni Carpitella and Giorgio Manuzzi were the stars of the show in Norway, climbing the podium steps three times. But with the confirmation by the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club of the full-time participation of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the Championship, a switch of driver for Carpitella will see him partner with Rashed Al Tayer - who made his Class 1 debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix earlier in the year - running in the new Victory-design under the colours of Team Abu Dhabi. Primatist's Italian-duo, have put the frustration of their disappointing first races together behind them, and having worked on their charge in between Grands Prix, will line-up in Uddevalla looking to realise the podium potential of both driver-throttleman and boat combination. Looking to improve on a very solid first outing together are Christian Zaborowski and Paul Gaiser, who showed on occasion in Norway that their Maritimo-designed and built raceboat, Relekta, has real pace. Zabo Racing team principal, Jan Zaborowski, is confident that increasingly improved performance will come with the more time on the water Christian and Paul clock-up. The Grand Prix weekend kicks-off with first practice on Friday (6 August) afternoon, followed by the Class 1 Aspen Speed Run. Second practice on Saturday morning is immediately followed by qualifying in the Edox Pole Position and Race 1, 53.87Nm - 13 laps, including one long lap. A final practice session on Sunday morning is followed in the afternoon by Race 2, 66.45Nm - 16 laps, including two long laps.
UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP - after round 2 of 6 - race 4 of 12

1. Fazza 3 - 82pts

2. Fazza 1 - 53pts

3. Welmax - 29pts

4. Spirit of Dubai - 27pts

5. Primatist - 23pts

6. Team Abu Dhabi - 16pts

7. Foresti & Suardi - SCAM - 11pts

8. Welmax Alianza - 10pts

9. Relekta - 7pts
(Championship points include bonus points allocated to teams for running engines for two consecutive Grand Prix)
CLASS 1 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP - after round 1 of 3 - race 2 of 6

1. Fazza 3 - 40pts

2. Spirit of Dubai - 27pts

3. Fazza 1 - 21pts

4. Welmax - 15pts

5. Relekta - 7pts

6. Primatist - 0pts
EDOX POLE POSITION CHAMPIONSHIP - after round 2 of 6

1=. Fazza 3 - 35pts

1=. Welmax - 35pts

3. Fazza 1 - 21pts

4. Spirit of Dubai - 12pts

5. Team Abu Dhabi - 9pts

6=. Welmax Alianza - 7pts

6=. Relekta - 7pts

8=. Foresti & Suardi - SCAM - 5pts

8=. Primatist - 5pts
www.class-1.com

Class 1 - Norwegian Grand Prix

Race 1
Fazza produced a dominant and faultless display to win race 1 of the BMW Norwegian Grand Prix, maintaining the perfect start to their title defence and extending their lead at the top of the World Championship standings. Norways Welmax was unable to match their spectacular win in the Saturday morning Edox Pole Position, finishing second, with Spirit of Dubai completing the podium with yet another impressive performance. The defending World Champions found themselves down in third spot at the first turn behind their team-mates and Relekta, but were able to overhaul both outfits on the long run to the second turn to lead at the end of lap 1. Once out front they opened up an unassailable lead, going on to win by over eight seconds at an average speed of 186.63km/h. For Welmax, dropping to fifth place from first on the start line, and giving away over 30-seconds to Fazza 3 in the first two laps proved too much of a mountain to climb. And despite fighting their way back up through the field, the chequered flag came too soon to end hopes for a Norwegian win on home waters. Spirit of Dubai maintained their impressive form to take their second podium of the day, bringing Victory Team's new design in third place in only their second race together and despite dropping a place at the start. Fazza 1 compromised their race on the opening lap, missing a turn-buoy, and incurring a penalty long-lap which dropped them back down the field, but managed to salvage valuable points, finishing in fourth place. Despite bringing Relekta home in fifth place, Christian Zaborowski and Paul Gaiser produced a more than encouraging performance in their first race together. A brilliant start moved them from fifth on the start-line into second place, before being overhauled by Welmax, but then maintaining third place before they too incurred a penalty long-lap, ultimately dropping them to fifth. Primatist continued to endure a frustrating weekend, with technical problems preventing a start. Sarurday’s win for Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi, a fifteenth for both, extends their lead at the top of Championship to 21-points and their unbeaten win-run to seven.
Race 2
Dubai’s Victory Team produced a racing master-class in race 2 of the BMW Norwegian Grand Prix, with Fazza 3 and Fazza 1 finishing first and third, and the newest design to emerge from the Victory stable, Spirit of Dubai, finishing second. After a spectacular and dramatic start, which saw home favourites Welmax win the drag-race to the first turn and lead the race for a lap-and-a-half and Fazza 1 almost flip before the first turn, a series of breakdowns reduced the numbers on the water to leave the Fazza crews and Spirit of Dubai out on their own to race for the podium places. For the second time in two Grands Prix the defending World Champions, Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi, completed the win-double to take their eighth consecutive race win and extend their points lead in the Championship. After passing the stationary Welmax on lap 2 they were able to cruise to the finish, to complete the 68.12Nm race in 43mins 23.23secs at an average speed of 173.15km/h. Spirit of Dubai rounded off their impressive weekend with a third podium in Spirit of Dubai, splitting the two Fazza crews to finish in second place. After missing out yesterday, Fazza 1 bounced back to take their third podium of the year, finishing third, but first had to survive a scare at the start when the front-end went up in the wake of Relekta. For Welmax, it was a case of what might have been! After giving away 30-seconds at the start of race 1, a change of propellers and a different ratio setting gave them the advantage today, albeit momentarily, before they broke their rudder after crashing down heavily on the side of the boat in rough water. For Zabo Racing’s Christian Zaborowski and Paul Gaiser the promising start to their season was halted on lap 5 when a broken compressor belt ended Relekta’s race, with Giorgioffshore’s poor weekend compounded when a broken prop-shaft ended theirs. Today’s win, a sixteenth for Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi, increases their lead in the title race and puts them 29-points clear of the their team-mates and extends Victory team’s winning streak to 13-races. Class 1 now heads to Uddevalla for the Swedish Grand Prix, 6-8 August.
BMW NORWEGIAN GRAND PRIX, RACE 1 - results
1. Fazza 3 - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) 00.30.14,01
2. Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) + 00.08,42
3. Spirit of Dubai – G Manuzzi (SMR) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 01.19,49
4. Fazza 1 - A Al Mehairbi (UAE) / M Al Marri (UAE) + 02.22,52
5. Relekta - P Gaiser (BRA) / C Zaborowski (NOR) + 03.02,86
Primatist - G Cappellini (ITA) / N Giorgi (ITA) dns
BMW NORWEGIAN GRAND PRIX, RACE 2 - results

1. Fazza 3 - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) 00.43.23,23

2. Spirit of Dubai – G Manuzzi (SMR) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 00.03,14

3. Fazza 1 - A Al Mehairbi (UAE) / M Al Marri (UAE) + 02.37,11

4. Relekta - P Gaiser (BRA) / C Zaborowski (NOR) dnf

5. Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) dnf

6. Primatist - G Cappellini (ITA) / N Giorgi (ITA) dnf

UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP - after race 4 of 12

1. Fazza 3 - 82pts

2. Fazza 1 - 53pts

3. Welmax - 29pts

4. Spirit of Dubai - 27pts

5. Primatist - 23pts

6. Team Abu Dhabi - 16pts

7. Foresti & Suardi - SCAM - 11pts

8. Welmax Alianza - 10pts

9. Relekta - 7pts

www.class-1.com