Thursday, 25 June: The Organisers of the BMW Norwegian Grand Prix will be hoping to see record speeds in Arendal in July when they re-introduce the ‘flying kilometre’ to the fjords with the Class 1 Edox Speed Record. “The flying kilometre time trial was always a big favourite with the spectators in Arendal, so we have decided to run it again and make it a unique event for our race weekend,” said event manager Per Carsten ...
Monday, 22 June: Mohammed Abdelkader will step into the driver’s seat to partner Italian throttleman Giovanni Carpitella in next month’s BMW Norwegian Grand Prix, 17-19 July, with the Mercury V8-powered Tencara running under the new colours of C.A.M. - Caja de Ahorros del Mediterraneo - one of Spain's largest banking groups, and back under the direction of Domenico Cirilli, team boss of Spanish outfit, Duemme Broker.
Tuesday, 16 June: Jorn Tandberg will line up with a third different driver in as many races when he starts the defence of his European title at the BMW Norwegian Grand Prix in Arendal, 17-19 July.
Tandberg will be joined in the cockpit of the Mercury V8-powered Welmax by fellow Norwegian, Kolbjorn Selmer, as he bids for a hat-trick of wins in Arendal, taking his first in 2006 with Christian Zaborowski and last year with Inge Brigt ...
Thursday, 11 June: The Class 1 World Powerboat Championship will introduce a two-race Grand Prix format for the first time at the Norwegian Grand Prix in Arendal, 17-19 July.
The proposal, put forward by IOTA President, HE Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani, was evaluated by the WPPA, receiving their full agreement, and has been unanimously welcomed by the teams. “The two-race format is a practical way of increasing the number ...
Monday, 8 June: Following a successful test with their third ‘new generation’ Class 1 raceboat in Australia last week, throttleman Peter McGrath and a clutch of technicians will head to the team’s European base in Plymouth, England, next week to make the required modifications to Maritimo 11 and 12.
The team had a frustrating return to full-time racing in Class 1 at the season-opener in Qatar, and were hampered by one or two ...
Tuesday, 26 May: After the sweeping open course they faced in Doha Bay at the season-opener in Qatar, teams now start to prepare for arguably the most spectacular, challenging and demanding course on the Class 1 calendar – Arendal.
The stunning and picturesque town of Arendal, with its population of 40,000 inhabitants, is tucked away and hidden amongst the majestic fjords of the south coast of Norway. Because the town was ...
Monday, 18 May: IOTA, the organiser of the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, has confirmed that due to circumstances beyond its control, it has been forced to cancel the Spanish Grand Prix. “Despite all our efforts and numerous attempts to maintain the running of the 2009 Class 1 Spanish Grand Prix, which was due to be held in Alicante on 7 June, we have, regrettably, been forced to cancel the race, having had to accept the fact that not all ...
Wednesday, 6 May: IOTA has renewed its marketing agreement with Marinetek Group, the official supplier of pontoons to the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, for a further three-year term. “The renewal of our agreement is of particular significance, since Marinetek was one of the first companies to realise the importance and value of Class 1 as a suitable vehicle for international commercial exploitation,” said IOTA General ...
Tuesday, 5 May: Following a frustrating season-opener in Doha, Maritimo Australia bounced back to complete a clean sweep of the podium in last weekend's Newcastle Classic in South Wales, round 5 of the Australian Offshore Superboat Championship.
Peter 'muddy' McGrath and Luke Durman led home a Maritimo one-two-three ahead of Tom Barry-Cotter and Ross Willaton with Brandon and Christopher Frier coming home in third spot.
Saturday, 25 April, DOHA (Qatar): Victory for Fazza 3 in the opening round of the UIM/WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship was sealed this afternoon by Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi. Second place went to home favourites Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani and Steve Curtis, with Class 1 debutant Mohammad Al Mehairi and Jean-Marc Sanchez claiming third place in a sun-kissed Qatar Marine Festival Grand Prix.
Saturday, 25 April, DOHA (Qatar): Foresti & Suardi - Roscioli Hotels’ throttleman, Giampaolo Montavoci is looking for continued reliability from his raceboat. "The important thing is to finish all the races and get the maximum points possible," he said following today’s morning practice session. Having finished sixth in the championship last season, Montavoci is looking to the boats in front. "I want to finish in the first five positions," ...
Saturday, 25 April, DOHA (Qatar): Following an impressive fourth position on his Edox Pole Position debut, Mohammad Al Mehairi has declared his intentions for the race today. "I want to finish on the podium today, both for myself and for Victory team." Following the stunning achievement of successive podium finishes in the previous two seasons alongside rookie drivers, Jean-Marc Sanchez will be looking to add to his fantastic record of bringing ...
Saturday, 25 April, DOHA (Qatar): After setting the fifth fastest time in the Edox Pole Position, a surprisingly upbeat Christian Zaborowski of Welmax 90 is feeling confident ahead of the first race of the season. "We were disappointed with yesterday’s time," said Zaborowski, "but we are setting up for the win today." The Norwegian based team have shown in the past that they are not to be underestimated and will fancy their chances of a podium ...
Saturday, 25 April, DOHA (Qatar): A high speed spin-out on their first practice lap of the morning has ended Maritimo 12’s Class 1 debut. The raceboat spun out of the water, re-entering backwards and flooding their engine bay. Although they showed much promise on day two of the weekend, following sensor problems on day one, Peter McGrath and Giorgio Manuzzi will be bitterly disappointed with how the weekend has turned out. After landing safely ...
Friday, 24 April, DOHA (Qatar): After a difficult morning practise, Nicola Giorgi and Riccardo Calugi showed a marked improvement during Edox Pole Position for the Giorgioffshore team. The new pairing, who have had very little time in the cockpit together, started to show signs of finally gelling as they set four times quicker than they did in the morning practise session. Their best lap of 02.58.75, which sees them start in ninth place, gives ...
Friday, 24 April, DOHA (Qatar): Giovanni Carpitella, with Christian Rivolta, in Aurantium performed excellently in this afternoon’s Edox Pole Position. An improvement of nearly a second and a half from this morning’s practise ensured that they will start sixth on the grid in the Qatar Marine Festival Grand Prix on Saturday. "We are very happy," said a delighted Carpitella, "we achieved our target of sixth place. Flat water is not our home, in ...
Friday, 24 April, DOHA (Qatar): There were mixed fortunes for the two Maritimo Australia boats in this afternoon’s Edox Pole Position. Maritimo 12, throttled by Peter McGrath and driven by Giorgio Manuzzi, built on this morning’s qualifying to set a fastest lap of 02.52.06 and qualify seventh fastest. Tom Barry-Cotter and Pal Virik Nilsen in Maritimo 11 however, suffered more teething problems with the new raceboat and did not manage to get ...
Friday, 24 April, DOHA (Qatar): The first Edox Pole Position of the new season saw a maiden victory for Qatar 95. The winners of the last race of 2008 carried forward their good form from the end of last year by posting the fastest time in today’s qualifying. A determined late challenge by Fazza 3, could not prevent the home fans celebrating their teams perfect start to the new season. Qatar 96, beset by problems all day, had to make do with ...
Friday, 24 April, DOHA (Qatar): Forest & Suardi Roscioli Hotels pairing of Giampaolo Montavoci and Francesco Pansini had a much improved day on the water. The team went ever faster through the course of the session posting a best time of 02.55.15. A happy Montavoci said: "We have to find an understanding. We are getting better and better. On that last set up our first lap was 2.58, our second lap, 2.57 and the last 2.55. It is enough. We are ...
Friday, 24 April, DOHA (Qatar): Bruno Metsu, Qatar national football team manager and former UAE head coach, was on site during this morning’s practice session. Metsu who steered Senegal to the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals, in which they famously beat defending champions France 1-0 before eventually going out to Turkey in the quarter-finals, was introduced to the Class 1 World Champions and spent some time with the team’s general manager, ...
Friday, 24 April, DOHA (Qatar): Nicola Giorgi and newcomer Riccardo Calugi, who is making his Class 1 debut here in Doha, finally got out on the water today. "This is our first time together," said Giorgi, "we are rushed as we do not have much time. We need to get as many laps together as today is Pole Position day." The Italian team, looking to build on their first podium in Dubai last year, have to start again as Giorgi brings a new driver ...
Friday, 24 April, DOHA (Qatar): Home favourites Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al Thani and Steve Curtis had an indifferent morning. After heading out at the beginning of the session, they were forced to turn back when a faulty sensor sent alarm bells ringing, before they had even completed their out lap. Despite several changes, they were still over a second behind the early pace setters setting a best time of 02.43.87, as the team struggled to find ...
Friday, 24 April, DOHA (Qatar): Jorn Tandberg and Christian Zaborowski in the Welmax raceboat only did one lap posting a 02.46.31, taking two seconds of their time in first practise. The Norwegians seemed in a pretty confident mood as Tandberg said: "I think we will be in the top three in pole position. We were just testing another set up and we know what set up we will use this afternoon." The European Champion, Tandberg, has only posted two ...
Friday, 24 April, DOHA (Qatar): Team Maritimo Australia toiled away in this morning’s practise with both boats struggling with their steering. Maritimo 12, with Peter McGrath and Giorgio Manuzzi, finally posted some lap times after yesterday’s trouble, but spun out of one of their laps. They had already posted a best lap time of 02.50.76 and if they can solve their steering issue they will have a shot at the top five this afternoon. "It’s like ...
Thursday, 23 April, DOHA (Qatar): The first official practise session of the WPPA/UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship season took place in Doha, Qatar, today with the Victory and Qatar Teams dominating proceedings. Yet with the top three posting lap times just three tenths of a second apart, the potential winners of the first race and the championship as a whole is no clearer than it was prior to the boats being put in the ...
Thursday, 23 April, DOHA (Qatar): After more than a year on the Class 1 sidelines, Dubai's 2007 World Champion Arif Al Zafeen returned to action in today's first official practice session.
Al Zafeen saw his career almost come to a shuddering end in May 2008 when a crash in a separate racing series resulted in a serious back injury that meant the end of his Class 1 title defence.
But after months of rehabilitation, the man who won ...
Thursday, 23 April. DOHA (Qatar): Sheikh Hassan has announced that from today the two-boat national team will run under the ‘Spirit of Qatar’ banner. “It's something new that we wanted to introduce,” said Sheikh Hassan. “Last year was one of the lowest seasons for us, but I wanted to show that our spirit is high and we have the ‘Spirit of Qatar’. I guess the name Spirit has always been associated with a winning champion”
Wednesday, 22 April, DOHA (Qatar): Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani has confirmed that he and throttleman Steve Curtis will line up for this weekend’s Qatar Marine Festival Grand Prix in the rebuilt and modified Qatar 96 - the boat they all but destroyed in Doha this time last year.
After completing an intensive period of testing - running both boats - the Qatar Team principal was full of confidence about the team’s chances of race ...
Wednesday, 22 April, DOHA (Qatar): The Dubai Victory Team launch their 2009 Class 1 World Championship charge in Doha this week with an all-star pairing gunning for the title in a boat named in honour of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Current World Champion Nader Bin Hendi will join forces again with 2007 world number one Arif Al Zafeen in the 1,800hp Fazza 3 – the first time a boat from the Victory stable has raced ...
Monday, 20 April, DOHA (Qatar): Teams and competitors in the UIM-WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship are poised to renew rivalries in the Qatar Marine Festival Grand Prix on Saturday, 25 April – the first race of the season and the eleventh race to be held in the Qatari Capital City of Doha in eight years.
Victory want a first Grand Slam, Qatar want a first World title and all their rivals want a piece of the action - Class 1 looks ...
Monday, 13 April: Maritimo Australia took their first tentative steps in the build-up to their 2009 Class 1 campaign, with Peter 'Muddy' McGrath and team newcomer, Giorgio Manuzzi, teaming up for the first time to shake down the team's number two boat, Maritimo 12 in Doha. “It was good to get out on the water and clearly we still have some work to do,” said McGrath. “I wasn’t that happy with the balance of the boat and we also had some fuel ...
Friday, 10 April: The world of Class 1 is shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the untimely death of former racer, Jose Corti, who was tragically killed in a boating accident on Lake Iseo in Italy, yesterday.
IOTA General Secretary, Marco Sala, said, “It is simply tragic news. We have lost a very good friend, and I speak for the whole of Class 1 in extending our deepest sympathies to Jose’s family.”
Wednesday, 8 April: Eight times World Champion, Steve Curtis, wants his title back and is confident the team will deliver wins and trophies in 2009.
Fresh from testing in Doha ahead of the season opener in Qatar on 25 April, Curtis has vowed to return to winning ways, after a disastrous 2008 campaign saw the former Champion and team principal, Sheikh Hassan, without a race win. "This year will be a very different story. ...
Thursday, 2 April: Norwegian’s Jorn Tandberg and Christian Zaborowski will reform their successful racing partnership in Doha, Qatar on 25 April.
Tandberg, the defending Class 1 European Champion, confirmed the team’s revised driver-throttleman combination for the opening race of the season, and announced that Ugland Offshore Racing’s distinctive, scarlet, Class 1-Mercury, V8-powered raceboat will run under the colours of Norwegian ...
Monday, 30 March: With 26 days to the season opener in Doha, Qatar on 25 April, the defending World, Middle East and Edox Pole Position Champions are still to finalise the line-up of their second boat. “The first crew is decided with Arif (Al Zafeen) and Nadir (bin Hendi) back together in the winning boat of last year, but we are still looking closely at our options for the second boat,” said Victory’s Team and General Manager, Gianfranco ...
Wednesday, 25 March: Last year’s gripping finale to the Edox Pole Position Championship proved beyond measure that just hundredths of a second do make a big difference - and that precision is all important. 2009 sees the independent Swiss Watchmaker, Edox - the official timekeeper to the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship - celebrating its 125th anniversary.
Friday, 20 March: Duemme Offshore team boss, Domenico Cirilli, has revealed that his ‘new-look’ team for 2009 - owned by Duemme Yacht Brokers Spain S.L and based out of Torrevieja - will make its first appearance of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix in Alicante, 5-7 June. Cirilli confirmed that he will throttle the Lamborghini-SKEMA V12-powered, Victory-built hull and that he will announce his new Spanish driver in the coming ...
Monday, 16 March: Stars from the World Superbike Championship took time out as they prepared for last weekend's Qatar Grand Prix at Losail Circuit, swapping tarmac for water for a spin around Doha Bay. Double race winner, Ben Spies, along with Noriyuki Haga and Max Biaggi were amongst a group of riders taken around Class 1's Doha Bay course by Qatar Team Principal and driver of Qatar 96, HE Sheikh Hassan ...
Thursday, 5 March, DUBAI (UAE): The Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) and the International Offshore Team Association (IOTA) have confirmed a new commercial partnership, announcing ‘Sea Dubai’ as a Platinum Partner of the 2009 UIM-WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship.
Class 1’s newest commercial initiative was revealed at today’s press conference at the 17th Dubai International Boat Show, chaired by Mina Seyahi Chief Executive ...
Monday, 23 February: Just days after announcing his decision to resume his role as President of the World Professional Powerboating Association (WPPA), Saeed Hareb has been elected President of the UAE Marine Sports Federation. “I am grateful for the trust that the Government has in me and I strive to work towards our targets,” commented Hareb following his appointment, adding. “I also wish to thank Lieutenant General Saif Al ...
Thursday, 19 February: Following his resignation as President of the World Professional Powerboating Association (WPPA) last December, Saeed Hareb is back at the helm. “After considering all the options before me, I have decided to return as the WPPA President and ensure there are changes in the functioning so that we are more effective with our presence on the local and international stage,” said Hareb. “We have a fantastic ...
Saturday, 7 February: Class 1’s official Championship photographers, Simon Palfrader and Raffaello Bastiano struck gold in the UIM’s 11th annual photographic competition, winning two out of six categories.
Simon won the gold medal in the offshore category for his image of SeveneleveN, taken during the Mina Seyahi Grand Prix in Dubai, and also picked up the bronze medal in the retouched category and also in the offshore ...
Thursday, 5 February: Sergio Mora Carrasco has confirmed he will run a new, two-boat Spanish Team this season, which brings a new engine-builder and boat manufacturer into the sport, taking the number of Teams to nine and boats competing in Class 1 in 2009 to 13.
Team Spirit of Spain sees Spaniard, Carrasco and Italian throttleman, Giovanni Carpitella, continue the partnership that they formed in Dubai last season which saw them finish an ...
Tuesday, 27 January: Qatar 96 throttleman, Steve Curtis, says that their rebuilt raceboat will be ‘virtually new’ and will bear little resemblance to the old Championship winning, ‘Spirit of Norway’.
Following Sheikh Hassan and Curtis’ crash in qualifying in Doha last year, which all but destroyed the team’s number one boat, Qatar 96 has been almost totally rebuilt. The main rebuild of the hull and deck was carried out ...
Wednesday, 21 January, DÜSSELDORF: The 2009 UIM-WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship is set for an outstanding year, with Championship Organiser, IOTA (International Offshore Team Association), confirming one of the strongest line-ups of recent years, two new venues on the calendar - Alicante, Spain and Stresa, Italy - with a possible third new venue to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Tuesday, 20 January: Victory Team’s general manager, Gianfranco Venturelli, has confirmed that 2007 World and European Champion, Arif Saif Al Zafeen, will make a welcome return to racing this season to partner newly crowned 2008 World, Middle East and Edox Pole Position Champion, Nadir Bin Hendi, in Victory 1.
The move sees Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi rekindle a formidable partnership that saw them win the season opener in Qatar last ...
Monday, 19 January: Nicola Giorgi is confident that the team can build on their success last season in the Mina Seyahi Grand Prix in Dubai, where they took their first podium, finishing third. “We carried out a lot of development with the new boat during 2008, but knew from the beginning we could have some reliability issues. It’s not just a matter of having a competitive boat, it’s the entire package that has to work perfectly ...
Thursday, 15 January: Qatar 95’s Matteo Nicolini is keeping his options open as to which boat he and Abdullah Al-Sulaiti will run in their 2009 Championship campaign - their current Michael Peters-designed, Victory-built hull, or the newest offering from Nicolini Offshore, the NOC1CAT, that was put through its paces in Moscow and Arendal last season - confirming that he will run a series of crucial pre-season tests, with the first in Doha in ...
Monday, 12 January: Australia’s Maritimo Racing Team has confirmed they will enter two of their new specification Class 1 raceboats in their bid for race and title honours in 2009.
The new lighter hull, powered by two Mercury 790 V8s - designed and built by Australia’s premiere manufacturer of long-range luxury motoryachts, Maritimo – was unveiled in Dubai at the end of last year, finishing in fifth place on its race ...
Thursday, 8 January: All but one of the teams competing in the 2009 Class 1 World Powerboat Championship will enjoy the benefits of pre-season preparation and winter testing under the sun in the Middle East.
Following the climax to the 2008 season in Dubai, the majority of raceboats, workshops and hospitality units were shipped to Doha - where the season kicks off with the Qatar Grand Prix on 25, April - and where special facilities to ...
