POWER, PASSION, DRAMA, DANGER AND BUNNY GIRLS IN C1WPC

The Superfund Class 1 World Powerboat Championship is an exhilarating spectacle where modern-day gladiators of the sea compete for the premier powerboat racing World Championship. This supremely competitive sport involves Eleven two-man teams, each comprising of a driver and throttleman, strapping themselves beneath jet fighter canopies to race in pursuit of maximum glory. The boats represent a technological tour de force; 14 metres in length, weighing five tonnes, and powered by twin 850hp Lamborghini engines they race, often mere inches apart, at perilous speeds exceeding 160mph in unpredictable conditions. The result is an unrivalled cocktail of power, passion, drama and danger, played out in front of crowds of up to half a million spectators at eight superb venues in Europe and the Middle East. All combining to create the ultimate world that is "Class 1." The Superfund Class 1 World Powerboat Championship is, without question, a premier series in the global calendar of world class sporting and entertainment events!

VICTORY 77 WINS CLASS ONE ROMANIAN GRAND PRIX AND CROWNED EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS

VICTORY 77 WINS IN MAMAIA AND CROWNED EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS

Sunday, 2 September: MAMAIA (Romania):

Victory 77’s Arif Al Zafeen and Jean-Marc Sanchez took their third win of the season in an incident filled Romanian Grand Prix, round four of the WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, to clinch the 2007 WPPA Class 1 European Championship. Second place went to Sheikh Hassan Al-Thani and Matteo Nicolini in Qatar 96, with team mates, Abdullah-Al Sulaiti and Luca Nicolini completing the podium in third.Following a chaotic start, with two boats appearing to go early, and despite starting from second place on the start line, Al Zafeen and Sanchez were lying in third place at the end of lap 1, behind Negotiator, with team mates, Al Sayed and Nadir bin Hendi, Victory 7, out in front. They overhauled Negotiator a lap later and fought back to grab the lead on lap 6. For the next three laps, Victory 77 fought off a strong challenge from rivals Qatar 96, who had moved up through the field from fifth place on the first lap, to be challenging for the lead.On lap 10, Victory 77 took their first long-lap, but as they came off the lap, had to swerve violently to avoid Qatar 96, coming out of the turn. For the next 10 laps, Al Zafeen and Sanchez were able to maintain a narrow advantage over Qatar 96, going on to take the win and extend their world championship lead to 19 points. "I think that was one of the best races of my career," said Jean-Marc Sanchez. "It was a tough race. We gave 100 per cent from the start-to-finish. There were some dirty manoeuvres out there and some backmarkers that caused us problems. But we won and we are happy about that and we have our first title of the season." Asked about the incident on the long-lap with Qatar 96, Sanchez dismissed it, saying ‘that’s racing’. Second place for Sheikh Hassan and Matteo Nicolini, their fourth consecutive podium of the season, was not enough for the duo to regain the European crown they won in 2005, but keeps them in the hunt for the overall title. "We missed out on the title, but it was an excellent weekend for the team with second and third places," said Sheikh Hassan. "Our performance was good and I think we may have been a little faster than 77 at times, but not enough to get past them. But Abdullah and Luca showed great improvements in Qatar 95 and Matteo and I managed to take crucial championship points to remain in second place in the championship and maintain the pressure on Victory 77."Qatar 95’s first podium of the season was well deserved and hard fought for, with Al-Sulaiti and Luca Nicolini, moving from fifth place into third on lap 9. "I think everyone saw that the start was not good. But we drove very hard and we pushed the boat all the way to make the podium. And from here we can build on this performance." said Al-Sulaiti.Fourth place for Spirit of Norway was not the result they were looking for in a race that went wrong for them at the start, finding themselves down in eighth place at the end of lap 1 after starting from pole position. Having clawed their way back into fourth place, Gjelsten and Curtis then spun out on lap 7 while trying to pass Victory 7, dropping them back down the running order to sixth. And a penalty long-lap incurred several laps later for hitting a turn-buoy ended their hopes of a podium, and despite moving into third place in the title race, are now 30 points off the lead. But both Gjelsten and Curtis were clearly unimpressed and angered by the tactics used by some of their rivals. "Some people out there are driving like idiots and ignoring the rules." said Curtis.After a frustrating season so far and a difficult weekend, Chris Parsonage and Bard Eker produced easily their best showing, bringing Negotiator home in fifth. "After all the problems that we have had, that was a good result for us," said Parsonage. "It was a bit of a dog-fight out there and we had a good fight with Qatar 95. The boat ran well but we needed more speed but knew from the set-up we opted for we would be slightly compromised. But to finish in fifth is great for the team after all the hard work."Giampaolo Montavoci and Marco Pennesi, won their on-going battle with Tom Barry-Cotter and Pal Nilsen, finishing in sixth ahead of Spirit Norway 20, with Jotun salvaging three points in eighth after breaking a propeller, with SeveneleveN and VM Foresti & Suardi picking up points in ninth and tenth. Victory 7 was the only retirement of the race, after breaking a propeller and damaging the boat.

VICTORY TEAM

Victory is one of the most successful outfits in the sport’s history. The Team posted immediate ‘notice of intent’ in their first outing in the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, finishing first and second as guest entries in the final two rounds in 1992, joining the championship officially in 1993. And over the last 14 years has amassed a repertoire of titles and wins that is almost unequalled; Khalfan Harib and Ed Colyer took the team’s first world title in 1993 with Saeed Al Tayer and Felix Serralles taking back–to-back titles in 1995 and 1996, with three different driver pairings, Nasser/Scism, Nasser/Harib and Al Marri/Al Tayer clinching a hat trick of titles for Victory in 1999, 2000 and 2001. In addition to their six world titles they have won over 50 Grands Prix, the European Championship four times, the Middle-East Championship twice and the Pole Position title five times. In 2002 they added manufacturer to their CV with their Michael Peters designed, Victory built hulls winning the championship for the last four years.

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VENETA MARINA - DUEMME BROKER TEAM

Veneta Marina was established by Giampaolo Montavoci in 2002, running boats in Class 1, Class 3, Endurance, Wet-byke and Pleasure Navigation. In 2004 he teamed up with Spaniard, Domenico Cirilli - both experienced racers whose racing careers began in the mid-80s – with the Italian-Spanish partnership proving to be the most reliable of the season and only team to score points in every race, taking four fifth and four six place finishes and fifth overall in the championship. In 2005 the pairing ran an even more competitive package - a Victory hull, supplied by SCAM and powered by Lamborghini-Scam V12s -signaling the launch of a new collaboration between Veneta Marina, Duemme Broker and SCAM with the team grabbing their highest finish, fourth. In the second half of 2005 they entered a second boat and in 2006 they again entered two boats with Montavoci and Cirilli taking their first Pole Position win and two podiums to finish in sixth.

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UGLAND OFFSHORE RACING TEAM

Ugland Offshore Racing is one of the sport’s long established teams. Competing in Class 3,4litre and Class 2, winning the European Championship, Andreas Ove Ugland made his Class 1 debut in St Tropez in 1991, taking his first podium in Guernsey a year later and the Class 1 European tile in 1993. After a break from racing he returned in 1999 and more podium and Pole Position successes followed. Recent years have seen the team use a variety of different driver combinations, achieving further podium finishes. In 2005 the team restructured bringing in Norwegian ProVee Offshore Champions and Class 1 debutants, Jorn Tandberg and Christian Zaborowski with the team opting to run the Mercury Class 1 engine package in their MTI catamaran. An impressive first season resulted in two podiums, two top six finishes and a first Pole Position win to finish fifth in the World Championship. In 2006 the team grabbed their first win and three podiums to take fourth overall in the title race.

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SPIRIT OF NORWAY RACING TEAM

Without question Spirit of Norway has been the dominant force of the last decade and are the defending Class 1 World, European, Middle East and Pole Position Champions. Formed in 1995 the team entered its first full season in the Class 1 in 1997, taking its first world title in 1998 going on to break record after record and establish the most successful driver/throttleman partnership in the sports history, with Gjelsten and Curtis winning 30 races from 74 starts, achieving the most race wins in a season (7 in 2003), a hat trick of world titles (2002, 2003, 2004), four European titles and four consecutive Pole Position titles. In 2005 Gjelsten opted to take a year out of racing and fellow Norwegian, Bard Eker, stepped into the driver’s seat to join Curtis and continue the ‘Spirit’ success story; from seven starts taking four wins, six Pole Position wins and grabbing SON’s fifth World title. Gjelsten was back in 2006 and with Curtis lifted Spirit of Norway’s sixth world crown.

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QATAR TEAM

In just three seasons the Qatar Team has established itself as a ‘tour-de-force’ in the sport, with HE Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and Matteo Nicolini winning their first title, the European Championship in 2005. Set up by the Qatar Marine Sports Federation in 2003, they made their debut in Plymouth in the ex Damas hull. Three races later they unveiled a new raceboat in the National colours of Qatar, winning the Pole Position and finishing third two races later in Dubai. A spectacular crash in Lisbon in 2004 was immediately followed by a second podium in Plymouth and their maiden Grand Prix victory in Oslo, taking two further top three finishes in Qatar and Dubai to finish the season fourth overall. In 2005 the team was restructured to run independently and entered two boats, collectively taking one race win and four podium finishes, with Qatar 96 taking third in the title race. Last season both boats ran the Mercury Class 1 engines, with Qatar 95 taking their maiden Grand Prix win in Doha, finishing third overall in the World Championship standings with Qatar 96 finishing fifth and second in the Pole Position Championship, finishing the season with two Pole wins.

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GIORGIOFFSHORE TEAM

Colourful, charismatic and totally committed is what best describes Giorgioffshore. Originally running as Team Offshore 2000, team owner/throttleman Gianni Giorgi led the team to multiple successes in Class 3, 6litre winning the 1993 World and Italian Championships, setting the world speed record the same year. In 1994 the team stepped up to compete in the Italian Class 1series and in 1996 made their international Class 1 debut winning the Dubai Gold Cup. In 2002 Gianni focused his attention on team management and handed racing duties to son Nicola and Tomaso Polli. The team was renamed Giorgioffshore in 2003 and a new Cougar hull followed in 2004 as well as several new racing partners for Nicola over the next two years. In 2006 Nicola was joined in the cockpit by Norwegian, Pal Virik Nilsen, and this year is partnered once again by Tomaso Polli.

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CHRIS PARSONAGE RACING TEAM

Chris Parsonage Racing was set up in 2004 by Plymouth property developer and organiser of the Class 1 British Powerboat Grand Prix, Chris Parsonage. The team made its Class 1 debut at the Portuguese Grand Prix in Lisbon with Parsonage and throttleman Peter McGrath finishing an impressive third. 2005 saw a new racing partnership with 1999 World Champion, Randy Scism, taking over as throttleman and a new team manager, crew chief and transport and logistics manager joining the team. An altogether improved set-up resulted in two podiums and four top five finishes, ending the season third in the Middle East Championship and fourth overall in the World Championship standings. Last season, Parsonage switched to throttle duties, bringing in Class 1 newcomer, James Sheppard, the pair grabbing their first Pole Position win. In 2007 Parsonage is joined by the 2005 World Champion Bard Eker.

About Class 1

The Class 1 World Powerboat Championship is an exhilarating and breathtaking spectacle. It brings together the latest in million dollar, state-of-the-art technology, an array of spectacular venues from the golden sands of the Arabian Gulf, the steely blue waters of the Norwegian Fjords and the sun drenched coasts of southern Europe and an international group of teams and racers who remain a breed apart in professional sport and compete for the most coveted prize in world powerboat racing – the Sam Griffith Trophy.It is a supremely competitive sport with driver and throttleman strapped into ‘jet fighter’ canopies, where 42ft powerboats, weighing five tons and powered by twin 900hp engines race at perilous speeds exceeding 160mph in always unpredictable conditions. A sport fuelled by adrenalin; a powerful and passionate display of skill and courage, creating a theatre of excitement and drama for the crowds who flock in their tens of thousands to watch real racing at its limit.