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.