ALEXANDRIA: The World Class One Powerboating Grand Prix saw defending champions Spirit of Norway remain on course for their sixth straight championship with a victory on the North Coast resort of Porto Marina Saturday. The Norwegian drivers Bjorn Rune Gjeltsen and Steve Curtis gave themselves the upper hand Friday by taking pole position in the qualifiers. And they never looked like losing their lead from the start of the race Saturday, finishing up an impressive 30 seconds ahead of their rivals Qatar 96 in second and Victory 77 in third. Conditions for racing were unfavourable with strong winds and choppy waters, forcing organizers to shorten the course to 57.59Nm. But that did not hinder the commanding performance of Gjeltsen and Curtis. "It was pretty rough out there today but we had a very good run and this was the result we needed, said Gjeltsten. "All weekend our set-up has been good and we knew we would be hard to beat in these conditions. Steve did another great job on the throttles, we were right on the buoys at each turn and we soon built a comfortable lead. "The top four or five boats are all pretty similar in terms of performance, but today was more about the pilots than anything else. The Qatar 96 team of Sheikh Hassan and Matteo Nicolini had cause for celebration as well; their second place finish helped them close the point's gap on Victory 77. "We made a good start and managed to get a good lead over Victory 77, Hassan said. "Staying ahead was the goal but it is not easy when you are hitting waves and the boat is being thrown around at speed. "Spirit had good acceleration and a good pace today, but our goal was to close the gap on Victory 77 which we have and now we can take the fight to Doha where we must finish well and hope that 77 is not on the podium. The teams will compete again in Doha in two weeks time for the Qatar Grand Prix, and with 24 points separating the top three the title race looks set to go down to the final two races in Dubai.
