The "mates" have arrived. .

Powerboating is alot about politics, travel and races, but its also about friends. .

Today I had breakfast with Elek from Hungary, Elek is the organizer of the official rescue  team for the World Cup.  We also ran into the secretary  of the World Cup, Baiba with family.

Temperature is still on a steady 40`and sun is shining.

I promiced pictures and video from the pits today, and you will get it !

Speak soon,

Frode – F2boat.com

Saudi - 1st day..

Still one week to the race, but we have a lot of work to do. Alot of preparation  have to be done, and its hot…

Today we have been setting up tents, tried to get used to the temperature (39 around lunch time ) and we have organized all stuff we need like rent a car etc.. the Saudi people are really brave in the traffic… No rules, first man wins :-)

Anyway, tomorrow we will start to bring pictures and video, so stay tuned !

Spirit of Norway continues the season.

Bjørn Rune Gjelsten wanted to pull out of the Class 1 championship after last race. Team Victory was accused of dirty team driving, and Bjorn stated that he had enough. Now he changed his mind.

According to the story in www.batliv.com Bjorn stated that " Victory team is using all the dirty tricks in the book to beat us, its dangerouse and completly unacceptable. There is no moral left in C1 - If they get away with it, I will pull my team stated the owner of Spirit of Norway after last race.

" 2 yellow card and a extra long lap in the next race is not good enough, last race I had an appologise, this time that has not even happend, but the support from Shaiq Hassan who was right behind us have made a different"

Bjørn Rune Gjelsten is still not fit for fight after the last round, but on a direct question if he is scared he turns it down. "NO. No way, but you have to respect the power in these boats. “Somebody” dont care, and that is dangerouse.

We all know that he talks about Victory 7 – who with 1 more yellow card according to this atrical will be dsq from the championship.

Has Talib Al Sayed been a succsess for Victory team ? Victory team has always had a “nice guy” style, always enjoyed by everybody. Would it be a tactic move to swap back to Ahamed Al Suwaidi as driver? Well, only time will tell.

On a direct question to Arif Al Zafin he looks at is as a race episode, and dont belive its such a big deal. Racing is racing says the young arab who sits on top of the point table, a place who used to belong to Bjørn Rune Gjelsten and Spirit of Norway.

Arrived in Saudi Arabia -

Just arrived in Saudi, flew in from Amsterdam. Only option for me was Dammam, witch is on the “wrong” side. Close to midnight, and still on waiting list.. Will I have my first night in Saudi in an airport?

Only time will tell.

A big thanks to Tim Seebold who supplied us with some more airbag parts, they arrived in time with DHL.

Another big thank you to my super data guru, Thomas who makes a system so easy that I can access it from any where in the world. Thanks Buddy, take care of the Headquarter while Im gone..

I will update on a daily base from here, Im sure, so stay tuned as we produce the fastest news updates from the world of powerboating.

thill then, x yr fingers – and pray that I get I flight to the “right side” tonight.

ciao, Frode

Good luck Scott. .

Scott Gillman pulled out from the race in China and went to hospital, Thani carried the flag to the finish line, and beat Guido when there was 6 laps to go. . I bet Scott was proud of his “son”..

The whole boatracing family send their best wishes to the F1 Worldchampion Scott Gillman. Lets pray for a speedy recovery..

From the UIM F1 site:

ABU DHABI, UAE – Monday, 07 of October, 2007 –The GP of Xi’an, China produced two spectacular accidents. The first to barrel-roll out of contention was Russia’s Stas Kourtsenovsky from Team Energy. Thankfully Stan escaped unscathed and attended the Farewell Dinner.
Tamoil’s Ivan Brigada was not so fortunate as, after his DAC barrel-rolled he suffered cuts and bruises to his face on impact. He was taken to hospital and released after treatment.
However the most alarming incident involved reigning world champion Scott Gillman. After Kourtsenovsky’s crash, the fleet followed the pace boat around under the yellow flag and during this period Scott started to suffer sever chest pains and had difficulty breathing. He headed for the pits where his shore crew helped him from his cockpit in a semi-collapsed condition. He was rushed to hospital and underwent several test as initial thoughts were he might have suffered a mild stroke. However after returning to Abu Dhabi on Sunday, he will undergo more tests and early diagnosis suggests Angina could have caused his condition, although today (Monday 8th) he is feeling OK. Whether he will be passed fit to compete in Shetzen remains a doubt.

Old funny video of Steve – Scott and Thani whos playing with em both ! 

SABAH WORLD CUP

The F2 World Cup final will be held in the butiful area of Sabah, Malaysia on 1 – 2 of December 2007. 18 drivers from 10 different country´s will attend the World Cup final.

Kristiansand -SABAH WORLD CUP


Adbul Salam Fairooz complimented the local organizers of Sabah for their effort to turn the World Cup final into such an successful event. " Im very pleased, and it gives me great motivation to travel to Saudi and tell the drivers, teams and partners that also the final race of the season will be on the highest level of powerboating. I have also had meeting with local drivers that want to attend the race, and we try to help the once with actual expiriance to join in on the final. It makes it a real World Cup " states the promoter.

Abdul Salam takes over the main responsibility for the promotion of the F2 World Cup after Modris Kalcniems two opening rounds.

"Modris did a great job, and we work close together with the UIM to develope this consept. Leif Aalborg is also a part of the working group who signed contract for 2007. The European champion, Ugis Gross will be here, along side Italian Alex Carella and Rick Haakonsen. The Jelf brothers from UK will once again fight for glory as they dominated first round in Portugal and with Arif Al Zafin who is testing his boats in Dubai gets ready it will be a fight to the finish line.

As Abdul Salam Fairooz “takes off” to the next stop of his tour, the teams gets ready to arrive in Saudi. First teams travels already tomorrow.

Official websites:

UIM – F2 World Cup – F2000boat.ae 

World Cup promoter travels the world..

Kristiansand -  The promoter Abdul Salam Fairooz travels the world to assure the 2 next events in the UIM F2 World Cup.

" I just arrived in Malaysia, and the preperation here is impressive. It will be a high quality event, Im very pleased" says Mr Fairooz.

Mr Fairooz will tomorrow attend a press conference to announce the event for the Malaysian marked.

" Its busy, yes – two days ago we had the press conference in Dubai where Yosef Al Rabayan and Arif Al Zafin attended, tomorrow Malaysia – and the day after I fly to Saudi for the next round in Saudi Arabia. Its a great feeling, all partners are working hard – when the show hits the water the driver will decide who will be the champion, I expect hard fight from Italy – Norway – Kuwait – Latvia – UK and Dubai. Lets see who will be crowned champion" says Abdul Salam Fairooz.

We wish him the best of luck.

Norwegian champion !

My mechanic, Geir Espeland and his daughter Christina won the overall Norwegian Cup this weekend on the famous rudskogen race track..

After 9 races, 5 wins  2 × 4th, a 3rd place and 1 2nd place rounds off a very strong season. Only 2 times as runner up to the podium in the first season is fantastic !

We wish Geir and Christina best of luck for next year !

F 

New world record in F2000 ?

My world speed record in F2000 is broken..

Anders Andersson broke my my worldspeed record today. I had the record 1yr. The new unofficial UIM F2000 record is 195. something. Hats off Anders, I will now have to go for 200 km/h +:-) Werner says he is ready from the technical side. All depends on weather, and according to my swedish friends, it was prefect conditions.

Selio # 1 in UIM F1 WORLDCHAMPIONSHIP -

GP of China	Xi’an, 4 & 5 October
Race Classification Posn Boat Driver Nat Team Lap’s Down Points 1 2 AL QAMZI Thani UAE Emirates F1 Team 55 1:16:19 20 2 21 CAPPELLINI Guido ITA Tamoil F1 55 2.25 15 3 5 SELIO Sami FIN F1 Team Energy 55 7.34 12 4 20 LUNDIN Pierre SWE Comparato Racing 55 10.53 9 5 4 TRASK David AUS XPV Racing 55 12.86 7 6 15 TOURRE Philippe FRA F1 Team Sweden 55 26.56 5 7 10 BENAVENTE Duarte POR Atlantic Team 55 27.53 4 8 31 BOCCA Fabrizio ITA Rainbow Team 55 35.17 3 9 27 AL HAMLI Ahmed UAE Emirates F1 Team 54 L1 2 10 24 CANTANDO Francesco ITA Singha F1 Racing 54 L1 1 11 3 TRASK Bob AUS XPV Racing 54 L1   12 8 PENG Linwu CHN CTIC China Charente Maritime 54 L1   13 32 LAGIANNELLA Valerio ITA Rainbow Team 53 L2   14 19 COMPARATO Fabio ITA Comparato Racing 53 L2   15 23 LEIDI Franco ITA Singha F1 Racing 52 L3   16 22 BRIGADA Ivan ITA Tamoil F1 34 RET   17 9 CHIAPPE Phiippe FRA Atlantic Team 28 RET   18 1 GILLMAN Scott USA Emirates F1 Team 27 RET   19 14 ANDERSSON Jonas SWE F1 Team Sweden 24 RET   20 11 PRICE Jay QAT Qatar Team 23 RET   21 6 KOURTSENOVSKY Stan RUS F1 Team Energy 20 RET   22 7 DESSERTENNE Philippe FRA CTIC China Charente Maritime   DNS   23 12 BONELLI Leo ITA Qatar Team   DNS                     Remarks   Boat No 27 one lap deducted for destroying buoy turn 1 rule 313.03

All photo : Samiselio.com

Overall results.

Pos	Boat	Driver	Nat									TOT
				POR	FRA	CHN	CHN	QAT	QAT	UAE	UAE
1	5	Sami SELIO	FIN	9	20	12						41
2	1	Scott GILLMAN	USA	20	15	RET						35
3	21	Guido CAPPELLINI	ITA	15	RET	15						30
4	11	Jay PRICE	QAT	12	9	RET						21
5	2	Thani AL QAMZI	UAE	RET	RET	20						20
6	20	Pierre LUNDIN	SWE	5	RET	9						14
7	14	Jonas ANDERSSON	SWE	RET	12	RET						12
8	4	David TRASK	AUS	4	RET	7						11
9	9	Philippe CHIAPPE	FRA	3	7	RET						10
10	31	Fabrizio BOCCA	ITA	2	3	3						8
11	7	Philippe DESSERTENNE	FRA	7	DSQ	DNS						7
12	10	Duarte BENAVENTE	POR	RET	2	4						6
13	6	Stas KOURTSENOVSKY	RUS	0	5	RET						5
13	12	Leo BONELLI	ITA	1	4	DNS						5
13	15	Philippe TOURRE	FRA	RET	RET	5						5
16	27	Ahmed AL HAMLI	UAE	RET	RET	2						2
17	22	Marco GAMBI	ITA	RET	1	-						1
17	24	Francesco CANTANDO	ITA	RET	RET	1						1
19	3	BobTRASK	AUS	0	0	0						0
19	8	Lin Wu PENG	CHN	0	RET	0						0
19	23	Franco LEIDI	ITA	0	DNS	0						0
19	32	Valerio LAGIANNELLA	ITA	0	RET	0						0
19	33	Andy ELLIOTT	GBR	-	0	-						0
19	19	Fabio COMPARATO	ITA	RET	RET	0						0

And the overall leader´s intervju :

Marit Strømøy to F1 ?

Well, thats what we read inbetween the lines on her new website. . 

Have a look, nice site marit, well done.. 

www.starsonwater.com 

Thani Al Qamzi WiN CHINA F1

Well done Thani, passing Guido on the restart with 6 laps to go, there was no looking back !

From F1boat.com

16:21 – Race Over – In a race littered with accidents and countless laps under yellow flags, Tany Al Qamzy has won the GP of Xi’an overtaking long time leader Guido Cappellini is the last few lap with Sami Selio clinching third place ahead of Pierre Lundin and David Trask.

16:19 – with 5 laps ledt, Al Qamzy leads Cappellini, Selio leads Lundin with Dave Trask 5th ahead of Tourre, Benavente, Al Hamli, Bocca, Cantando, Bob Trask, Lin Wu Peng and Lagiannella.

16:17 – With 9 laps remaing Al Qamzy was alongside Cappellini and the Emirate driver takes the lead. Cappellini is now being hunted down by Selio.

16:15 – After 41 laps, the yellow flags are still flying following Brigada’s accident which suggests referee Duke Waldorf is unsure if the circuit is clear of debris.

15:52 – Yellow flags again on lap 35 as Ivan Brigada barrell-rolled into oblivion and again the pace is reduced to a crawl. If the Chinese supporters were hoping for drama, they have certainly had their fair share in the GP of Xi’an. From our vantage point, it appears the mist is closing in again with the top end of the circuit now invisible.

15:47 – Lap 29 and its back to the action with Cappellini still in the lead chased by Al Qamzi, Selio, Lundin and Dave Trask. Gillman seems to have problems as he has dropped back to 16th place while Tourre is enjoying a good race 7th place ahead of Al Hamli, Bocca and Cantando.

15:44 – It appears driver have misunderstood signals as its clear yellow flags are flying yet boats were building up to racing speed although the pace boat is not on the circuit.

15:39 – As the fleet still chase the pace boat, disaster for 2nd place Jonas Andersson as he has broken down while trolling around the circuit. Al Qamzy is now in 2nd place.

15:37 – The stoppage has allowed Andersson to close in on leader Cappellini with Al Qamzi in close contention. The lap counter we have been using was producing the wrong figure and the race has only reached lap 30 as the fleet continue to follow the pace boat under yellow flags.

15:29 – After 21 laps, Cappellini has established a healthy lead over Swede Andersson but on lap 34 Osprey Rescue were called into action when Russian Stas Kourtsenovski crashed out in spectacular fashion but escaped unscathed.

15:23 – After 13 laps only Dessertenne and Leo Bonelli is missing while Selio has overtook Gillman for 4th place. The leading duo, Cappellini and Andersson a battling deck to deck but again reduced visibilty is making it difficult to see position changes at the top end of the circuit.

15:21 – The top two positions remain unchanged but Gillman has now moved into 4th place and Andersson is 2nd. Selio has recovered to move upto 5th place ahead of Lundin, Dave Trask and Philippe Chiappe. Philippe Tourre is 11th ahead of Kourtsenovski and Al Hamli.

15:19 – Lap 7 and positions remain the same at the front with the exception of Selio who has dropped back. The top five feature two Tamoil boats and the two Emirate pilots while Andersson fellow countryman Perre Lundin moves into 6th place.

15:16 – The yellow flag appeared before a lap was completed when Dessertenne was involved in an incident that appeared to be a ‘spin out’. However mist made it difficult to see what exactly happened. The fleet followed the pace boat for 4 laps before Cappellini led the fleet ahead of Al Qamzi, Andersson, Selio and Gillman.

15:04 – Start

14:45 – The GP of China will be the first race where drivers face a ‘drive through’ penalty. If a pilot hits a turn buoy, they will have to pull off the course, run through the pit lane at 4000rpm and rejoin the race rather than face the previous penalty of a one lap penalty. Also anyone jumping the start will have their number flashed up on a digital display and they will have to drop to the back of the field.

14:40 – The pack have just started the parade lap as the countdown begins for a 3.00 pm (China time) start.
Emirates pilot Scott Gillman heads the championship table ahead of Finland’s Sami Selio after two rounds.
Gillman has struggled during qualifying and just scraped into the top six while Selio blew an engine during the top six shoot out.

14:30 – The 23 strong fleet of Formula One rigs are lined up on the start grid in preparation for the 2007 Grand Prix of Xi’an, China. Guido Cappellini holds pole position ahead of Philippe Dessertenne.
The humid atmosphere has increased air temperature into the high 70F°’s (21C°) and the grandstand, filled to capacity is bracing itself for an exciting 55 lap GP.
Although the sun has pieced through the clouds, a light mist still lingers over the 1.9 kilometre circuit.

The 6th race in the country of China and the Grand Prix of Xi’an will take place this afternoon at 15:00 local time and 09:00 GMT as 23 drivers from 11 countries will do battle on the very difficult 7-turn 1.9 kilometer course here in the ancient capital of Central China.

Ivan barrolrolled hard !

Guido still in lead, Thani 2nd and Sami Selio 3rd..

Live news

15:52 – Yellow flags again on lap 35 as Ivan Brigada barrell-rolled into oblivion and again the pace is reduced to a crawl. If the Chinese supporters were hoping for drama, they have certainly had their fair share in the GP of Xi’an. From our vantage point, it appears the mist is closing in again with the top end of the circuit now invisible.

15:47 – Lap 29 and its back to the action with Cappellini still in the lead chased by Al Qamzi, Selio, Lundin and Dave Trask. Gillman seems to have problems as he has dropped back to 16th place while Tourre is enjoying a good race 7th place ahead of Al Hamli, Bocca and Cantando.

15:44 – It appears driver have misunderstood signals as its clear yellow flags are flying yet boats were building up to racing speed although the pace boat is not on the circuit.

15:39 – As the fleet still chase the pace boat, disaster for 2nd place Jonas Andersson as he has broken down while trolling around the circuit. Al Qamzy is now in 2nd place.

15:37 – The stoppage has allowed Andersson to close in on leader Cappellini with Al Qamzi in close contention. The lap counter we have been using was producing the wrong figure and the race has only reached lap 30 as the fleet continue to follow the pace boat under yellow flags.

15:29 – After 21 laps, Cappellini has established a healthy lead over Swede Andersson but on lap 34 Osprey Rescue were called into action when Russian Stas Kourtsenovski crashed out in spectacular fashion but escaped unscathed.

15:23 – After 13 laps only Dessertenne and Leo Bonelli is missing while Selio has overtook Gillman for 4th place. The leading duo, Cappellini and Andersson a battling deck to deck but again reduced visibilty is making it difficult to see position changes at the top end of the circuit.

15:21 – The top two positions remain unchanged but Gillman has now moved into 4th place and Andersson is 2nd. Selio has recovered to move upto 5th place ahead of Lundin, Dave Trask and Philippe Chiappe. Philippe Tourre is 11th ahead of Kourtsenovski and Al Hamli.

15:19 – Lap 7 and positions remain the same at the front with the exception of Selio who has dropped back. The top five feature two Tamoil boats and the two Emirate pilots while Andersson fellow countryman Perre Lundin moves into 6th place.

15:16 – The yellow flag appeared before a lap was completed when Dessertenne was involved in an incident that appeared to be a ‘spin out’. However mist made it difficult to see what exactly happened. The fleet followed the pace boat for 4 laps before Cappellini led the fleet ahead of Al Qamzi, Andersson, Selio and Gillman.

15:04 – Start

14:45 – The GP of China will be the first race where drivers face a ‘drive through’ penalty. If a pilot hits a turn buoy, they will have to pull off the course, run through the pit lane at 4000rpm and rejoin the race rather than face the previous penalty of a one lap penalty. Also anyone jumping the start will have their number flashed up on a digital display and they will have to drop to the back of the field.

14:40 – The pack have just started the parade lap as the countdown begins for a 3.00 pm (China time) start.
Emirates pilot Scott Gillman heads the championship table ahead of Finland’s Sami Selio after two rounds.
Gillman has struggled during qualifying and just scraped into the top six while Selio blew an engine during the top six shoot out.

14:30 – The 23 strong fleet of Formula One rigs are lined up on the start grid in preparation for the 2007 Grand Prix of Xi’an, China. Guido Cappellini holds pole position ahead of Philippe Dessertenne.
The humid atmosphere has increased air temperature into the high 70F°’s (21C°) and the grandstand, filled to capacity is bracing itself for an exciting 55 lap GP.
Although the sun has pieced through the clouds, a light mist still lingers over the 1.9 kilometre circuit.

The 6th race in the country of China and the Grand Prix of Xi’an will take place this afternoon at 15:00 local time and 09:00 GMT as 23 drivers from 11 countries will do battle on the very difficult 7-turn 1.9 kilometer course here in the ancient capital of Central China.

From our special reporter David Sewell

Stanislav flipped, Dessertenne out and Jonas stopped.

Guido leads the race in front of Thani

15:37 – The stoppage has allowed Andersson to close in on leader Cappellini with Al Qamzi in close contention. The lap counter we have been using was producing the wrong figure and the race has only reached lap 30 as the fleet continue to follow the pace boat under yellow flags.

15:29 – After 21 laps, Cappellini has established a healthy lead over Swede Andersson but on lap 34 Osprey Rescue were called into action when Russian Stas Kourtsenovski crashed out in spectacular fashion but escaped unscathed.

15:23 – After 13 laps only Dessertenne and Leo Bonelli is missing while Selio has overtook Gillman for 4th place. The leading duo, Cappellini and Andersson a battling deck to deck but again reduced visibilty is making it difficult to see position changes at the top end of the circuit.

15:21 – The top two positions remain unchanged but Gillman has now moved into 4th place and Andersson is 2nd. Selio has recovered to move upto 5th place ahead of Lundin, Dave Trask and Philippe Chiappe. Philippe Tourre is 11th ahead of Kourtsenovski and Al Hamli.

15:19 – Lap 7 and positions remain the same at the front with the exception of Selio who has dropped back. The top five feature two Tamoil boats and the two Emirate pilots while Andersson fellow countryman Perre Lundin moves into 6th place.

15:16 – The yellow flag appeared before a lap was completed when Dessertenne was involved in an incident that appeared to be a ‘spin out’. However mist made it difficult to see what exactly happened. The fleet followed the pace boat for 4 laps before Cappellini led the fleet ahead of Al Qamzi, Andersson, Selio and Gillman.

15:04 – Start

14:45 – The GP of China will be the first race where drivers face a ‘drive through’ penalty. If a pilot hits a turn buoy, they will have to pull off the course, run through the pit lane at 4000rpm and rejoin the race rather than face the previous penalty of a one lap penalty. Also anyone jumping the start will have their number flashed up on a digital display and they will have to drop to the back of the field.

14:40 – The pack have just started the parade lap as the countdown begins for a 3.00 pm (China time) start.
Emirates pilot Scott Gillman heads the championship table ahead of Finland’s Sami Selio after two rounds.
Gillman has struggled during qualifying and just scraped into the top six while Selio blew an engine during the top six shoot out.

14:30 – The 23 strong fleet of Formula One rigs are lined up on the start grid in preparation for the 2007 Grand Prix of Xi’an, China. Guido Cappellini holds pole position ahead of Philippe Dessertenne.
The humid atmosphere has increased air temperature into the high 70F°’s (21C°) and the grandstand, filled to capacity is bracing itself for an exciting 55 lap GP.
Although the sun has pieced through the clouds, a light mist still lingers over the 1.9 kilometre circuit.

The 6th race in the country of China and the Grand Prix of Xi’an will take place this afternoon at 15:00 local time and 09:00 GMT as 23 drivers from 11 countries will do battle on the very difficult 7-turn 1.9 kilometer course here in the ancient capital of Central China.

From our special reporter David Sewell

Dave fastest in warmup..

Dave did it again, a day late to repeat his pole of last yr, but fastest in morning warmup shows that his boat is dialed in..

Race starts in 5 hours.

 Frode,

08.30 Norwegian time