8 Aprile 2009

CURTIS CONFIDENT OF SUCCESS IN 2009

Fonte: Class 1 World Powerboat Champion

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. We have put in a lot of work over the winter, we have several new guys on the team and we are all very, very focussed."

Curtis and Sheikh Hassan were out on the waters of Doha Bay earlier this week, putting last year’s Qatar 96 through her paces. But with a second test planned next week in their rebuilt raceboat – the ex-Spirit of Norway 10, which the pair trashed in qualifying on its debut in Qatar colours last year – and whilst they know they will run the Skema V12 power-plants, they will wait before deciding which boat to run this season. "The test went well. Our main focus with last year’s boat has been reliability and we have made some limited modifications to cover this off. We know her limitations and we know she is very good in the rough," said Curtis. "But even at this stage, my feeling is to run the rebuilt boat. We have made some quite radical changes, we know the boat is very good in rough seas, but with the likelihood of limited rough races this year, we really need a boat that is also quick in flat conditions.

"My only concern is the implementation and policing of the rules. Last year, yes we had a shocker, but it was not a level playing field and we were forced to push too hard, to race on the edge just to compete, and this led to reliability issues.

"The core of our sport is based on rules and regulations, and it is up to the authorities, the WPPA, to implement what happens on a technical basis.

"We could have gone down the electronics this, electronics that route, but decided not to. If the new rules, which now limit the interface and use of sophisticated electronics putting more reliance on the skills of the driver and throttleman, are implemented, we should be in very good shape this year."