CLASS II }YORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS . - Powerboat Archive

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CLASS II }YORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS .
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The Anglo-American dwo of Peter Dredge and Texan Charles
Burnei III presented a stong challenge at Cowes in 'Buzzi
Buzz.ard', a 36 foot Rigid Hutted Inflatable powerecl by a singte
Seatek diesel, and clinched yet another World Championship,for
B ritain. The" RHIB ha s b e e n u nb e atab Je thro ug hout "the' -! 9 5
National Championships but hacl neverfaced such daunting
opposition.
l
,
:;::Ita#;7via'what'promised to be rhe biggesi {Jnited Kingdom off
' shore potverboat racing extrovaganza of the decade .wa,s motred
by a tragic accident which cost the lfe of Dwbaits Hamed
Bulhaleeba, throttleman aboard Victoryt M I.
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CLASS II CONTENDERS
Boat
VICTORY
BIZZI BUZZARD
BABY UNO
I\,IAXIl\/AILING
CULTURED VULTURE GBR
ABU DHABI TEAM
T.R M. 95
VICTORY
ON LINE CELLULAR PHONE GBR
ABU DHABI
UAE
SIMPLY THE BEST
CARTA CREDENCIAL
CERAI\,1ICA PANARIA
STENA BULK
BETTAN
Nat
UAE
GBR
NOR
GBR
UAE
GBR
UAE
GBR
ARG
ITA
SWE
SWE
Driver
Hamed Buhaleeba
Charles Burnett lll
Andreas Ove Ugland
Colin Stoneman
Graham Peck
Phil Duggan
Richard Strutton
Khalfan Hareb
Martin lVansbridge
Rashid Jabber Al Hamli
Cliff Smith
Jorge Kern
Mario lnvernizzi
Staffan Roth
Johan Brasjo
Co'Driver
Rashid Buhaleeba
Peter Dredge
Jann Hillestad
Mark Bridges
Mike Standring
Saeed Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan
Howard Wretham
Ali Nasser Bin Habala
Chris Meering
Abdulla Al Qobassi
David Tyrrell
Tomas Maffei
Luciano Togni
Kjell Fredlund
Ulf Jonson

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I

Above: Victory Ml3 on its way to third place
in Race 1.
Left: After a disappointing first heat with
mechanical problems Ugland'i 6 litre'Baby
Uno' stormed to victory in the final race of the
Class ll Championship
open..... but they were still in 3rd place ahead of
'Victory 13'.
First departure from the race was 'Baby Uno'
with a blown turbo when lying in 5th place. As
the race progressed, Duggan's 'Abu Dhabi 11' was
losing power and began dropping down the order,
whilst team mates Al Hamli and Al Qobassi were
maintaining a top three place in 'Abu Dhabi 19'.
Graham Peck in 'Cultured Vulture' had also
slowed dramatically as one engine had stopped and
both of Sweden's contestants retired along with
Stoneman.
On the final 1ap, 'Victory 13' piled on the power
to grab the lead ahead of'Abu Dhabi 19' and
'Blzzi Btzzard' and that was the order as they
crossed the finish line off the Royal Yacht
Squadron. Mario Invernizzi was happy with his
4th place and Sfutton, after a very slow start, made
up a vast amount of headway to finish 5th. The
spirits in the Victory team were high as Khalfan
Hareb and Ali Nasser bin Habala collected their
laurels and 400 points.
The weather conditions on the island were
becoming unpredictabie after Britain's six week
heatwave. Heavy showers and strong breezes were
forecast for race two but as the contenders made
their way out of the wet pits, sunshine had broken
through. The seas at both ends of the Solent, particularly
around Nab Tower, were rougher than
race one and on this occasion crews had a 106 mile
slog to contend with.

CTASS TI WORLD CHAMPTONSHIPS. .] ..
Both Victory boats made the stad line but 'Abu near fuil speed it appeared to hit a wash fiom one Naval Hospital Haslar where he was declared dead
Dhabi 19'failed tojoin the run-up, a victim of ofthe countless Ryde to Portsmouth ferries. The at 13.20 hours. The crew of'BuzziBuzzard',
mechanical problems. Colin Stoneman, driver of craft flipped on its side and came down heavily obviously unaware of the seriousness of the acci-
'Maxi Mailing', was laid up in bed with every upside down on its stern. The pursuing 'Victory dent, carried on to take the chequered flag ahead of
medical ailment known to man, and his absence 13' stopped immediately as 'Victory 1's driver Andreas Ugland and Jan Hillestad's 'Baby Uno'
eliminated the Batboat from
the Championship.
As the Red Funnel
Hydrofoil sent the pack on
their way, the leaders were
'Btrzzi Bluzzard','Victory l',
Victory 13' and Duggan's
'Abu Dhabi 11'. It soon
became clear that this race
was going to be a battle of
endurance as the retirements
were dropping out at an
alarming rate. Glaham Peck
had fitted a third outboard on
'Cultured Vulture' after running
with two engines in
race one, but after a promising
start was soon out with
more mechanical gremlins.
Duggan, after rebuilding his
sick engine on 1ay-day, soon
lost power on another powerhead.
After struggling on fbr
a further lap, power went on
one of the remaining two
engines leaving no option
but retirement.
Richard Strutton Snr., driver
of the radical 'TRM 95',
was not happy with the
craft's performance and
pulled out, although everything
appeared to be operating.
This craft, which won
the Hull Gold Cup on its first
UK outing, is described as a
trimaran yet the centre hull
does not run the whole length
of the boat, it is just a short
pod at the stern holding the
engine much like Giofreddi's
composite Buzzi Class I boat
'Pagnossin'.
Martin Mansbridge's
Donohoo designed 'On Line
Racing' and the two Swedish
boats also called it a day with
various problems leaving
only five craft fighting for
the points.
As the leading trio,
The United Arab Emirate teams were devastated by
the death of one of their top crewmen, Hamed
Buhaleeba, and both the Victor and Abu Dhabi
teams withdrew from the event as a mark of respect
to their counttnman.
Top: 'Victory Ml3' stopped immediately to render assistance t0 their stricken
'victory 1', 'Victory 13' and c\lleague and paramedics were 0n the scene within seconds.
'Buzzi Buzzard' rounded the Left: ' Victory f is recovered following its horrendous accident.
Nab Tower for the final time, Bight: Hamed Buhaleeba was lne of Dubai's mzst successful drivers and had been
Burnett was able to make a Randy Scism's Class I team mate f7r many years in a hugely successful Campaign in
tighter turn than the two the GUlf.
Emirate cats and the RHIB
took over the 1ead. However,
just when Messrs. Burnett and Dredge were build- Rashid Buhaleeba surfaced fiom the upturned craft.
ing up tsheir hopes of 400 points, a cockpit canopy Within seconds a helicopter with two paramedics
lid blew open. Despite repeated attempts to reach aboard were dropped into the water and a diver
the flapping lid from their seats they were forced to released throttleman Hamed Buhaleeba from his
slow down whilst Dredge unstrapped himself to cockpit. After receiving resuscitation at the scene
lean out through the opening and retrieve the cover. of the crash Hamed was airlifted to nearby Royal
BoLh Arab boats suept past rnd 'Victory l' moved
into the lead.
As the dark blue cat headed towards Rvde at
Articte: David Sewell Phot\s: Chris Davies
whilst Invernizzi filled the
iinal 3rd place aboard
'Ceramica Panaria'. Officials
declared that as 'Victory 13'
had been Iying in 2nd place
when it sLopped to render
assistance to their colleagues.
Hareb and Habala would bs
awarded 300 points.
The United Arab Emirates
teams were devastated by the
death ol' one of their top
crewmen and both the
Victory and Abu Dhabi teams
withdrew from the event as a
mark ol respect to their countryman.
Throughout the rest of
Friday and Saturday. an air of
despondency shrouded
Cor.r es. Hamed's death has
emphasired that alLhough
pouerboat racing portrays an
exciting. glamorous image. it
remains a very dangerous and
unpredictable sport. A1l of
the Victory boats are fitted
out to the highest safety standards
money can buy. yet in
the event of a high speed
accident it reems no craft carr
provide total protection.
Sundays final race was
rather predictable barring
mechanical problems.'Buzzr
Buzzard' was on 625 points,
'Ceramica Panaria' had 394
and'Baby Uno' lollouing iti
2nd place in race 2 had 300.
Unlike the previous heats
which were run in the Solent,
race three took the fleel dou rr
the Solent inlo the exposed
waters of the English Channel
along to a turn mark off
Poole. out to Pererell Ledge
and back to round the Isle of
Wight and a run down the
Solent to the iinish line, r distance
of 90 miles.
After an engine problem
Andreas Ugland finally displayed
'Baby Uno's true
potential and. de:pite being
only 6 Litre. it carved
through the rough seas to
lead 'Buzzi Btuzard' and win
the iinal averaging 77.02
mph. Burnett and Dredge's 2nd place assured
them of the coveted World Class II title with 925
points, whilst Mario Invemizzi's gallant 3rd place
in his 6 litre 'Ceramica Panaria' was rewarded with
3rd place overall in the Championship. Ugland and
Hareb shared the runners-up spot with 700 points
each. Strutton and Wretham's 'TRM 95' completed
the final race to claim 4th place ahead of the
only other finisher, Cliff Smith's 'Simply the Best' .
Raceboat & Watersports 43

2 LTTRE YYORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.
Jeremy and Alistair
Watts have taken the
2 Litre World
Championships for
Great Britain in 'Alexi'.
The little aluminium
monohull which celebrates
its 9th birthday
this year topped off an
illustrious career by
winning the ultimate
prize.
:. , &ir+i..
eigning title holders from ltaly, Armando
Baroni and Gianluca Beltrani, have been
obliged to travel long distances t0 c0mpete
at international level. Last year they wOn the
title in Tvedestrand, Norway after completing three
consistant heats in which they finished 2nd in
each race. Now they were in Cowes t0 defend their
title in the same boat, renamed 'Uniblock Zanotti'
fitted with a canopy. At the Norwegian event, they
were up against the best 0f the Scandinavians but
Britain was n0t represented at that meeting as.the
'Worlds' clashed with a major domestic meeting
In Cowes, however, they would have to contend
with all the top UK teams plus crews from
Norway, Sweden, Finland and ltaly. Weather would
play a big part in the outcome of the series as
Swede Micheal Frode is an expert in British waters
with his 25 foot monohull 'Mercury Special', and
the tw0 Forgecraft monohulls'Alexi' and
'Commodore Ferries' also excel in the rough. lf the
seas state was moderate the big cats'R&R
Motors' and 'Double M Music' would pose a serious
threat, but with 25 boats in the line-up the
outcome would be anyone's guess.
The first heat saw Class II away first followed
10 minutes later by 2 Litre. British hopes were
high as Robin Parrish and Tony Davis stormed
into an early lead chased by 'Double M Music'
and 'Uniblock Zanotli' . For 40 of the 60 mile
race these three stamped their authority but just
when the Mumtbrds in 'Double M' were feeling
confident of a top three spot, engine ploblems
stopped them in their tracks.
'R&R Motors' lead was being reduced as the
Italians pushed their SSB cat to its limits and at
the chequered flag 'Uniblock Zanotrt' had overhauled
the Brits to collect 400 points and victory
by 30 seconds.
Italian duo Maurizio Darai and Giorgio Dalla
Pieta aboard the Roberti designed SSB cat 'Lion
Argenti-Caltex' filled 3rd place ahead of fellow
Italians William and Aureiio Capriati in ,lth place
in 'Capri Team' another SSB catamaran. After
Panish the best of the UK contingent was Pete
Little and Dave Arlhur in their Batboat lookalike.
'City Offshore'.
Weather conditions deteriorated by race two
but the majority of the course, was still in the
Solent. Noticeabie absentee was 'R&R Motors.'
reaiising they needed a little extra speed they carried
out one or two modifications with disastrous
results. After going out to test the boat and at
speeds nearing the 80 mph mark, the Campbell
cat barrel-rolled and both crew members sustained
injuries that prevented them taking any
fufther part in the Championship.
The 2 Litre fleet starled Friday's race ahead of
the Class II field resulting in several near misses
as both heats got underway. Within a very short
space of time it was clear monohulls were dominating
the race.
Jeremy and Alistair Watts' veteran Forgecraft
'Alexi' had not raced all this season and in the
first heat could finish no better than 7th, one
place ahead of Roy Smith and David Voyce in
another Forgecraft 'Commodore Ferries' .
However, the rougher conditions now saw
'Alexi' leading 'Commodore Ferries' with Steve
Hore's Frode 23 monohull 'Hayloft Restaurant'
in 3rd place ahead of 'Uniblock Zanorrl' .
Like Class II running in similar seas, the retirements
were returning in large numbers and at the
finish only 10 boats completed the course with
'A1exi','Commodore Ferries','Uniblock
Zanotti' and 'Lion Argenti-Caltex' rounding ofT
1-2-3-4.
At this stage we were surprised to see two of
the pre-race favourites way down the pecking
order. Multi World Champions Neil Holmes and
Jim Cox had hoped for calm seas as they competed
in the Hydrolilt 'Tally Group' but after 2 races
they lay in 15th piace whilst Micheal Frode was
oniy two places higher.
There was everything sti1l to fight for as the
pack set off for race 3 in similar conditions to
Friday. The course was the same as Class II with
teams having to travel along the coast to Poole,
Peveral Ledge and back to Cowes after rounding
the Island
This time it was Roy Smith who lead the
charge but 'Alexi' was hot on 'Commodore
Ferries' heels. 'Hayloft Restaurant' again filled
3rd place but the reigning Italians were pressing
the leading trio all the way. It was clear that if
these positions could be maintained to the end
'Alexi' would triumph overa11, but if Baroni
could claw his way into 3rd place he would retain
his crown.
The mounting anticipation evaporated when
the Italian pushed his cat beyond the limits and it
barrel rolled. Both crewmen were unhurt but
they had blown all hopes of another world title.
'Alexi' performed faultlessly to win the race
ahead of sistership 'Commodore Ferries', whilst
'Hayloft Restaurant' again had to settle for
bronze.
Dave Sperling and Mike Spinks who had zero
marks going into the last heat filled 4th place and
collected 169 point,s one place ahead of Matt
Gardner in anothere Forgecraft mono. He too
was pointless until race three
For Britain, the Cowes Festival has been a
superb meeting with UK teams winning both
World crowns to add to the 6 and 4 Litre titles
already won in Norway. Obviously the death of
Hamed Buhaleeba cast a dark shadow over festivities
but nothing could take away the joy of the
British crews that have worked so hard to collect
their respective titles.
44 Raceboat & Watersports

F*s* ffi -
;-;
sl,f
61;r@s*i@Mt'*,,
Top: New 2 Litre World
Champion'Alexi'
Left: Sistership of 'Alexi' -
'Commodore Ferries' came second,
making it a memorable
year for Forgecraft, builders of
both craft .
RESULTS
2 LITRE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Nat Driver Navigator Pts
ALEXI GBR J, Watts A. Watts 7,71
COMMODORE FERRIES GBR R. Smith A. Carter 753
UNIBLOCK ZANOTTI ITA A. Baroni G. Beltrami 569
HAYLOFTRESTAURANT GBR S. Hore J. Locock 467
LION ARGENTI-CALTEX ITA M. Darai G. Dal1a Pieta 352
RNR MOTORS GBR R. Pansh T. Davis 300
HYDROLIFT CR-24 NOR B. Rudstrom A. Iversen 261
CAPRI TEAM ITA W. Capriati A. Capriati 169
SWEET AS GBR D. Sperling M. Spinks 169
MERCURY RACING GBR M. Gardiner W. Curtis I2'1
CITY OFFSHORE GBR P. Little D. Arthur 12'7
HOT STAFF NOR A. Staff H. Halvorsen 124
DOUBLE M MUSIC GBR M. Mumford J. Mumford 95
ANTONIO DERRICO ITA G. Carpitella P. Vianello 92
KRAMOCITARENT SWE T. Sjoberg L. Olofsson 62
S.A.S. GBR N. Holmes J. Cox 60
LOVELY ruBBLY BUBBLY GBR S. Nicolle D. Dyke 53
CASTROL MERCURY SPECIAL SWE M. Frode S. Wood Power 40
SNAP ON TOOLS GBR R. Steward V. Leish 13
Whilst battling to retain their world title ltalian driver Armando
Baroni turned 'Uniblock Zanotti' over smashing the screen and
wrecking the cowling.
Raceboat & Watersporis 45

MARTINI ENDURANCE
he 4th Round of the Martini Endurance
Championship pr