Brisbane based Formula 1 powerboat racer, Bob Trask, has scored points in the fourth round 2007 UIM F1 World Championship, staged at Shenzhen, China. Bob’s brother and team mate in the Trask Development Corporation team, David Trask posted a DNF, forced to retire after just 10 laps.
The second of two UIM F1Championship rounds in China began well for the Trask Development Corporation team with David Trask qualifying in pole position four. Bob was on pole nine, his best qualifying position for the 2007 series.
As expected competition at the elite level of powerboat racing was tight, with just over a second separating the first nine boats on the start grid.
“Our objective all season has been to have both boats in the top ten on the start dock with one of us in the top five,” Bob Trask said.
“This was my second top six shootout for the 2007 series,” Dave Trask said. “We have been going very well in the qualifying and test sessions all year, so to be in the final six for the shootout has been in line with our objectives.”
“As a team we feel that we are very well positioned in 2007 to make a serious challenge to the front runners. We are barely a second off the pace, so the 2007 season has come to a point at all four rounds where we are being taken seriously by the world’s best teams, running right alongside them.”
The Shenzhen F1 GP started well for the Trask Development Corporation Team and their Brisbane designed & built GTR Race Boats. After the first few laps David Trask was running in fourth position while Bob was holding down ninth.
However, David Trask’s race came to an abrupt halt on lap 10 of the 70 lap GP when his throttle failed. So often the smallest of components can cause the most disheartening of problems.
“When the throttle cable let go I was running right where I wanted to be and was happy with the way the race was panning out,” David Trask said. “Who knows what could have happened had I kept running, but that’s racing.”
Bob Trask was left to carry the team mantle. Having seen that brother David was on the end of a tow line; Bob knew that he now had to press hard for the team.
Driving a tough race over a very short and bumpy 1900 m circuit, Bob Trask worked his way into fourth position. But Bob’s hard work at the wheel could not be sustained.
“I just couldn’t hold my position when I began having problems with my trim system,” Bob said. ‘It looks as though I bent the trim ram, due to the rough conditions in parts of the course.”
The trim system on a F1 boat allows the driver to alter the angle of attack of the propeller as the engine trims down or up. With up trim the boat breaks clear of the water coming out of turns and running down the straights, while in trim is used when braking and entering a corner. The trim buttons are activated dozens of times on every lap.
Running the final third of the F1 GP without trim, Bob Trask still managed to come across the finish line a very creditable seventh. This puts Bob Trask into the driver’s point score this season and the Shenzhen result is close to rivalling his career best result of a fifth in Qatar in the 2006 F1 series.
In the 2007 Drivers Championship, David Trask is currently in 9th position having scored points in two rounds and DNF’d in two others, while Bob has completed all races and is positioned 18th. Four rounds remain to be contested.
The next round of the 2007 UIM World F1 Powerboat series is to be staged at Doha, Qatar where two races are to be staged in quick succession on November 24th and 27th 2007
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