Maritimo on track for Dubai

3:14 AM Mon 1 Dec 2008 GMT

'Raffaello Bastiani ? Dubai Grand Prix 2007 - WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship Round)' Class-1 World Powerboat Championship &copy

Scheduled for December 6 and December 13, the two Class I events comprise rounds of the World and Middle East Class 1 championships.

The innovative Bill Barry-Cotter-designed catamaran which will hopefully attract more competitors to Class 1 offshore racing, has arrived in Dubai in readiness for two Middle East events in early December.

Maritimo crew chief, Peter 'Muddy' McGrath left Australia last Friday to oversee final preparations for the boat and its dual 790hp naturally aspirated engines. Driver Tom Barry-Cotter flies out this week and will meet up with throttleman Pal Virik Nilsen in Dubai. Engine builder Kirk Davies and 'spannerman' Dave Grantley will accompany Barry-Cotter to Dubai.

Bill Barry-Cotter was the driving force behind significant rule changes to the offshore racing scene, which has led to the Dubai catamaran receiving the 'all clear' to take part in Class 1 by the sport's governing body, the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM).

To campaign one of these new catamarans will cost about $500,000 as against more than $1.2 million for the former boats with Lamborghini and similar engines.

The naturally-aspirated 790hp engines are widey used in European and American racing and it is hoped their adoption will result in larger fields worldwide.

Maritimo purchased 21 of the engines and will market the Coomera, Gold Coast-built catamarans with or without engines. Prospective racers may also purchase complete sets of plans and diagrams to build their own boats and engines to the accepted specifications.

When Powerboat-World covered this story originally, it was headed 'Offshore racing on the threshold of a new era'.

Dubai will be the opening stanza for this new era.

Needless to say, Powerboat-World.com will keep you informed.

by Bob Wonders

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