Australian Formula 1 driver David Trask has once again scored points in the UIM F1 World Championship, coming home in a very creditable sixth position at the Abu Dhabi round. He is currently placed in ninth position on the Drivers World Championship table with just one round remaining of the 2007 series.
Coming off the back of two boat breaking rounds in Qatar, the Trask Development Corporation team worked feverishly over the intervening days to race prepare two broken boats. David Trask’s favoured hull was demolished in an horrendous accident at Qatar.
The crew had the challenge to take three broken race boats and get two F1 rigs to the start line. Bob’s number 1 boat had a busted transom, and the back up boat raced by Bob in the second Qatar F1 round also sustained damage.
As events developed, the gamble of flying Australian GTR boat builders from Brisbane to the United Arab Emirates paid dividends with both boats fronting for the opening qualifying session.
David Trask once again laid down some exceptional laps to join the best Formula 1 powerboat drivers in the world for the top six shoot out. When the spray had settled, David Trask was in fifth position on the start pontoon with Bob further back in 17th place. A field of 26 boats faced the starter.
“We were feeling okay going into the Abu Dhabi round,” Bob Trask said. “ We had endured some big set backs at Qatar but felt that in spite of our difficulties we were going into the final two rounds with a good set up.”
The best laid plans often go awry and when the GP start lights turned from red to green, both Trask Development Corporation boats were badly checked off the dock.
“We got nailed right at the start,” David Trask said. “We are usually pretty strong off the start dock, but for some reason today we got squeezed and bumped.”
Eventually David Trask worked his way through the bump and grind of the start but felt his boat was uncomfortable in the turns. With two difficult right hand turns on the 2100m circuit, David Trask didn’t push quite as hard as he would have liked.
Irrespective, the result was outstanding finishing in sixth place overall and on the same lap as GP winner Sami Selio. A close inspection of the Trask Development Corporation hull following the race revealed possible broken frames in the hull. With undue flexing, the hull was not performing as normal through the turns.
Back in the field, Bob Trask was an angry man.
“I got off to a bad start and then was checked on the second turn and then again on the fifth, all on the opening lap. On my first lap I’d really had enough of the treatment and was as mad as hell.”
Over the entire 50 lap race duration, Bob Trask drove as aggressively as he had ever at the wheel of a F1 boat. In spite of finishing in 13th position, Bob posted the fifth fastest lap time for the Abu Dhabi F1 GP. This was slightly more than 1 second faster than brother David’s best lap time.
The tour now moves to Sharjah in the UAE where the final round is to be contested on December 14th.
“We have again made good progress this season and now want to finish it off on a high note, so watch out for the Trask brothers at Sharjah,” Bob Trask said.
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