Australian Formula 1 powerboat driver Bob Trask had his run for a podium finish cruelly foiled at the Italian leg of the UIM F1 World Powerboat series. Staged on scenic Lake Como, the Italian round is one of the toughest on the world tour.
In qualifying Bob Trask again performed creditably, bringing his Australian designed and built
F1 powerboat in at 13th place on the start grid. The Trask Development Corporation / Sea Quest Boats sponsored race boat with Bob Trask strapped into the cockpit joined a crack field of 25 F1 drivers facing the starter’s flag.
From the outset Bob Trask moved steadily through the field picking off boats ahead of him one by one. However with 30 laps of the scheduled 50 lap race duration, disaster struck the Mercury powered boat.
Running in fifth position and making good ground on the fourth placed driver ahead, (the second Trask Development Corporation / Sea Quest Boats boat with brother David at the wheel), Bob Trask hit the rolling wake left by one of the hydrofoil commuter ferries moving across Lake Como upstream.
“This was a long rolling wake that was shallow enough to not launch the boat, but big enough that my F1 Sea Quest hull rolled and the prop broke free of the water,” Bob Trask said.
“As the prop broke free the engine revs went off the dial momentarily, then the prop dropped back into the water and bit hard.”
“The big bunch of revs shut down by the prop biting back into the water was too much for the crankshaft and it just snapped in two due to the sudden load on a free revving engine.”
“My boat was running better than in Portugal where I finished in sixth place. With 20 laps left to run I was about to move into fourth position and certainly had the running to get closer to the front of the pack.”
As the UIM F1 World Powerboat series develops, Bob Trask and the Trask Development Corporation / Sea Quest Boats team has shown steady and significant improvement.
“Whereas last season we were running mid field most of the series, now we have been consistently in the top1/3 with the capability to get into the top 3 consistently,” Bob Trask said. “We still need to work harder in qualifying to get into the first 10 places off the start dock.”
“We have been testing more this season and doing lots more development work. Our results are proving that we are certainly a world class outfit. At Como my team-mate and younger brother David brought our second Trask Development Corporation / Sea Quest Boats sponsored boat home in fourth position outright.”
“This was an exceptional effort but no surprise to us. It proves that we have world class hulls, top engines and the driving capability to be at the front of the field after 50 laps of F1 powerboat racing.”
With three rounds now completed on the world circuit, Bob Trask continues to impress where it counts, on the point score table. He currently is placed in 6th position on the table of drivers for the 2006 UIM F-1 title.
The Italian GP was won by Italian driver and multi world F1 champion Guido Capellini, a native of Lake Como.
The next round of the UIM F-1 powerboat series will be conducted in China on October 5th.
Bob Trask will also contest the next round of the Australian F1 Superboat series to be staged on the Gold Coast on the weekend of August 26th and 27th.
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