Brisbane based F1 driver Bob Trask endured a frustrating race weekend at the Gold Coast round of the Australian F1 Superboat series. The Trask Development Corporation/Sea Quest sponsored team experienced both the highs and abject lows of Formula 1 powerboat racing.
In official testing on Saturday, Bob Trask ran hard and fast with a developmental race engine, logging 34.45 seconds. However, a gremlin forced a powerhead change with a back up unit brought from the race truck and fitted to Bob Trask’s #19 boat.
With the trusty and proven engine fitted, Bob Trask went out on Sunday morning in qualifying to post the fastest lap. In taking pole position for the first heat, Bob Trask had almost a clear one second lead over second place qualifier, the number two Trask Development Corporation/Sea Quest boat driven by younger brother David Trask.
“We had almost 300 laps of testing on the engine that we qualified with,” Bob Trask said before heading out for the first heat. “I guess that it has run this hard for so long, it must be a good one!”
The first heat of the Gold Coast F1 Superboat race was certainly the race of the weekend. As expected Bob Trask blasted off the start dock and powered ahead of the pack in the run to the first turn.
The striking white, blue and yellow #19 hull stood out from the pack for its outright speed and the distance that Bob Trask put between him and the rest of the field. Before half race distance, Bob Trask started to work his way through the back markers. Traffic means rough water and not being able to take the favoured race line.
This allowed Trask Development Corporation/Sea Quest team-mate David Trask in the #18 boat to close the gap. On the final turn, Bob was forced wide and David Trask saw his opportunity to charge underneath and take a tight line through the turn for the chequered flag. Bob Trask led for 99% of the race but was pipped in the last 100 meters.
Heat 2 was a big disappointment for Bob Trask. After making a good start from pole position 2, the race was red flagged after just a few laps. On the re-start, the #19 boat was left languishing on the start dock with a power cable to the starter motor failing.
“That was a big disappointment,” Bob lamented. “We made a great start and were set to perform very well, except for the power cable problem on re-start.”
Then in the third and final heat, Bob Trask’s race was all over within the opening laps.
“I guess that starting the weekend with 300 laps on our engine was asking just a bit too much.”
With one more round of the Australian series to remaining, Bob Trask remains focussed on performing well both in Australia and overseas.
“The Trask Development Corporation/Sea Quest team will be at the closing round in Sydney looking to finish off the Australian F1 Superboat with a win,” Bob Trask said. “We also have three rounds of the F1 UIM World Championship left to contest and these races remain our primary focus for the remainder of 2006.”
Bob Trask currently sits in seventh position on the driver’s point score table, a credible result given that team did not contest two of the six rounds due to racing commitments with the UIM F1 Word Series.
The next race contested by the Trask Development Corporation/Sea Quest team will be the UIM F1 World series in China, on October 5th. The final round of the Australian F1 Superboat series will be staged in Sydney on October 22nd.
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