Running a pair of brand new, never been in the water GTR race hulls, brothers Bob and David Trask shipped their containers from Brisbane comfortable that they would have ample set up time upon arrival at the Qatar race venue.  But instead of the shipping containers arriving a week before the race as planned, the ‘lost in transit’ equipment arrived just two days before the first practice session.

“Our TBR pit crew did an amazing job completing a full week of set up work in just two days of around the clock commitment,” Bob Trask said.  “Our new GTR boats didn’t even have their signs and decals on when they were shipped.”

Based on the growing success of TBR in the 2007 UIM F1 Series, Bob and David Trask fronted with new boats and a new set up for the assault on the World Championship.

“We decided that we wanted to change our hulls around for 2008,” David Trask said.  “Last year we were able to match it with the best, but to win at the elite level in motor sport you have to be the fastest and the most reliable.”

In the first practice session David Trask went out and made a bold statement… fastest lap time!  And then he blew an engine missing the second timed session.   Bob Trask also was having his share of problems with a failed power steering system.

By the time the official timed practice sessions were complete, David Trask was in eighth position, Bob Trask was eleventh on the start dock.

From the outset David Trask took the Trask Development Corporation boat to the head of the field to do battle alongside the world’s best drivers.  Unfortunately the same power steering gremlins that plagued Bob Trask in qualifying persisted through the F1 GP, ultimately forcing Bob to retire the #3 TDC boat after just six laps.

Out on the Arabian Gulf, David Trask more than kept the family name to the fore.  At the completion of the prescribed 48 laps, David Trask not only came home a comfortable third (almost 2 seconds ahead of fourth placegetter) but in the process he posted the fastest race lap time of any driver in the GP and was also the fastest driver over the last ten laps.

“We’ve got the real deal in 2008,” a beaming David Trask said after the Qatar race.  “At the end of the 2007 series we knew that we had to be faster and also more reliable.  Today we have answered the faster part of the equation – the reliability aspect will be answered at the next round in Portugal.”

Given the problems associated with the late arrival of the race equipment, not to mention racing two untested and brand new hulls, and the Trask Brothers Racing team can only approach the next rounds of the series with the utmost of confidence.

“This year we have set our sights on the UIM F1 World Drivers Championship and following the opening round at Qatar we see no reason why this cannot be achieved,” Bob Trask said.

The all Aussie team is on the pace!

For further information on this story contact:

Bob Trask
Managing Director
GTR Race Boats
Tel (07) 3382 0200
Fax (07) 3284 1200
Email bobtraskformula1racing@hotmail.com
Web www.bobtraskf1.com