Contesting the second round of the 2007 UIM F1 World Championship for powerboat racing, the Trask Bothers Racing team of Bob and David Trask fronted a wind blown circuit at La Rochelle on the west coast of France. 

Fresh from a solid performance the weekend prior at Portugal the Trask Development Corporation / Sea Quest Boats teamed were confident of a good showing at the French round.

At the outset David Trask stamped his determined authority on the French F1 GP.  In the opening qualifying session David got in a series of quick laps early in the session to take pole position with a time of 49.05 seconds.  Bob Trask endured nagging engine gremlins to qualify well back in the field at 54.19 seconds.

Weather conditions deteriorated significantly for the second qualifying session with many drivers not bothering to crane their boats into the water.

Come race day and the course was again rough and wind blown.  With David Trask taking pole position for the first time in his UIM F1 World Championship career, he was determined to hold his line and dictate terms in the drag to the first buoy. 

With the likes of multiple world champions Scott Gillman and Guido Cappellini to his right, David Trask knew that he would be in for a tough day.

In what can only be described as a brutal race, David Trask acquitted himself admirably.  Throughout the French F1 GP, the Trask Development Corporation / Sea Quest Boats boat was running in either second or third position throughout the GP.

The rough water was bad enough, but the intimidating attention at the head of the pack was something else.  Over the journey David Trask had his boat hit four times by Fabricius Boca from Italy.

Undaunted, David Trask was holding down second place but with three and a half laps to go, damage to the steering sustained in one of the ‘hits’ finally gave way and forced the David Trask to retire and post a DNF.

While the result sheet shows that David Trask finished the French GP in 14th position, it in no way reflects the true performance of this determined Aussie team.  Staring at a certain podium finish, the cruel turn of events typify the determination needed to overcome adversity to come back at the next round and start over.

“Today we proved to the F1 powerboat racing community that our Australian Trask Development Corporation / Sea Quest Boats race team is to be taken seriously,” David Trask said.  “They view Bob and me as legitimate front runners.”

Bob Trask echoed the thoughts of his younger brother.

“The Trask Development Corporation / Sea Quest Boats team took pole position in France today,” Bob Trask said.  “We did so because we are fast enough with good hulls, good engines, a good driver and a well run team.” 

“You don’t get to be at the head of the F1 field and run the race in second place by accident and today we have shown the world that we are a very capable outfit.”

“We all have every reason to be confident about our future.  It’s is a tough business racing on the world F1 stage, and we need to come back even tougher and meaner for the next round in Singapore.”

Bob Trask finished in 11th position trouble by a lack of engine power.

The next round of the 2007 UIM World F1 Powerboat series is to be staged in Singapore Saturday August 18th.

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