At Toukley the team arrived with the two boat race packages used on the 2006 world circuit. David Trask quickly asserted his ascendancy by taking pole position in the first heat with a qualifying time of 31.30 seconds. Bob Trask qualified just 0.30 seconds astern at 31.60.

Racing with a Mercury SST120 engine, Grant Trask qualified in 8th position at his maiden F2000 race. Grant is the reigning Australian F3 champion and has stepped up to F2000 for the 2007 – 2008 Australian season. Conducted as a separate class within Formula 1, F2000 has a similar Mercury race engine mated to a hull marginally smaller than a F1 hull.

At flag fall of the first heat at Toukley David Trask had the vital inside pole position in the short run to the first turn, and thereafter never looked to be challenged.

Bob Trask sustained hull damage early in the heat after striking an object in the water. With handling not as precise as normal, Bob struck the turn buoy before pulling off the circuit and retiring his damaged hull for the day.

In heats two and three David Trask again asserted his dominance taking the chequered flag in both events.

Out-engined and outgunned, Grant Trask nonetheless enjoyed his introduction to F1 racing. Proving that consistency counts in motorsport, Grant finished all three heats to round out the days racing in 5th place outright.

While committed to a major assault on the UIM World F1 series again in 2007, the GTR/Trask Development Corporation team remain strong supporters of the Australian F1 Superboat series.

“We look at the Australian series as an important aspect of our overall race program,” Bob Trask said. “Not only are we active supporters of F1 powerboat racing in Australia, but we use the opportunity of racing in Australia to hone our driving skills and develop our race package.”

I also firmly believe that our participation in Australia aids the development of Australian F1 race teams. We race in Australia with the same set up as we run on the world circuit.”

For the Toukley GP, the GTR Race Boats crew had the latest safety crash boxes or ‘pods’ fitted to the F1 hulls. This new UIM mandated safety innovation is designed to absorb side impact to the drivers cell in the event of the hull being ‘t-boned’ in an accident.

“We set up our Australian boats with the pods so as to simulate the weight and handling attributes of our World series hulls,” Bob Trask said. “They add additional weight to the front of the boat and change the aerodynamics slightly.”

The GTR/Trask Development Corporation team will be contesting all 11 rounds round on the World UIM F1 World Championship. The first round is to be staged at Portugal May 13th and then France the following weekend on May 20th.

The heavy race schedule presents conflicting dates with the Australian F1 Superboat series.

“The GTR/Trask Development Corporation team is wholly committed to the World UIM F1 World Championship and we have very high expectations of being on the podium this year,” Bob Trask said.

“David and I will race in Australia wherever possible, but it looks as though our Australian schedule will be quite restricted. Grant however will contest every round.”

The next round of the Australian F1 Superboat series is scheduled for Newcastle Harbour on June 10th 2007.

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.seaquestf1.com