Ugur Isik, the event promoter and driver of Zabo-Isiklar, is confident that he and throttleman Christian Zaborowski will be in good shape and in a position to challenge Championship leaders Victory despite the uphill task the team has faced to fix the boat in time after their first corner exit in race 2 in Sanya. “Everything will be ready by tomorrow, but it’s been a very hectic ten days with the team working around the clock. They have done a fantastic job,” said Ugur. “Most of the work is done and now really it’s just a case of finishing off some cosmetics and a case of dropping in the engines and getting out on the water as soon as we can for a shakedown.
“Our main concern was not to add too much weight to the boat in the repair, but Rolf [Arnestadt] our crew chief is confident that if anything we could be lighter.”
In race 1 in China they tested the defending Champions and led them for half race distance before an engine problem allowed them [Victory] to get passed. In race 2 the Turkish-Norway duo were looking to try to pass them after the first turn, but failed to get to the straight, barrel-rolling out of the race at the first turn. “Who knows what happened,” said Ugur. “We hooked and then went over but I was just glad to see blue skies. It was a very big hit. But now our focus is to go out and challenge for the win here in Istanbul.”
As Ugur Isik bids for his first win with Christian Zaborowski, Class 1 rookie Tarik Oktem will be setting his sights slightly lower as he makes his Class 1 debut alongside the experienced throttleman Giampoalo Montavoci in Poliform.
Oktem, a former rally driver competing in the Turkish and World Rally Championships, made his powerboat debut in 2003 in Class 3 and is currently racing in WOC 225 Class 3 in Turkey, winning the last two races.
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