Maritimo test the waters in Doha

by Class 1 media on 15 Apr 2009
Maritimo Australia took their first tentative steps in the build-up to their 2009 Class 1 campaign, with Peter ‘Muddy’ McGrath and team newcomer, Giorgio Manuzzi, teaming up for the first time to shake down the team’s number two boat, Maritimo 12 in Doha.

'It was good to get out on the water and clearly we still have some work to do,' said McGrath. 'I wasn’t that happy with the balance of the boat and we also had some fuel issues that we need to look into.'

It was also the first opportunity for this new pairing to size each other up, and for New Zealander, McGrath, to get back out on Qatar’s Doha Bay circuit, where he took his first Grand Prix win alongside team boss Bill Barry-Cotter in 2002. 'You can’t expect too much on the first outing and really you don’t want to do too much. What we need is time in the boat together,' said McGrath. 'Where we need to get to is both being comfortable with each other, for me to be able to race how I am used to and to be able to take Giorgio into corners in a manner and at a pace that he feels comfortable with.'

The team has been in Qatar for several weeks, setting up shop and repairing the damage to the raceboat sustained in the last race in Dubai. 'The outer skin is OK and the only surgery on the outside was to one or two minor cracks. But the main work has been carried out to the internal structure,' said McGrath.

McGrath, although a seasoned campaigner and experienced hand, with 25 starts under his belt, a win and nine podiums to his credit, is reserved in his expectations for the first race of the season. He summed up the day by saying, 'With so little testing and time together in the boat, to run in the middle of the pack and to finish in the top half will be a very good start.'

The team’s number one boat has also now arrived in Doha, with Tom Barry-Cotter and Pal Virik Nilsen expected to test later this week.

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