F1H20 Grand Prix of Portugal driver Marit Stromoy leads the field

by Philippe Stiernon on 15 Jun 2011 F1H20 Powerboat Grand Prix of Portugal 2011 was held in Portimão, located in the district of Faro in the region of Algarve, during 21st and 22nd May.

Racing drivers in international competition who just happen to be women are not known for going out and earning pole positions in any form of motor sports, at least not yet.

Well, until, last month that is, at the Grand Prix of Portugal, when one Marit Stromoy of Team Nautica shocked the racing world when she put her brand new BABA Italian built boat ahead of 16 other drivers (all male) to lead the field for the first time as a woman at a Grand Prix in the four decade history of the UIM F1 H2O World Championship for power boating.

Marit's not all about racing however, she is a very complex and talented woman with many other gifts in life.
Plain and simple, she'll tell you her first love is racing an F1 boat. However, her other passion, which keeps her energized fully day after day away from the water, is her growing entertainment career.

Marit's resume is a long and successful one. She has been performing on stage and singing in concerts throughout Northern Europe for over a decade. This past week alone, she gave a concert in Sweden and later a special concert for one of her sponsor's Energima.

However, one of her new projects she is setting out to begin is a reality TV production in France. It will mark a return to Southern Europe for the first time since she was the headline performer at a lavish gala awards dinner in Monaco back in late February.

All this activity combined with her shortly heading off to her next race on the UIM F1 H2O tour which is scheduled for the 16th and 17th of July in the ancient city of Kazan in the Republic of Tatarstan for the 12th Grand Prix of Russia.

'Portugal was something very special to me,' said Marit. 'The race in Portugal was fantastic and bad at the same time with crashing out with Shaun Torrente while leading. I have really enjoyed my new boat, my mechanics who did a fantastic job in giving me the perfect setup to take it all the way to the top. Now, I will focus on the next race in Kazan and hopefully fight for pole position and a win for the first time as well.'

Portimao marked for the 35 year-old from Oslo, Norway her first pole in 33 starts. She began racing in the S550 class and moved up in F2 before taking on the challenge of F1 back in 2007. Oddly enough, her previous best effort in qualifying with a sixth place starting spot in last years Grand Prix of China in Shenzhen.

Marit has a pair of fifth place finishes back in 2009 in Linyi, China and the final event of the year in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. She has made wonderful strides since her nightmarish season in 2008 when she appeared for six events, failed to start two of them, crashed out in three of the four she did start and never saw the finish line during that time.

'It seems light years away from 2008,' Marit stated as she looked into the distance. 'A dream that is now left me and now I see nothing but good things ahead. All of Norway followed me at the Grand Prix in Portimao and was devastated when I crashed out with the lead. They take me more seriously now and realize I have turned a corner in my career and am ready to do more as a driver as I chase my first win. It's all very exciting.'

Entertaining thousands, whether it's on stage or on the water, is something Marit hopes she can continue to do for a long time as her name continues to grow larger around the world. She takes her inspiration from others.

'I'm really not in this sport because of the fact that I want to be the only woman inside a man's world.' she said recently on a warm summer evening in Oslo. 'But simply because I was born into it and powerboats are my life. Naturally, I cheer for great female drivers in motor sport such as the Danica Patrick's from Indy-car racing and the like and I hope that we can be an inspiration for other female race drivers around the world in whatever sport they have a passion in like I have in F1 powerboats.'

Well said, Marit. Well said and your actions in Portugal backed up your words and dreams of making a difference in the sport of power boat racing.

Marit's next action will be at the third race of the 2011 UIM F1 H2O World Championship for power boating at the 12th Grand Prix of Russia in Kazan, Tatarstan on the 16th and 17th of July. Live qualifying on the 16th and the Grand Prix on the 17th can be followed live on the official website of the tour.

UIM F1 H2O World Championship website