By Gregg Mansfield

Steve Curtis stood on the stage in a light rain in Dubai soaking up another accomplishment in his brilliant racing career. With the world championship on the line, Curtis and his racing partner Bjorn Gjelsten had come through like they have so many times.

The team had just won its fifth-consecutive Class 1 world championship in early December in arguably offshore racing's most balanced and competitive class. It's a high-stakes tour and Curtis has been money when it comes to winning championships.

As far as years go, there probably won't be many better than the one Curtis had professionally in 2006. Curtis, who throttled Tom Abram's Reliable Carriers in the United States, won the Offshore Super Series (OSS) national championship and the Class 1 World, European and Middle East championships. His lone "loss" was a second-place finish in OSS Cat at the OSS World Championships in November.

"This is what I've always wanted to do. How many guys can say that?" Curtis asked. "I have a fantastic team here and a fantastic team in America. It doesn't get any better than that."

Curtis looks more like a guy who just surfed the break at Malibu than a guy who is one of the best throttlemen in the world. While Curtis is well liked by his Class 1 competitors, he's anything but laid back on the racecourse.

"When I first knew Steve he either won or he crashed," said Gjelsten, who has raced with Curtis for a decade. "(Now) he's a great asset to the team. He knows how to win."

And winning he's done. The 42-year-old throttleman is the only racer to have won the UIM Class 1 world championship eight times, including a current streak of five in a row in Spirit of Norway. Curtis and Gjelsten were reunited this year after Gjelsten sat out the 2005 season.

It didn't take long for the duo to rediscover their chemistry. Going into the Middle East country of Dubai, Spirit of Norway trailed Victory Team by just one point in what would become a winner-take-all race. The two teams have a long history, and ironically, the Spirit team won four-straight world championships with the catamaran built by the Victory Team.

Both boats are powered by marinized Lamborghini engines, and to limit horsepower, have 62 mm air restrictors. Because of the restrictions, the V-12 engines produce about 850 horsepower at 8,400 rpm. The power is put through shaft drives spinning Hering propellers, and the catamarans use a rudder system for steering.

The teams were closely matched with Victory and Spirit trading wins all season. Victory was hoping this year it would no longer be the bridesmaid.

"For me, this is the fourth year I've finished second to them," said Victory crew chief Marco Bonomo, who has been with the team for 10 years. "I'd rather go into this race with a 25- or 50-point lead."

Few offshore racecourses can match the beauty of Dubai. A fan with a good set of binoculars can watch as the catamarans rip past the breakwater of Palm Island—a man-made island in the shape of a palm tree—and a few moments later, follow the boats with the world-famous Burj Al Arab hotel as the backdrop.

VIPs watched the race from a lavishly dressed temporary building along the shore that was constructed adjacent to the grandstands. Between a full-course meal and free-flowing drinks, spectators either caught the 21-lap race on live television or stood out on the balcony in the light rain and watched the catamarans pass about 100 yards in front of them.

The rain kept the crowds away and helicopters were grounded because of limited visibility. But it wasn't raining hard enough to keep organizers from crowning a world champion. Some teams like Spirit made the last-minute decision to go with smaller props because of rougher seas.

The race would be decided at the start when Spirit got a good jump on Victory. Although the Qatar team with driver Abdulla Al-Sulaiti and throttleman Lino Di Biase had the early lead, Spirit just had to keep the blue Victory boat behind them.

Victory started in fifth and slowly chased down the boats in front of them. Different than American racing, the boats are required to run two "long" laps during the course of the race. From a fan perspective it looked like Victory was falling behind, but the team was actually making up ground.

By the 10th lap, Gjelsten and Curtis had taken over first place and earned a 40-second lead. But the team made a costly mistake by running too far inside the course to a buoy. Spirit corrected its position but Victory's Mohammed Al Marri and Jean Marc Sanchez cut the lead to 18 seconds.

Victory reduced Spirit's lead to 12 seconds near the end of the race, but the Spirit boat prevailed and took home the checkered flag.

"I wasn't running the clacker out of it, so to speak," Curtis said. "We wanted to run steady and consistent."

Added Gjelsten, "They pushed us as hard as they could. It was no free lunch."

For Victory throttleman Jean Marc Sanchez, it was a bittersweet end to a promising year. An entire season came down to a poor start.

"Unfortunately the last race where we had to have a good start, we had a bad start," Sanchez said. "We had a boat cut in front of us ... all we could do was chase them."

At a party later that evening, the Spirit of Norway crew celebrated another world championship. Curtis was all smiles as he accepted hugs and endless congratulations from strangers and rival teams.

"You had a great year," said a stranger to Curtis.

"I wish I could bottle it," Curtis said flashing a smile.