Wednesday afternoon Pål Virik Nilsen had to return home from the airport in Oslo, due to a posivite Covid test. To enter United Arab Emirates you had to provide a 72h negative test. Pål Virik Nilsen was fully vacinated, and he also had Covid 19 2 weeks ago.
It all changed yesterday afternoon. Negative was for once Positive !
Pål Virik could finally travel.
After 8 different test he finally got a negative Covid 19 test. Pål Virik had lost the first 4 days, but he could still make the teams first sceduled test session sunday. Pål Virik got a flight out of Oslo hours after the negative sample arrived.
Pål Virik Nilsen told Powerboatracingworld.com this morning :
Its been an emotional rollercoster to say the least. Its not just an race for me, its also my comeback racing with Team Maritimo, I´ve worked so hard for this, and I was terrified that I could not make it.
Tom Barry Cotter and Pål Virik Nilsen is ready to test the new Xcat
Pål Virik continued :
I´m looking forward to the first testrun with Tom Barry Cotter later this afternoon. I can not explain the feeling when I sat down in my seat, and it was all cleared and I was good to go. Could not belive all the stress.
Ironlcally, 15 minutes after I entered the airplane I recived an email from Emirates. UAE have vaived the covid test if you are fully vacinated from 26th of February.
So, I guess you can say it was all this stress for nothing !
Team manager Lars Inge Graver told Powerboatracingworld.com
Its great to finally have Pål Virik here, In Fujariah. Practically he has only missed the setup of the teams infrastructure.
The first test in the boat is sceduled this afternoon.
Maritimo and Tom Barry Cotter won the Worldchampionship last time they where participating in the Xcat series in 2019.
They shipped all the equipment back to Australia. They have since then build a new boat, and the results are very promesing, so now its time to get both pilots up to speed.
Frode Sundsdal on 27th February 2022