past Luis Furtado who attempts a repeat victory in Class B of Sunday's Round the Island Powerboat Race.

Rather than luck, Furtado inferred yesterday that nothing short of an act of God would allow him to successfully defend the title he won last year while accompanied by co-pilot Ernie Mello, clocking 57 minutes, 28 seconds.

"I'm hoping for a miracle,'' said Furtado, showing little optimism as he explained how a troublesome engine was sabotaging his efforts to get ready for the big day.

"(The boat is) not well at all, the engine is sucking up too much water. I don't think I will do very well unless the necessary parts come in by Sunday.'' Of particular concern to Furtado, who this time has Brandt Winchell accompanying him aboard his 18 foot, red and black Ring Craft, is the vaunted South Shore -- if he can make it that far.

Large swells and often unpredictable undercurrents can make life difficult for craft operating in perfect order, making Furtado's prospects appear even more bleak.

"South Shore is the main part of the race for me and probably everyone, but I will pay particular attention since my engine isn't running too well,'' he said.

Not surprisingly Furtado viewed the battle for honours as a toss-up, with any of the five Class B entrants capable of snatching the checkered flag.

He noted how all were capable of similar speeds and it could simply come down to driver ability.

Notably absent from the class fleet will be Ian Whitehead, who along with Jim Sword placed second a year ago in 1:00:28.

However, past champion Jason Pimental is back seeking to retrieve the title he once owned after mechanical problems forced him out of the running 12 months ago and the work of an arsonist almost a month ago left his $50,000 Ring Craft a charred wreck.

Having salvaged the engine, Pimental's hopes lie aboard a borrowed ride which he said handles better than his old boat and has good speed.

"I think I have a chance,'' Pimental said sheepishly. "I have my fingers crossed, but it's hard to tell how the others are running.'' Taking a similar approach to Pimental was Troy Burgess, set to do battle in the S Class where bigger is better and there is no such thing as too much horsepower.

Burgess' 28-foot Custom Cat stands out as the biggest of all the `monsters', his being powered by a trio of high performance 2.5 Mercury engines.

The bus mechanic may have benefited most from the three week delay in hosting the race, having been allowed additional time to fine tune and synchronise equipment.

"The boat is running pretty good, we really got it together. The boat is running way better than normal for this race,'' said Burgess, who has promised much in the past, but delivered little as emphasised by his failure to even get beyond the starting line in 1994.

"South Shore will be the hardest. ..the place where you make it or break it. And also you need strategy. You can't go all out all the way because there is still a long way to go.

"Anybody could win, nobody knows, do they? All I can say is that I hope it's a good day.'' FLASHBACK -- Luis Furtado (left) and co-pilot Ernie Mello celebrate victory in the B Class during last year's Round the Island Race. Furtado has a new partner for this Sunday's event in the form of Brandt Winchell.