Spirit of Qatar 96 S Sheikh Hassan Wins Emirates Dubai Duty Free Grand Prix

Dubai , December 14 (QNA) - HE Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and throttle man Steve Curtis delivered a stunning victory in the Emirates Dubai Duty Free Grand Prix, race one at the penultimate round of the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, off the coast of Dubai on Friday. They mastered the rough conditions to perfection after qualifying Spirit of Qatar 96 in second position behind Victory 3 for the first of the weekend s two races. The race win a first for the pair together in the UAE came with a winning margin of 14.72 seconds and gave them a five-point lead in the 2012 UIM Class 1 Middle East Powerboat Championship with three races remaining. Ali Al-Neama and Matteo Nicolini were classified in fourth in the Edox Pole Position on Friday morning, but they failed to start the race after noticing some damage to the boat s hull before the start. Pole position for the Victory 3 crew of Arif Saif Al-Zafeen and Mohammed Al-Marri meant that they claimed the 2012 UIM Class 1 Pole Position World Championship title with one race remaining and they remain favourites to clinch the outright world title. Fendi Racing s Luca Formilli-Fendi and Giovanni Carpitella finished third and Team Abu Dhabi s Rashed Al-Tayer and Majed Al-Mansoori were fourth. "It’s a great win for us and it keeps us on track for the Middle East Championship," said a delighted Sheikh Hassan, president of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) and driver of Spirit of Qatar 96. "Fendi made a good start with the acceleration and we decided to sit back for a bit and see what developed. We got a good feeling and managed to get passed Fendi and then stay behind Victory for several laps waiting for the right moment to pounce, a bit like hunting down a duck. It was a big rough and bumpy, just as we wanted it, and we made our move and managed to pass and held on to win. "After the Pole Position we noticed that there was a crack at the back of Ali s and Matteo s boat so they decided not to risk damaging or losing the boat, but should be okay for Saturday." Emirates - Dubai Duty Free Grand Prix The Spirit of Qatar crews lined up in second and fourth places with Victory 3 leading the way from the green flag and Fendi Racing holding third for the 12-lap race. Fendi Racing and Victory 3 held sway through the start lap and began to pull clear of Spirit of Qatar 96, but there was no sign of Spirit of Qatar 95. Victory 3 found its way into the lead on lap three and Spirit of Qatar 96 also passed Fendi to take second position and trailed the defending champions by 11.65 seconds. By one-third distance, Victory had extended its lead to 14.31 seconds and Fendi Racing had regained second position from Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis. The outright lead rose to 19.19seconds through lap five as Spirit of Qatar 96 retained a distant third. But Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis were in determined mood and managed to sneak through into the lead and reached the chequered flag with a winning margin of 14.72 seconds to record their third win together and their first as a team pairing in the UAE. The result also means that Spirit of Qatar 96 has a five-point lead in the UIM Class 1 Middle East Championship with three races to run. Edox Pole Position The Spirit of Qatar Team 96 and 95 boats held and fourth after the first few minutes of the Edox Pole Position with best laps of 3min 20.99sec and 3min 25.90sec, respectively. Victory 3 set the target time of 3min 14.64sec on their first lap and Fendi Racing slotted into second with a first lap of 3min 20.55sec. Spirit of Qatar 96 took to the water again some minutes later and shaved over four seconds off their first lap with an impressive 3min 16.45sec tour to lift them into second at the expense of Fendi Racing. Spirit of Qatar 95 lost fourth to Team Abu Dhabi before regaining it late on with a best lap of 3min 22.94sec. Pole Position for Victory 3 meant that they clinched the 2012 UIM Class 1 Pole Position World Championship with one race to spare and Spirit of Qatar 96 displaced Team Abu Dhabi to take second position in the Pole Position points standings. Free practice Fendi Racing topped the timings in the first official practice session of the weekend with a best tour of 3min 18.68sec coming on the Italians third lap. Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis ran for two laps to finalise the set-up for qualifying and a 3min 21.19sec second lap was the result. Spirit of Qatar 95 was out on the water for four timed laps and the best was a tour of 3min 27.98sec, which put them fourth behind Victory 3. The Spirit of Qatar crews will be allowed a further practice session on Saturday morning in advance of the longer Sky Dive Dubai Grand Prix at 14.00hrs (15.00hrs UAE time). This will run over a start lap, 14 race laps and a distance of 68.37Nm. (QNA)