UAE Capital Welcomes Class 1 Powerboats

Just three weeks after hosting its first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix, the UAE capital welcomes the best offshore powerboat racers in the world with the staging of the debut Abu Dhabi Class 1 Grand Prix this weekend.

Two races in two days tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday will go some way to determining the destiny of the 2009 Class 1 World Offshore Championship.

Leading by just four points, rookie Mohammed Al Mehairi from the UAE will again team up with veteran throttleman Jean Marc Sanchez in Victory 1, while team-mates Nadir Bin Hindi and Arif Al Zafeen - currently on 91 points to Victory 1’s 95 - are breathing down their tail pipes in Fazza.

"Jean Marc was my teacher when I came in to Class 1 but I want to say to him - watch out for me this weekend," smiled Al Zafeen in a light hearted moment at the pre-event press conference staged in the regal setting of the Emirates Palace Hotel.

"Seriously though, he has again done very well with Mohammed. They’ve had a great season together and we know it will be tough at the weekend. There are likely to be some rough parts outside of the breakwater so we have to be prepared for a gruelling start to each race."

The two races – the first over an eleven-lap, 53.63Nm course, while Saturday’s is fifteen laps and 72.28Nm - will see the eight-boat fleet start from outside Lulu Island before coming into the narrow strip of water off the coast housing the host Abu Dhabi International Marine and Sports Club (ADIMSC).

Currently holding third place in the chase for the world crown, Australian Tom Barry Cotter believes the race to the first turn buoy will again be crucial.

"Where the Victory boats have excelled this season has been at the start," said the Maritimo driver. "We need to work on beating them in the opening straight as there will be little room for overtaking once we get into the course. It’s probably the tightest course we’ve seen this year."

Despite Victory’s supremacy this season, Barry-Cotter also believes Norwegian pairing Jorn Tandberg and Kolbjorn Selmer could spring a surprise in Welmax - provided they get the start right. "The course certainly suits Welmax but they’ve not been at their best when it comes to the start of the race," he added. "If they can get that right this weekend, then they could do very well. Rough outside, tight turns - it does look like a Welmax course."

Also at the press conference were Victory Team General Manager Gianfranco Venturelli, WPPA and UAE Watersports Federation chief Saeed Hareb, Sultan Al Mehairi from the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and ADIMSC Board Member Ahmed Al Rumaithy.

"We are delighted to have the Class 1 fleet with us in Abu Dhabi," said Al Rumaithy. "The event is being staged under the patronage of HH Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Chairman of the ADIMSC, and we look forward to hosting our first Class 1 races in Abu Dhabi."

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