Victory Back In The Fast Lane

World’s Greatest Powerboat Racing Name Lines Up In Abu Dhabi

The name of Victory Team may be better known as Fazza these days but the name of the UAE’s most successful powerboat racing stable will return to action this weekend at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Victory stable has enjoyed racing success in this year’s Class 1 UIM World Championship with two Fazza-branded boats but in the UAE capital two-time world champion Mohammed Al Marri will join up with Italian driver Giorgio Manuzzi for the Middle East legs of the Championship first in Abu Dhabi and next month in Dubai.

Racing in ‘Victory 2010’, Al Marri will be making his 70th start on the Class 1 scene but his first in the year’s series since taking podiums in Brazil and Norway before stepping aside for Talib Al Sayed in Fazza 1. Italian Giorgio Manuzzi, like Al Marri, is also making a welcome return to racing after missing the Swedish and Italian Grands Prix.

He kicked-off the season alongside Norwegian Marit Stromoy in Welmax Alianza, switching camps to race with Giovanni Carpitella in Norway in Victory Team’s first new design of the season, Spirit of Dubai, finishing on the podium in both races.

In all, nine boats will line up for this week’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, knowing that a repeat of last year’s race win-double by World Champions Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi will seal the Emirati duo another C1 world title.

The Fazza 3 boys have already clinched the 2010 European Championship and head into the penultimate Grand Prix of the season carrying a 33-point advantage over teammates Abdullah Al Mehairbi and Talib Al Sayed in SkyDive Dubai. And, barring any kind of technical meltdown are on course to give Victory Team a tenth World crown.

Three teams field new pairings this week; Italian outfit GiorgiOffshore bring in Italian motor racing driver Sandro Sardelli to take the driver’s seat in the Lamborghini-SCAM powered GiorgiOffshore to make his Class 1 debut alongside experienced throttleman Nicola Giorgi.

UK based Chris Parsonage Racing field an all-Italian driver line up, with Giovanni Carpitella - who raced with team owner Parsonage last time out in Italy - joined in the Lamborghini V12-powered Negotiator by Class 1 debutant Luca Formilli Fendi, who has competed in XCAT and Class 3 and for the last three years in P1, lifting the European Championship in 2008.

Looking to build on an already impressive debut season in Class 1 with four podium finishes - and currently lying in fourth place in the overall points table - GSG Ceramic Design’s Guido Cappellini reforms his partnership with fellow-Italian Giampaolo Montavoci, who earlier this year won the GPS (P1) World title.

Team Abu Dhabi will line up for the first time in their home Grand Prix and in front of a partisan crowd, double race winner, Rashed Al Tayer, and American John Tomlinson will be confident that they have the credentials to target a podium finish after narrowly missing out on their debut outing together in Italy.

Following yesterday’s (Wednesday) first practice session, a second practice will be held this morning (Thursday) followed by qualifying in the Edox Pole Position and Race 1 - 53.29Nm, 12 laps including three long laps. A final practice tomorrow morning (Friday is followed by Race 2 - 71.39Nm, 16 laps, including five long laps.

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