DUBAI: Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al Thani and throttleman Steve Curtis will be hoping to add the UIM Class 1 Middle East Powerboat Championship title to their recent Key West World Championship success when they tackle four races in the UAE over the next two weekends.
The Spirit of Qatar crew are currently in Dubai, along with team-mates Ali Al-Neama and Matteo Nicolini, preparing for Friday’s Emirates/Duty Free Dubai Grand Prix and Saturday’s Sky Dive Dubai Grand Prix.
The team will then move on to Abu Dhabi for the final two races in the championship on December 19-21.
Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis currently have 32 points from a first and third position at the two Qatar races in March and are tied with the Victory 3 crew of Arif Saif Al Zafeen and Mohammed Al Marri, with Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al Tayer and Majed Al Mansoori a mere two points behind.
Race officials are expecting 10 boats to start this weekend’s races.
“I do believe that we can win the Middle East title,” said Sheikh Hassan, president of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) and driver of Spirit of Qatar 96. “It all depends upon the weather on race day and we will deliver accordingly.
“We have already proved that when it comes to rough conditions we can deliver a win for sure. But, if we are asked to run on lakes, it’s all about boat performance and not the crew onboard and boat/throttle balance.
“Hopefully, nature will play to our favour so we can deliver the top finish. It was important for us to race in Key West. Not only was the win there a fantastic feeling, but it kept us up to race speed so we don’t lose the feel for the boat.”
While Sheikh Hassan admits that winning the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship is far more difficult at this point in time (Spirit of Qatar 96 trails Victory 3 by 42 points), the Spirit of Qatar teams will fight until the end of the season.
“We will race hard and take the points as they come,” added the QMSF president.
“Victory 3 needs to stop or not to score points for us to come back, but we have seen that they have been very reliable and Team Abu Dhabi is also standing between us at the moment.”
Al Neama and Nicolini lie fourth in both the World and Middle East Championship points’ standings and will be hoping to finish the season on a high in Spirit of Qatar 95.
They are brimming with confidence after winning the second of the two races in Cernobbio in the autumn.
The weekend’s activities get underway with registrations and briefings tomorrow and the on-course action begins at 11.30hrs (UAE time) on Thursday morning with 90 minutes of practice permitted on the course off the DIMC in Dubai.
“It looks at first glance like last year’s course, but I am sure if we get a northerly wind, it will be changed accordingly,” added Sheikh Hassan.
THE PENINSULA
