Ali Nasser and Ali Al Qama delight east coast crowd

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27^th September 2002 (Fujairah, UAE) – The sixth round of the UIM Class One World Offshore Championship took to the waters today on the East Coast of the United Arab Emirates. The Fujairah 101 nm Grand Prix also signals the first race in the Middle East Championship series and a chance for those looking for top honors to make amends with a title win in the three series race.

In an exciting showdown on the high seas, Ali Nasser and Ali Al Qama in Victory 7 made it a clean sweep of wins this weekend with a first place in both the Pole Position on Thursday and yesterdays Grand Prix race. This double weekend win throws down the gauntlet and marks their determination in their quest for the UIM Class One Championship title next month.

In second place after a ferocious battle with the Australian team, Spirit of Norway’s Bjorn Gjelsten and Steve Curtis made a heroic climb back to 2^nd place, after a start that saw them stuck in 4^th place.

In third place was Jann Hillestad and Steffan Roth in the red boat Jotun, whose earlier season run of bad luck seems to have cleared and given them their second 3^rd place finish on the podium. “We modified and simplified the boat and that seems to have solved the problem. The last three races the boat has ran beautifully.” said Norwegian throttleman Hillestad.

The drop of the green flag at the start of the race had spectators in for a treat packed with top-notch rivalry and rough play from all contenders. First out of the gates went Victory 7 initially sandwiched in by the two red boats, Highlander and Jotun, until the faster pace set by the Lamborghini powered catamaran finally pushed past to leave them in their wake.

Moments behind and vying for the first buoy, the rest of the pack followed in a frenzy of fast and furious mayhem. In the end it was the two blue boats that stole ahead and into first and second, until sadly for teammates and the Victory Team camp, disaster struck in the second lap. Throttle linkage failure forced current World Champions, Victory 1, back into the pit area. However, repairing the boat was not the problem, it was time. The 2001 World Champions were forced to contend with no points despite going back out to finish the race. Yesterdays result for the Dubai pairing signals that Saeed H. Al-Tayer and Mohammed Al Marri’s chances of retaining the UIM Class One Championship is all at an end. However, if this weekends result is any thing to go by, teammates in Victory 1 are well equipped for the challenge of keeping the championship flag flying the UAE colors and prove determined to oust Spirit Of Norway from their lead in the overall points standings.

In the chasing pack and in the wake of the private two boat battle for first place between Riviera and Victory 7, the race that ensued between the worlds best of the best in offshore had more passes and pushes from top competitors in the second line up in order to bully their way to the front. Unwilling to give up the fight and looking for a third place on the podium, Highlanders Edoardo Polli and film director Renny Harlin were in an all out battle for 3^rd with fellow red boat Jotun with Jann Hillestad and Steffan Roth. In the end it was Jotun who were able to steal past and clinch the later gifted third place on the podium.

Despite giving Victory 7 a chase for their top placing in the first few laps of the race, the pairing of Bill Barry-Cotter and Peter McGrath in Riviera lost their 2^nd place finish in the 10^th lap with a blown turbo and a spin out. Asked about his hopes for the upcoming races and today’s result, Bill Barry-Cotter said. “We really enjoyed the race and Fujairah was great. The conditions were great for the boat but maybe not for me. ” said a battered but still laughing Barry-Cotter. “We thought there was a problem and sure enough there was.” Despite a blown turbo that put them into 7th place at the end of the race (but third in the Championship standings), Barry-Cotter remains optimistic for a championship place- if he can only keep Victory 1 in his wake. “All we can do now is beat Victory 1. We’ll be looking for them in the next round, but it’s going to be tough fight.”

After a season of mostly flat calm racing, sea conditions picking up to a long swell with a rougher surface proved a welcome change for most competitors. “I think that the conditions were very suitable for our boat. The two time trials and two races that we have won have both been fairly rough, so we are definitely keen to keep the conditions as they are.” said Ali Al Qama, throttleman for Victory 7.

Accustomed to their balmy cool European summers, many competitors were in for a wake up call for the Middle East leg of the championship in the form of a humidity bath. Inferno cockpit temperatures in excess of 55 degrees during the race had many struggling.

Further behind the pack, Gibelallato’s run of reliability proves unbroken. “Conditions were perfect for us out there today as our boat is fantastic in the waves.” said throttleman Giampaolo Montavocci. Pleased with their 6^th place finish, GFN Gibellato’s battle with 7^th place finishers in the yellow boat Damas lasted till the final laps and was a close call but exciting call.

It seems that ESC’s season of bad luck is not quite at an end. A problem with the steering had them in with their 3^rd retirement to date this season. “We were going about 86 mph when experienced the problem, luckily we were able to get back in using the engines, but that was the end of the race for us.” said a disappointed Mateo Nicolini.

Next round in the UIM Class One calendar on the 11^th of October will see the 11 boats in Qatar for the Doha Grand Prix and the penultimate round of the 2002 World Offshore Championship.