10:09 PM Sat 25 Apr 2009 GMT
Victory for Fazza 3 in the opening round of the UIM/WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship was sealed this afternoon by Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi. Second place went to home favourites Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani and Steve Curtis, with Class 1 debutant Mohammad Al Mehairi and Jean-Marc Sanchez claiming third place in a sun-kissed Qatar Marine Festival Grand Prix.
The reunited pairing of Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi powered through to a comfortable victory in the end, but they did not have it all their own way. A fantastic start by Qatar 95 saw the Edox Pole Position winner's storm away with the early lead, but engine troubles forced them to retire on lap nine while leading the race. This cleared the way for Fazza 3 to take the first win of the season. With the experience of two world champions in the raceboat, they never looked in doubt of getting the season of to the perfect start. 'I'm very happy with the win, but this season is much tougher, 95 and 96 are really strong and so are our team-mates in Victory 1,' said the returning Al Zafeen. A delighted Bin Hendi added: 'We went neck-and- neck at the start, but they had the greater speed. Once they got in front, we had to push to the max. I am very happy to have won here for the second year in a row.'
Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis, in Qatar 96, grabbed second place in the team's home grand prix. Having been happy to just finish on the podium in the run up to the race, the second place will be welcomed by the team although there were mixed reactions as it came at the expense of their team-mates, Qatar 95. Sheikh Hassan said: 'We would have settled for third, it is unfortunate what happened to 95. We really wanted them to finish first.' Whilst Steve Curtis said: 'The start here is so important, we had a good one, but we will be happier in the rough.'
The final podium place went to newcomer Al Mehairi and Sanchez. The new pairing were overjoyed with their first race together and the instant success they have achieved. Al Mehairi, who had set his sights on a podium finish prior to the race, said: 'I'm very happy with my first race, the aim for the Victory team is always to finish on the podium.' While Sanchez, guiding a rookie driver to the podium for the third successive season in Doha, added: 'I'm delighted with my new driver, this was our first time together and there is more to come.'
The early leaders Abdullah Al-Sulaiti and Matteo Nicolini had got off to a perfect start and pulled away from the chasing pack only to see all their hard work from the weekend come to a miserable end as an engine failure brought their challenge of claiming a win to a sudden halt. Despite their early retirement, Al-Sulaiti was upbeat: 'Before it stopped, the gap was over 15 seconds. It was an excellent performance by the boat. It is a good sign, we were strong and fast.'
Aurantium, with Giovanni Carpitella and Christian Rivolta racing for the first time together in Class 1, turned their qualifying promise into an excellent performance in the race. They were delighted with their fourth place which sets them up nicely for their home grand prix in Alicante, where the rougher conditions will suit them better. 'It was a very good performance; the boat is running very well. The boat is fast, we prepared this morning and we were with the leaders at the first mark, but the Victory boat was too close for us to get to the corner first.'
Giorgioffshore also had a good start to the season finishing in fifth. The new pairing of Nicola Giorgi and Riccardo Calugi showed good speed and reliability as they look to build their partnership. Foresti & Suardi - Roscioli Hotels' Giampaolo Montavoci and Francesco Pansini came through in sixth place, despite gearing problems hampering their efforts at the start and end of the race.
There was frustration for European Champion Jorn Tandberg and Christian Zaborowski in Welmax 90, the quietly confident Norwegians snapped a prop shaft on lap three and a bitterly disappointing weekend for Maritimo Australia concluded when engine trouble saw Maritimo 11 retire on lap five.
QATAR MARINE FESTIVAL GRAND PRIX - Results
1. Fazza 3 - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) - 59.52.48
2. Qatar 96 - H Al-Thani (QAT) / S Curtis (GBR) + 01.10.27
3. Victory 1 - M Al Mehairi (UAE) / JM Sanchez (FRA) + 01.36.13
4. Aurantium 10 - C Rivolta (ITA) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 1 Lap
5. Giorgioffshore 18 - R Calugi (ITA) / N Giorgi (ITA) + 1 Lap
6. Foresti & Suardi - Roscioli Hotels 8 - F Pansini (ITA) / G Montavoci (ITA) + 3 Laps
7. Qatar 95 - A Al-Sulaiti (QAT) / M Nicolini (ITA) - 02.40.68 - DNF
8. Maritimo 11 - T Barry-Cotter (AUS) / PV Nilsen (NOR) - DNF
9. Welmax 90 - C Zaborowski (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) - DNF
10. Maritimo 12 - G Manuzzi (SMR) / P McGrath (NZL) - DNS
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