Per i nostri lettori che non erano presenti a Dubai, ecco alcuni degli HighLights di questo week end di gara: le prove, la pole position, le due gare (). Ma anche le acrobazie degli Al Fursan (arabo: ﺍﻟﻔﺮﺳﺎﻥ‎, ovvero The Knights) (“I cavalieri”) la pattuglia acrobatica nazionale dell’Al-Imarat al-’Arabiyya al-Muttahida (l’aeronatica degli Emirati Arabi Uniti), un pubblico appassionato, tanti amici ritrovati, tanto divertimento nei locali notturni di Dubai.

Riportiamo anche i risultati dell’ultima gara, che completa questo Class 1 World Powerboat Championship 2011 e le classifiche finali del UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP e del MIDDLE EAST CHAMPIONSHIP.

SKYDIVE DUBAI & DUBAI DUTY FREE GRAND PRIX, RACE 2 – results

1. 3 Victory – A Al Zafeen (UAE) / M Al Marri (UAE) 00.45.31,71

2. 5 Team Abu Dhabi – R Al Tayer (UAE) / M Al Mansoori (UAE) + 00.56,47

3. 91 Relekta – U Isik (TUR) / C Zaborowski (NOR) + 02.29,21

4. 96 Spirit of Qatar – H Al Thani (QAT) / S Curtis (ENG) + 02.35,69

5. 7 Victory – G Manuzzi (SMR) / P V Nilsen (NOR) + 1 LAP

6. 90 Welmax (B) – B Jacobsen (NOR) / K Olsen (NOR) + 1 LAP

7. 10 Fendi Racing – L Formilli Fendi (ITA) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 1 LAP

8. 95 Spirit of Qatar – A Al Neama (QAT) / M Nicolini (ITA) + 3 LAPS

9. 23 FA.RO. ACCIAI – T Polli (ITA) / L Nicolini (ITA) DNF

10. 74 Poliform – G Cappellini (MON) / G Montavoci (ITA) DNF

UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP

1. 3 Victory – 103pts

2. 96 Spirit of Qatar – 93pts

3. 95 Spirit of Qatar – 89pts

4. 5 Team Abu Dhabi – 67pts

5. 74 Poliform – 56pts

6. 91 Relekta – 41pts

7. 10 Fendi Racing – 27pts

8. 23 FA.RO. ACCIAI – 24pts

9. 7 Victory – 19 pts

10. Welmax (B) – 17pts

11. 90 Welmax (A) – 14pts

12. 50 Parsonage Racing – 8pts

13. 69 ferskfisken.no – 5 pts

14. 18 MITI Tech Power – 4pts

MIDDLE EAST CHAMPIONSHIP – after race 4

1. 3 Victory – 80pts

2. 5 Team Abu Dhabi – 42pts

3. 96 Spirit of Qatar – 40pts

4. 95 Spirit of Qatar – 37pts

5.10 Fendi Racing – 27pts

6. 7 Victory – 19pts

7= 74 Poliform – 17pts

7= 91 Relekta – 17pts

9= 90 Welmax (B) – 10pts

10. 50 Parsonage Racing – 8pts

11. 18 GiorgiOffshore – 4pts

12. 90 Welmax (A) – 3pts

13. 23 FA.RO. ACCIAI – 2pts

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Cernobbio is hosting the Grand Prix of Italy, third round of the World 2011 Class 1 Offshore, thanks to the agreement among the mayor of Cernobbio Simona Saladini, the award-winning champion Guido Cappellini Larian and logistics manager of H2O Racing Pasquale Sesana. This opportunity quickly taken on the fly from Cernobbio, allow us to know and appreciate even more the Lario and its countries around the world. The path of the hulls is delimited by buoys placed at Como in front of the breakwater, Villa Geno, Blevio, Villa d’Este, Cernobbio, Villa Erba, Tavernola a Cernobbio Olmo. In the former riding of Villa Erba will install the paddock and the shore area will be home hospitality in Cernobbio. A great location from which follow all the phases of the departures and arrivals, free practice and timed the, that are taking place during Race 1 Saturday and Race 2 della domenica, in addition to the podiums

THREE DAYS OF THE PROGRAM:

Friday 14 October
12.00 – 13.30 Qualifying
16.00 – 17.00 Race Acceleration

Saturday 15 October
10.00 – 11.30 EDOX pole position
12.30 – 13.30 Water show
14.30 GRAND PRIX ( race 1 ) Awards to follow

Sunday 16 October
10.30 – 11.30 Qualifying
12.30 – 13.30 Water show
14.30 GRAND PRIX ( race 2 ) Awards to follow

On the first anniversary of the tragic loss of powerboat race champions Mohammed Al Mehairi and Jean Marc Sanchez, the Dubai Victory Team’s Fazza crew wanted to mark the occasion with a win dedicated to their team-mates.

And on a day when the Class 1 circus produced the race of the season, they delivered a fitting tribute to Sanchez and Al Mehairi winning from the front despite a titanic effort by EDOX Pole Position World Champions Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tandberg in Welmax. The Norwegians pushed the UAE stars all the way losing out by just 3.81s after 67.74Nm of intense competition.

“On tighter course they might have caught us but today crowns what has been a wonderful season for everyone in the Victory Team,” said throttleman Bin Hendi after wrapping up the 21^st Class 1 win of his career with Al Zafeen at an average speed of 178.38kmph. “The whole team has played their part in getting us to the chequered flag and we share the world title with every single one of them.”

Win number nine in 2010 also secured the Middle East Class 1 Championship for Fazza to add to the World and European crowns they had in the bag prior to the race. But the victory was never a forgone conclusion with the Welmax crew piling on the pressure throughout the race as they claimed second by just over fifteen seconds from Guido Cappellini and Giampaolo Montavoci of Italy in GSG Ceramic Design in third.

“We got off to a brilliant start and got to where we wanted to be, which is just behind Fazza as we know we can’t beat them on the acceleration at the start,” said a smiling Selmer who admitted it was the best race he had been involved in with Fazza.

“We threw the boat around the corners and gave it everything but those guys are just so fast. We won Pole Position, which is great, but next year they (Fazza) know they will have a real fight on their hands with us.”

It was a stunning finale to a Class 1 season that has seen Bin Hendi and Al Zafeen win 75% of the races they have started and take the world title by a record 96 points over their nearest rivals. While Fazza and Welmax were having their own private battle at the front of the field, there were other bragging rights being fought over elsewhere.

With their closest rivals Talib Al Sayed and Abdullah Al Mehairbi sitting out the final two races of the season after crashing in Abu Dhabi, Italians Giovanni Carpitella and Luca Fendi needed just four points to claim second spot in the World Championship and they grabbed the overall silver medal by claiming fifth in the race in British boat Negotiator. It meant Al Sayed and Al Mehairbi claimed third in the world in the new retired SkyDive Dubai.

In the Middle East Championship, Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al Tayer and John Tomlinson claimed overall second place behind Fazza thanks to a hard-earned sixth place yesterday despite starting well beind the field thanks to a propeller problem on the first lap. Third place in the Middle East series goes to Selmer and Tandberg.

The crowning of the champions brings to a close an exciting season dominated on the water by Fazza. Off the water, however, the sport appears set on a different direction with news expected on a new promoter and racing calendar in the very near future.

Result – Race 2 Emirates/Dubai Duty Free Dubai Grand Prix

1. Fazza – Bin Hendi/Al Zafeen (UAE)                                         41m:34.50s

2. Welmax – Selmer/Tandberg (Nor)                                                   +3.81s

3. GSG Ceramica Design – Cappellini/Montavoci (I)                      +15.29s

Final Standings UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship

1. Fazza – Bin Hendi/Al Zafeen (UAE)                                                    212

2. Negotiator – Carpitella/Fendi (I)                                                           116

3. SkyDive Dubai – Al Sayed/Al Mehairbi (UAE)                                   110

Final Standings Class 1 Middle East Powerboat Championship

1. Fazza – Bin Hendi/Al Zafeen (UAE)                                                      65

2. Team Abu Dhabi – Al Tayer/Tomlinson (UAE/USA)                            49

3. Welmax (Nor) – Selmer/Tandberg (Nor)                                               42

The Fazza crew have dominated the Class One scene over the past few years and they underlined their supremacy with the 20^th race win of their careers some 14 seconds ahead of Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashid Al Tayer and John Tomlinson with Italians Guido Cappellini and Giampaolo Montavoci just over eight seconds further adrift in third with GSG Ceramic Design.

It’s a win that continues their rise through Class 1’s Hall of Fame – now only British racing legend Steve Curtis (40 wins) and Norwegian pilot Bjorn Gjelsten (34) are ahead of them in the modern era.

“With the World Championship already won, there was no pressure on us to win in Dubai,” said throttleman Bin Hendi. “But we wanted to go out and put on a show and that’s exactly what we did. It was a perfect race for us.”

Such was their brilliance, Bin Hendi and Al Zafeen even managed to lap two of the field before taking the chequered flag in the 51.07Nm race. It also makes them hot favourites to win the last race of the championship today (Saturday) and take them a step closer to Curtis and Gjelsten.

“When I first started, Steve Curtis was a hero of my mine,” added Bin Hendi. “When I finally met him, I asked how I could get to be where he is in the sport. He obviously believed we were good enough because he said ‘take your time and you’ll get there.’ Now we’re up with these guys it’s a great feeling.”

While the Fazza crew were celebrating yet another stunning performance, there was jubilation in the Welmax camp after Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tandberg became the first all-Norwegian crew to win the EDOX Pole Position World Championship.

Their red cat wrapped up its fifth straight qualifying win but could not translate that in to a podium finish – Welmax came home in fourth spot.

For third place Montavoci, a podium finish was more than he expected on his 51^st birthday. “We had engine trouble in Pole Position and basically threw the engine back together just hoping to do one lap and then come back to the pits,” he said.

“But as we went out for the parade lap, the engine starting running really well and we thought we could give it a try. To get third place is unbelievable but it was all down to the great start. Out at sea we were quicker than Team Abu Dhabi but on the flat inshore section, the engine was only about 80% of what they have.”

Despite celebrations for Fazza, for teammate Mohammed Al Marri it wasn’t such a great day alongside Giorgio Manuzzi in SkyDive Dubai. The pair struggled to make any impression on the race and could only finish down the field in seventh spot.

“The props were wrong for the conditions out at sea and we really struggled racing into the wind,” said two-time world champion Al Marri. “But it’s a new boat and we are still getting used to it. It’s another day tomorrow and we’ll be back to improve on what happened today.”

The final race of the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship – round two of the Emirates/Dubai Duty Free Dubai Grand Prix – gets underway today (Dec 11) with the 68.56Nm race starting at 3.30pm at Mina Seyahi.

Result – Race 1 Emirates/Dubai Duty Free Dubai Grand Prix

1. Fazza – Bin Hendi/Al Zafeen (UAE)                                         34m:39.78s

2. Team Abu Dhabi – Al Tayer/Tomlinson (UAE/USA)              +14.25s

3. GSG Ceramica Design – Cappellini/Montavoci (I)                +22.79s

______________________________________________________________

For further information: Alan Ewens, Victory Team Press and Media Manager. Tel: +97150 4514188. Alan2804@emirates.net.ae

- UAE Boats Favourites for Powerboat Glory -

Dubai (UAE): They may have wrapped up the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship in Abu Dhabi less than a fortnight ago but today’s (Tuesday) final race in the 2010 UIM X-Cat World Series Powerboat Championship will see Fazza’s Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi start as outsiders for the title.

The Class 1 World Champions kept alive their hopes of a world title double by claiming maximum points in the second race in the three-round X Cat World Series in Abu Dhabi last month but trail in fourth place as the season comes to a head at the Dubai International Martine Club this afternoon.

Championship leaders Rashid Al Marri and Salem Al Hamli lead the series in Extreme Marine thanks to a first and a second place finish in the two races held so far. With their nearest challengers over 230 points adrift, the Extreme Marine crew will be hoping for a trouble-free run in the 11-lap 47.88Nm race and a high enough finish to ensure them the title no matter how well the chasing pack do.

“Although we managed to get ahead of Extreme Marine in the last race, we know we need results to go in our favour elsewhere if we are to win the X Cat World Series,” said Bin Hendi. “Rashid and Salem have already wrapped up the regional title and have the boat to go on and win the World Series too – but we can’t think too much about them. It’s up to us to try and win the race and see where we stand at the end of the day.”

Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi currently lie 300 points behind the championship leaders with just 400 points available for a race win.

Yesterday’s (Monday) practice and Pole Position runs saw the Qatar Team duo of Mohammed Al Nasr and Hamad Jassim Mohammed take the honours ahead of title favourites Al Marri and Al Hamli with Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi third quickest narrowly ahead of team mates Talib Al Sayed and Abdullah Al Mehairbi’s Fazza 33.

Despite the Qataris holding pole, all eyes will be on the battle between Extreme Marine and Fazza 3 following their hard-fought head-to-head in the UAE capital last month.

The Fazza victory prevented a fourth straight X Cat win for Extreme Marine and the champions elect will want to wrap up the title in still while seeing off their more illustrious neighbours in a series which sees crews from around the world battle it out in similar catamarans with twin outboard motors.

Today’s action at DIMC kicks off a week of exciting powerboat racing action with the final rounds of the EDOX Pole Position and the UIM Class 1 World Powerboar Championship to come from Thursday to Saturday. The final day of X Cat action for 2010 will see the 12-boat fleet take to the waters off Mina Seyahi for an hour of official practice at 10.30am before the race itself gets underway at 3.00pm. Entrance is free to the general public.

Ends

Caption: Fazza 3’s Arif Al Zafeen and Nader Bin Hendi will be out to spoil Extreme Marine’s X Cat World Series hopes in the final round of the championship today

For further information: Alan Ewens, Victory Team Press and Media Manager. Tel: +97150 4514188. alan2804@emirates.net.ae

STRESA (Italy): World champions Arif Al Zafeen and Nader Bin Hendi were promoted to first place in the opening race at the Italian Grand Prix in Italy yesterday (Sat) following the news that Norway’s Jorn Tandberg and Kolbjorn Selmer were disqualified after celebrating what they thought had been their first win of the 2010 UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship in Stresa.

The Norwegians had qualified in pole position and subsequently held off the strong challenge of championship leaders Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi in Fazza to win by 23 seconds on the waters of Lake Maggiore. But post-race scrutineering revealed a discrepancy with the engines in Welmax and they were disqualified from both the Pole Position and race one of the Italian Grand Prix.

A bulletin, signed by WPPA Technical Director Patrick Heslop, referred to “Class 1 Event Rules Section J – 46. Restrictor, Blow Off Valve and Air Box Sizes and Specifications.”

It said: “Conformity of the air box tract seal will be checked using the official WPPA vacuum gauge applied to a running engine. Should the reading fail to reach -100 millibars, the induction tract seal will be considered illegal. Boat No 90 Welmax failed this test and this (sic) therefore disqualified from Pole Position and Race 1 of the 2010 UIM Class One Italian GP.”

The penalty means that the boats who finished behind Welmax in the race were moved up one position leaving Fazza as the winner followed by Guido Cappellini and Swiss throttleman Marcello Menegatto in Primatist with third place going to Skydive Dubai, crewed by Talib Al Sayed and Abdullah Al Mehairbi.

The win means Bin Hendi and Al Zafeen moved one step closer to clinching the European Championship after nearest rival Giovanni Carpitella could only take fifth place alongside Chris Parsonage in Negotiator.

“We’re not too disappointed with that,” said Bin Hendi, before discovering the fate of Welmax. “Welmax went like a rocket on the opening straight and we let them go hoping to catch them as the race went on. Unfortunately, the left trim was stuck, which cost us around 5mph and meant I had to slow down at the turns. But I don’t want to take anything away from Welmax – they were flying today.”

The result means Bin Hendi and Al Zafeen’s lead at the top of the World Championship is now 25 points over Al Sayed and Al Mehairbi.

“We had a few technical issues at the start of the race but we enjoyed it and will go away and prepare for tomorrow,” said Al Mehairbi. “I think we need to look closely at propeller choice but apart from that we are in good shape.”

With Carpitella and Parsonage picking up just seven points for fifth place, the standings in the race for the European crown – held in Norway, Sweden and Italy and decided after the second race of the Italian Grand Prix – sees Fazza open up a one point lead over Negotiator.

It means Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi will retain the European Championship for the UAE simply by finishing anywhere ahead of Negotiator in today’s race.

“The Class 1 World Championship is the ultimate goal and we are completely focused on retaining the title,” said Al Zafeen. “However, our great friends Jean Marc Sanchez and Mohammed Al Mehairi won the European Championship last year and it would be a great achievement for Nader and I to win it in their honour in 2010.”

Defending World Champions Nader Bin Hendi and Arif Al Zafeen of the UAE are the new Class 1 European Powerboat Champions after a flawless wire-to-wire victory at the Italian Grand Prix in Stresa – Race 2.

The Emiratis went into the 64.82Nm race with a narrow one point lead over their nearest title challengers but left them trailing in their wake by storming from pole position to the chequered flag at an average speed of 188.90kmph in what were grim racing conditions.

Battling low visibility and fog on the course, Bin Hendi and Al Zafeen won in a time of 39m:31.29s and fifteen seconds ahead of a titanic fight for second place ultimately won by Italian racing legend Guido Cappellini and Swiss co-pilot Marcello Menegatto just two seconds ahead of the Skydive Dubai pairing of Talib Al Sayed and Abdullah Al Mehairbi.

“That completes the set,” grinned a delighted Bin Hendi after lifting the first European title of his Class 1 career to add to his Middle East and World crowns. “We’ve been fighting a long time to win this so I’m relieved it’s finally in the bag. We had a big lead of over a minute at one stage and eased off the throttles.

“It allowed the others to catch up but we didn’t feel threatened. It’s a great feeling to have won this which we both want to dedicate to HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for his incredible support.”

While it was an imperious run by the new European Champions, it was a tricky day at the office for Al Sayed and Al Mehairbi who would surely have wrapped up second place had they not accrued long lap penalties for missing turn buoys.

However, from a lowly fifth place they fought back magnificently, even stealing third place from Welmax pair Jorn Tandberg and Kolbjorn Selmer less than 100 metres from the finish line.

“The support guys in the pits thought we were crazy for doing four long laps but we knew we had made a couple of mistakes out on the course and would be penalised so we decided to get them out of the way, one after the other,” said Al Sayed. “It meant we had to fight really hard with Welmax and Primatist to get on the podium but we did it and I’m proud if the way we fought back.”

For half the race it looked as if Rashed Al Tayer from Abu Dhabi and his US throttleman and former world champion John Tomlinson would claim second place in Team Abu Dhabi. Unfortunately, a blown motor put paid to their chances at the start of the ninth lap.

Also suffering technical problems were Giovanni Carpitella and Chris Parsonage in Negotiator who bowed out of the race on the 13^th lap while holding fifth place – a result that ended their faint hopes of taking the European crown from Bin Hendi and Al Zafeen.

For the new European titleholders, however, there were no such problems and the Fazza crew have now increased their world championship lead to 33 points over Al Sayed and Al Mehairbi with just four races remaining.

“There will be no complacency from us,” added Bin Hendi after his 18^th Class One career win. “Every race I enter is like the first one of my career – I always want to win and that won’t change over the next four races.”

Pictures show – Race start in Stresa, Nader Bin Hendi and Arif Al Zafeen after winning race two at the Italian Grand Prix in Stresa and the 2010 Class 1 European Powerboat Championship and the boat in action

Italian Grand Prix – Results Race 2

1. Fazza – Bin Hendi/Al Zafeen (UAE)                             39m:31.29s (187.46kmh)

2. Primatist – Cappellini/Menegatto (I)                             + 15.28s

3. Skydive Dubai – Al Sayed/Al Mehairbi (UAE)            + 17.52s

4. Welmax – Selmer/Tandberg (Nor)                                + 18.83s

5. Relekta – Zaborowski/Gaiser (Nor/Bra)                      + 1 lap

World Championship Standings

1.Fazza – Bin Hendi/Al Zafeen (UAE) 143 2. Skydive Dubai – Al Sayed/Al Mehairbi (UAE) 110 3. Negotiator – Parsonage/Carpitella (UK/I) 82 4. Primatist – Cappellini/Menegatto (I/CH) 72 5. Welmax – Selmer/Tandberg (Nor) 41

European Championship Standings

1.Fazza – Bin Hendi/Al Zafeen (UAE) 95 2. Negotiator – Parsonage/Carpitella (UK/I) 78 3. Skydive Dubai – Al Sayed/Al Mehairbi (UAE) 72 4. Primatist – Cappellini/Menegatto (I/CH) 51 5. Welmax – Selmer/Tandberg (Nor) 29

_______________________________________________________________

For further information: Alan Ewens, Victory Team Media Manager. Tel: +97150 4514188. E-mail: alan2804@emirates.net.ae