Nader Bin Hendi and Arif Al Zafeen added the Middle East title to their UIM Class 1 World owerboat Championship crown at the Emirates/Dubai Duty Free Dubai Grand Prix yesterday.
On the first anniversary of the tragic loss of powerboat 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 who died in a racecourse tragedy a year ago.
The race remained competitive despite the fact that Fazza had clinched the world title in Abu Dhabi itself the previous weekend.
EDOX Pole Position World Champions Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tandberg in Welmax pushed the UAE stars all the way, losing out by just 3.81 seconds.
“On a 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.
Selmer, who admitted it was the best race he had been involved in with Fazza, said: “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.
“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.”
The season has seen Bin Hendi and Al Zafeen win 75 percent of the races they have started and take the world title by 96 points over their nearest rivals.
In the Middle East Championship, Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al Tayer claimed overall second while Selmer and Tandberg claimed third.