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Victory, Fazza crowned European champions
posted on 05/10/2009: 67 views
STRESA - Despite starting from last place, Fazza's Nadir Bin Hindi and Arif Al Zafeen ran "the best race of our lives" to win race two at the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship Italian Grand Prix in Stresa today.
Yet despite one of the greatest performances in the history of the sport, they were denied the 2009 European Championship title as teammates Mohammed Al Mehairi and Jean Marc Sanchez cruised to second place in Victory 1 to recapture the crown Sanchez last wore in 2007. Third home were Norwegians Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tandberg in Welmax.
"That is easily the best race win of my life," said a delighted Bin Hindi, who dedicated the win to Luca Franchini, a young Victory Team engineer who tragically lost his life through illness earlier this year.
"As usual, our crew did a magnificent job by changing both engines overnight and having the boat in prime condition. But when you start at the back of the pack, you've got to fight and our run to the first turn buoy was completely flat out at well over 200kmph. We knew we'd have to go wide to get past all the other guys who were tight on it but once we'd made up the ground, Arif and I were never going to settle for anything other than the win."
While the early laps of the 67.58Nm race saw Fazza locked behind Al Mehairi and Sanchez in Victory 1, their supremacy told on the two longer laps with lap times that even boasted a run quicker than anything in testing. Once Bin Hindi and Al Zafeen had edged past Al Mehairi and Sanchez, there would be only one winner as Victory 1 settled for the securing the European Championship.
"They kept us under so much pressure throughout the race," said Sanchez, after clinching the Victory Team's sixth European Championship in front of team Managing Director and former world number one Khalfan Harib. "When we had to do our second long lap and they got ahead of us, it made sense for us to race for the championship and not the race win." That race for the European crown was made easier with the retirement of Tom Barry Cotter and Pal Nilsen in Maritimo with engine failure after nine laps of the fifteen-lap distance. It also meant that with no points heading to the Australian stable, Bin Hindi and Al Zafeen were able to claim second place in the European standings.
With 75 points from the five European races, the overall crown goes to Al Mehairi - enjoying a whirlwind start to his Class 1 career - and Sanchez with Bin Hindi and Al Zafeen runners up on 67. Barry Cotter and Nilsen finished in third overall with 51 points.
While Fazza and Victory 1 enjoyed a title-winning day, there was again controversy involving the third Dubai boat Victory 77. A collision on the opening lap between the Victory cat - piloted by two-time World Champion Mohammed Al Marri and Abdullah Al Mehairbi - and Nicola Giorgi and Kurt Olsen in Giorgioffshore put the Italian/Norwegian entry out of the race, while Victory 77 continued on to collect fourth place. The race jury will review the incident.
The Class 1 World Offshore Championship heads to the Middle East with races in Abu Dhabi in November followed by the series climax in Dubai in December. Al Mehairi and Sanchez lead the standings on 95, just four points ahead of Al Zafeen and Bin Hindi (91) with Barry Cotter and Nilsen now well behind in third on 55. - Emirates News Agency, WAM
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