For the first time ever Moscow hosted the most famous in this rate racing Class 1 World Powerboat Championship. The Grand Prix of Russia took place in the water area of Khimki impoundment. VIP-grandstands located on the reopened Vodny stadion.
Eight teams started the route. The main competition was between 2 Middle East teams –Victory Team and Qatar Team. The latter team used 3 bolides to increase the chances of success. However the main emotions were taken by the bolide’s team number 96 due to the royal parentage of the pilot – Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al Thani and the titled sportsman, throttleman Steve Curtis.
On the Griboedov channel the prep races were carried out. There the competitor of the Victory 1 team was Qatar 96 which won the 3rd qualification place. The 2nd place was won by the Norwegian boat Jotun.
While some of the teams competed for the leading positions, the rest of the teams tried to improve their aggregate results in the race scoring. The Italian team SeveneleveN which changed the old engine for the new Lamborghini-Scam V12, demonstrated the obvious turn for the better by getting the 7th place in the general competition.
The final race of the bolides Class 1 within the Moscow stage of Grand Prix in water-motor sport took place on July 6th. The race began from the false start what made the atmosphere of the sport event quite intriguing. The bolides had to make a circle and came back to the start positions.
The absolute leader of the 2 previous stages is the team from UAE - Victory 1. Pilot Mohammed Al Marri (UAE) and throttleman Nadir Bin Hendi (UAE) developed the maximum speed of 168.5 km/h and came the first finishing the route (23 laps) for 59 minutes and 35 seconds.
In spite of the obvious advantage of Victory 1 over the competitors, the other teams did not lose excitement and contended the second and third places. The real intrigue started after the team Quatar 9 had to be out of the route and left the race due to the technical malfunction of the screw propeller. Thereupon the Italians SeveneleveN left the competition.
Two teams, Qatar 96 and Qatar 95 continued to contend. Jotun took the 2nd premier place with the difference of 64 seconds according to the qualification results. But at the finish stretch the teams’ power turned to be quite different. By a quirk of fate the Jotun team had to go to the technical area for a small repair, which however influenced the result. Finally they had to move over in favour of the Quatari boats. Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani, the pilot of Qatar 96 together with Steve Curtis showed the real royal race. He appeared in Class 1 Championship 5 years ago and immediately made a serious bid for leadership. He won the first premier place in 3 Grand Prix events and almost always got the prize-winning places. Unfortunately, a number of technical troubles followed by Qatar for a few years did not let sheikh to become the champion. Last year he was screwed out of this title. Till the last but one race he kept pace with the leader – Victory Team. The analogous situation was at the Moscow stage of Grand Prix: Qatar 96 won a victory over Qatar 95 in a tense struggle with a difference of one lap and 7.5 seconds.
The successful début of Grand Prix Class 1 in Moscow showed all the beauty and power of the water-motor sport. The next stage will take place in Norway. And in one year the royal race will come back to Russia where it will be carried out for the next 4 years.
Pilot of Qatar 96 throttleman Steve Curtis
– Steve, how many times have you become the champion of Class 1 and how many Grand Prix have you won?
– I became the champion 8 times with different pilots and won 40 Grand Prix.
– Earlier you presented the team Spirit of Norway. What is the reason of your transfer to the Quatari team?
– Everything is simple. Spirit of Norway was bought by the Quatari team and now it is named Qatar 96. I like my mate, pilot Hassan Al-Thani. He likes high speed and able to risk for the sake of victory.
– You were the first who saw the route before competition. What is your opinion about it?
– The route is quite complicate and narrow with a little space for maneuvering. A good start and high speed will be a guarantee of success.
Pilot of Qatar 96 his Highness Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani became the first Quatarian who won Grand Prix in 2004 in Oslo. He finished the third at the Championship in 2005 and 2007. Three times he became a winner of Pole Position. He founded the Qatar Marine Sports Federation in 2003 and the team Qatar 96. His Highness Sheikh Hassan is IOTA President.
Grand Prix of Russia
1. Victory 1 – Al Marri (UAE) / Bin Hendi (UAE)
2. Qatar 96 – Al-Thani (Qatar) / Curtis (England)
3. Qatar 95 – Al-Sulaiti (Qatar) / Nicolini (Italy)
4. Victory 7 – Al Mehairbi (UAE) / Sanchez (France)
5. Foresti & Suardi 8 – Selmer (Norway) / Montavoci (Italy)
6. Jotun 90 – Aarbakke (Norway) / Tandberg (Norway)
7. SeveneleveN 18 – Manuzzi (Italy) / Giorgi (Italy)
8. Roscioli Hotels Roma 88 – Carrasco (Spain) / Cirilli (Spain)
9. Qatar 9 – Al-Nassr (Qatar) / Nicolini (Italy).
The positions in the World Championship after the 3rd stage of 8
1. Victory 1 – Al Marri (UAE) / Bin Hendi (UAE) – 64 points
2. Victory 7 – Al Mehairbi (UAE) / Sanchez (France) – 40 points
3. Qatar 95 – Al-Sulaiti (Qatar) / Nicolini (Italy) – 37 points
4. Qatar 96 – Al-Thani (Qatar) / Curtis (England) – 35 points
5. Foresti & Suardi 8 – Selmer (Norway) / Montavoci (Italy) – 25 points
6. Jotun 90 – Aarbakke (Norway) / Tandberg (Norway) – 18 points
7. Roscioli Hotels Roma 88 – Carrasco (Spain) / Cirilli (Spain) – 8 points
8. SeveneleveN 18 – Manuzzi (Italy) / Giorgi (Italy) – 5 points
9. Negotiator 50 – Eker (Norway) / Parsonage (England) – 4 points
10. Qatar 9 – Al-Nassr (Qatar) / Nicolini (Italy).
Konstantin Startsev
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