Dubai: Frenchman Philippe Chiappe said winning the UIM F1 World Powerboat Championship for the first time was a dream-come-true after he led from start to finish at the Sharjah Grand Prix at the Khalid Lagoon on Friday.

Watched by a big crowd, Chiappe was handed his crown by Shaikh Sultan Bin Ahmad Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), in the presence of Saeed Hareb, General Secretary of Dubai Sports Council, and Raffaele Chiulli, President of UIM, the world governing body for watersports.

Going into the fifth and final round of the series, Chiappe held a narrow three-point lead over Qatar Team’s three-time defending champion Alex Carella, with the latter’s teammate Shaun Torrente also in contention.

But with the bulk of his work done when claiming pole position on Thursday, Chiappe drove a measured race, overcoming two yellow-flag incidents to keep Carella in second followed by Torrente in a race that saw only nine of the 15 boats finish.

Chiappe’s win meant he became the first world champion from France in the 31-year history of F1 powerboat racing.

“This is so much of a dream,” the 51-year-old told Gulf News. “For the past four years we have been doing everything right. We have just tried to get better as a team each year.

“Once it was a problem with the engine, once it was the boat, once it was an error from me, but we were always there among the top. But this year we got everything right and this makes us so proud to have everything come together.

“Everything worked in our favour and I have achieved a huge goal in my career as a driver.

“This was the 15th time Sharjah has organised this race and I am glad to be a part of powerboat history.”

Carella had no answer to the Frenchman’s speed from the start.

“He was just too good. I tried everything and he had so much more speed. There was nothing I could do. He was on another planet today,” Carella said.

Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Director-General of SCTDA, UIM F1 promoter Nicolo di San Germano and Mohammad Ali Al Noman, Deputy Chairman of SCTDA, were also present at the prizegiving ceremony.