Abu Dhabi: The Dubai-based Victory 3 team claimed their 14th UIM Class One World Championship title on Friday afternoon after winning race two of the Grand Prix of the UAE off the Abu Dhabi Breakwater.
Meanwhile, Team Abu Dhabi’s John Tomlinson and Gary Ballough rounded off their 2014 UIM Class One World Powerboat Championship season by finishing an excellent second overall in the race.
The Victory 3 crew of Arif Saif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi needed to merely finish the race to secure a record-breaking 14th title for their team, and they achieved their goal in style by leading from the start to reach the chequered flag with a winning margin of 54.42sec.
It hardly mattered in any case, because nearest rivals, Christian Zaborowski and Ugur Isik needed to win the race outright in Relekta-Zabo-Isiklar, but slowed to a crawl from the second lap before retiring.
This left the door open for the Italian duo of Giovanni Carpitella and Luca Formilli Fendi to hold second place in LFF10 for eight laps, with Team Abu Dhabi pushing them all the way and managing to sneak through on lap nine to snatch the runner-up spot for the final Class One podium of the season.
Chaudron held on to take fourth place and seal the V1 class world crown in a race that was won by Bernico-New Star.
The Victory Team had lined up ahead of Team Abu Dhabi in pole position as they set out to claim an unprecedented 14th world title in improved weather conditions on the Abu Dhabi course around Lulu Island.
Victory came into the 10-lap race 19 points in front of Relekta-Zabo-Isiklar, meaning just a finish would be sufficient to win the title, although both Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi wanted to end the season in style with another win. Al Zafeen was also chasing a 42nd career win, which would put him at the top of the Hall of Fame alongside British throttleman Steve Curtis.
Victory completed the first lap 10.53 seconds in front of LFF10, with Team Abu Dhabi a close third and LFF8-Silverline in fourth. Relekta-Zabo-Isiklar, needing to win the race to stand any chance of taking the title, was in fifth.
New Star-Poliform failed to reach the start.
Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi extended Victory 3’s lead to 17.39 seconds through lap two, but the field was soon reduced to three Class One boats and five V1 hulls when LFF8-Silverline and Relekta-Zabo-Isiklar were in trouble on lap two. The latter’s demise handed a 14th world title to the Victory Team.
Victory’s lead grew to 24.36sec through three laps and Team Abu Dhabi were not able to close the gap on LFF10 and challenge for second position.
But Tomlinson and Ballough began to mount a late challenge and they started lap six a mere 1.48 seconds behind LFF10, as Victory 3 cut through the water like a knife to extend Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi’s lead to 48.83 seconds.
FF10 began lap seven with a 5.5-second advantage over Team Abu Dhabi and that was reduced to 2.45 seconds through lap eight.
Tomlinson and Ballough managed to pass LFF10 on lap nine to snatch second position, as the Victory Team passed the chequered flag on the next lap to seal a 14th title and a 42nd win for Al-Zafeen.
The Grand Prix of the UAE was held under the patronage of Dr Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Adviser to the UAE President and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC). Team Abu Dhabi is supported by official carrier Etihad Airways.
