ABU DHABI – Arif Al Zaffain and Nadir bin Hendi led from start to finish in Fazza to claim victory in the first round of the new UAE Class 3 Powerboat Championship today.
Team Emirates took advantage of mechanical issues with Abu Dhabi’s Sean Torrent and Faleh Al Mansouri, who started from pole but were out after six of 13 laps.
The team’s technicians rebuilt the Abu Dhabi 4’s port engine when the boat had fuel system problems, but the problem returned and Torrente and Al Mansoori quickly dropped out of contention in today’s opening race of the new championship.
In contrast, Al Zaffain and Bin Hendi got off to a good start in the series, eventually beating Aksum Marine’s Dmitry Vandyshev and Mikhail Kitashev by 55.45 seconds.
Kuwait’s Abdul Latif Omani and Bader Al Dousari finished third in Q8 Oil, ahead of Rashed Al Tayer and Majed Al Mansoori, who also had problems in Abu Dhabi 5 with a broken propeller shaft and lost their propeller.
The new championship, launched by the Abu Dhabi Marine Sports Club (ADMSC), aims to revive class 3 powerboat racing. With more rounds scheduled for later this year, the series aims to attract leading teams from around the world next year.
Torrent, who competed in Level 3 in the UAE 13 years ago, said, “The club (ADMSC) has done well throughout the competition and we believe it will go from strength to strength.
“Unfortunately, it was a tough day for us, but that’s the race. We knew we had a problem. We rebuilt the port engine three times and that’s it. We still had the same problem in the race. Congratulations Arif and Nadir won. We will be back.”