VICTORY 44 BLOWS THE OPPOSITION AWAY IN WIND-SWEPT DUBAI
* Jolly Motor & Isiklar weather storm to
finish 2nd & 3rd *
* Victory 4 wins unique format Pole Position run, decided by fastest race laps *
* Victory 7 crowned Pole Position Champions to complete impressive treble *
In one of the roughest and most spectacular Class 1 races in recent memory, Saeed Al Tayer and Felix Serralles in Victory 44, today held off a lengthy and courageous challenge from Leonardo Polli and Jim Dyke in Jolly Motor, to win the Dubai Duty Free Grand Prix by a mere three seconds.
After one and a half hours of racing over a 126nm Arabian Gulf course and with punishing six foot waves that a delighted third placed Turkish racer Ugur Isik described as "devastating," all but four of the 11 starters completed the full race distance.
Meanwhile, with the 1999 European and World Class 1 Powerboat Championships already firmly under their belt, Ali Nasser & Randy Scism in Victory 7 added the Pole Position Cup to their burgeoning trophy cabinet, after securing 2nd in today’s Pole Position contest with a fastest speed of 96.87mph / 155.90kmh.
Today’s unique Pole Position, which was decided according to fastest race lap speeds after yesterday’s scheduled event was cancelled due to strong winds, was won by Khalfan Harib and Mohamed Al Ghaith in Victory 4, when they set a speed of 96.14mph / 154.73kmh on lap four.
Despite bowing out of the race itself with yet another blown turbo, Ken Thorne and Matteo Nicolini secured third place in the Pole run with No Fear, after an early charge which saw them mixing with the Victory boats for a podium place.
"This was our day and no-one was going to beat us," said Saeed Al Tayer, after Victory 44’s second race win in the space of a week capped a three-year victory drought for the pair. "We did have some problems when the left engine shut down early on, but luckily it didn’t last long. We really went after Khalfan, because we wanted second place," added the Dubai driver whose win today, did indeed secure Victory 44 second place in the overall Championship positions.
For his part, Felix Serralles confessed to some reservations about a maneuver in which Victory 44 nearly span out after a strong challenge on Jolly Motor on the Jumara Beach turn buoy. "I’m very pleased with the result, but it could have been a very different result. I felt that we had the racing line, but thankfully for us it didn’t matter in the end," added the Puerto Rican racer, whose father watched proudly from the shore today.
"We are very pleased to be second, but also disappointed because we thought there was one more lap to go," commented Leonardo Polli after the race was flagged one lap early, when the race time elapsed exceeded the one and a half hour completion rule. "The conditions worsened during the race, but we feel sure that we had a race win in sight. Still, it’s a great way to finish the season after what has been an inconsistent year," he added.
Meanwhile, a drenched Ugur Isik admitted after a celebratory dunking in the harbour: "I am very proud to be on the podium for the first time, especially with Philippe. It was always going to be a very tough race, but we knew in our heart of hearts that if we hung in there, we had a good chance of finishing on the podium. It’s a great way to finish our first year."
Less lucky during the race were Victory 7 and Victory 4, who despite success in the Pole run were forced to retire, along with Jotun, due to rudder damage caused by the heavy seas.
With a ten race, 15 boat fleet anticipated for the 2000 Championship, all the teams must now look to an extensive winter testing programme, if they are to challenge the might of the Victory Team, who ominously have two new boats in build already.