FROM LEFT: Ali Al Neama, Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al Thani, president of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) former F1 world champion Jay Price, Mohammed Al Nasser and Sameer Al-Amoudi of the QMSF at Orange Beach in Alabama, USA, yesterday.
ORANGE BEACH, Alabama: Spirit of Qatar 20’s Ali Al Neama and Mohammed Al Nasser unofficially clinched third and fifth positions in the two Superboat races at the 10th Annual ‘Thunder on the Gulf’ Super Boat Grand Prix at Orange Beach in Alabama yesterday.
At the helm of Spirit of Qatar 20 and racing in Baldwin County under the watchful eye of Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al Thani, president of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), and team throttleman Steve Curtis, the Qatar duo made swift progress and enjoyed vital seat time in their twin 750hp Scorpion-engined MTI hull during the two races that were held in challenging conditions.
A thrilling victory in the first of the two Superboat races fell to Tony Marcantonio and Mark Kowalski in JD Byrider. They pipped WHM Motorsports’ Billy Mauff and Jay Muller to the chequered flag in the closing metres after the two had been neck-and-neck throughout the action-packed race.
There was an equally exciting finish to the second seven-lap race. Mauff and Muller managed to hold off a fierce late challenge from Robert Noble and Grant Bruggemann in Team Stihl to secure the race win and extend their Superboat Championship lead. “Ali and Mohammed made a good start and started to play a little but maybe they were a little too conservative,” said Sheikh Hassan.
“Saying that, I was delighted that they managed to get third place in the first race. The water conditions changed for race two and we changed the set-up. We had smaller props and that changed the attitude of the boat and maybe it was a bit slower.
“Still, the goal was to give them as much seating time as possible and we have achieved that. They are getting used to it and I am sure that they will be even more competitive at the next race. Our testing programme with the turbine boat is pencilled in for three weeks’ time and we are all on track to use the new boat in Sarasota.”
Two boats in the Turbine and Superboat Extreme classes joined the six Superboat entries to tackle both races in this weekend’s Alabama race sanctioned by Super Boat International (SBI) Inc. The Superboat Vee and Stock boats also entered the same race with a staggered start.
The Peninsula
