ORANGE BEACH, Alabama, USA: Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al Thani and Steve Curtis will not make their turbine class racing debut in Sunday’s ‘Thunder on the Gulf’ Super Boat Grand Prix at Orange Beach in Alabama.
The eagerly awaited new Spirit of Qatar 96 boat is still being prepared and completed in the USA with support from Whispering Turbines and Five-Axis Industries. Sheikh Hassan is now planning to race the boat for the first time at the 25th Annual Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix Festival at Sarasota in Florida on July 5-7.
The new Mystic hull is powered by a pair of T53 turbine engines, delivering around 1,600hp apiece and capable of propelling the boat to a top speed of 354km/h (200 mph).
“The boat is behind schedule due to the supplier not delivering the parts on time,” said Sheikh Hassan, president of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF).
Sheikh Hassan added: “But the crew have been working around the clock to get it ready and tested. We are now targeting Sarasota and we should be ready. A shakedown is planned for mid-June. The engines are in the boat and we are doing the final modifications to the exhaust and the final bits of rigging.”
The Turbine, Superboat Unlimited and Superboat Extreme entrants will take to the water at the same time as the Superboat class entries in this weekend’s Alabama race.
Qatar’s Ali Al Neama and Mohammed Al Nasser finished fifth overall in the Superboat class in the Space Coast Super Boat Grand Prix at Cocoa Beach two weeks ago. They will race the Spirit of Qatar 20 boat in the same class again against the likes of class leader WHM Motorsports and rivals Team CRC, Team Stihl, Warpaint and JD Byrider.
“Ali and Mohammed will still need to be conservative this weekend,” said Sheikh Hassan.
Sheikh Hassan added: “Maybe this time they need to stay with the pack, but we don’t know what the water will look like until Sunday. At the end of the day, we need them to finish and gain more seat time in the boat and Steve and I have time now to support the guys to run faster.” THE PENINSULA
