Abu Dhabi: Qatar96 won the first GCC Class III Offshore Powerboats Championship in style despite finishing third in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix yesterday.

Qatar96, steered by Italians Luca Nicolini and his throttleman Matteo Nicolini, knew that finishing the race among the top 10 drivers would secure the title with the comfortable cushion of 348 points.

That was the difference between them and their nearest rivals, before the Abu Dhabi GP, the fifth and final round.

Italian boat, La Vida Loca, captained by Christian Rivolta and throttleman Giovanni Carpitella, finished winners of the final round, organised by the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC) around Lulu Island to snatch second place in the overall standings from UAE's boat Damas steered by Rashid Al Merri and throttleman Salem Fadhel Al Hamly who finished second yesterday but lost their second place in the GCC Championship and finished third. La Vida Loca led the race from the first lap till the end while Damas advanced from fourth place to finish second ahead of Qatar96.

"We tried to push hard forward especially in the last two laps and we succeeded in overtaking Qatar96 but time ran short before we overtake La Vida Loca," Al Merri said after the race.

"We are happy with our performance despite the bad luck which we faced in some of the rounds especially in the fourth round in Dubai when we were leading the pack before suffering engine trouble that led to reducing our speed. We will be ready for next season," Al Merri confirmed.

Saif Al Suwaidi, Director of the ADIMSC, said that the race was a grand finale for the season.

"It was a thrilling race and we were absolutely right to change the time from 3pm to 11am because we have reports that the waves will be high. We are happy to have such a safe and exciting race as the last event in this season's calender."

Standings

Abu Dhabi GP: 1-La Vida Loca. 2-Damas. 3-Qatar96. 4-Kingfisher(Briton Ian Blacker and American Garry Ballough). 5-Fida Wemar(Italians Giovanni Bulgarini and Gianpaolo Montavoci).

GCC Championship: 1-Qatar96. 2-La Vida Loca. 3-Damas.