Sport | Sailing

Victory Team pilot Al Muhairi laid to rest

Hundreds of people gathered at the Al Quoz cemetery to pay their final respects to the Victory 1 driver

  • By Alaric Gomes, Senior Reporter, Gulf News
  • Published: 11:44 December 12, 2009
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: SP
  • Jean-Marc Sanchez's wife Sara drops a wreath at the accident site that claimed her husband's life on Friday as Saeed Hareb (right), Sid Bensaleh (extreme left) and other members of the family look on.
Image 1 of 5
12345

Dubai: Victory Team pilot Mohammad Bin Majid Al Muhairi was laid to rest at the Al Quoz cemetery on Saturday.

Hundreds of people from all walks of life gathered at the Al Quoz cemetery to pay their final respects to the Victory 1 driver, who died on Friday following a horrific high-speed crash off the Mina Seyahi waters during the penultimate round of the UIM/WPPA World Class One Powerboat Championships.

French throttleman Jean-Marc Sanchez's body is in the morgue at the Rashid Hospital.

Timeline: Watersports accidents in the UAE

Prominent among those who attended the final rites at the funeral were Khalfan Hareb, Managing Director of the Dubai-based Victory Team, Saeed Hareb, Chairman, WPPA and Managing Director of the DIMC, Mohammad Rashid Al Rumaithi, Vice President, UAE Marine Sports Federation, Marco Sala from IOTA, F1 promoter Nicolo di San Germano, Rashid Belhoul, former Chairman, Al Wasl Club and representatives from the UIM, ADIMSC, Abu Dhabi F1 Team and all other watersports related bodies in the country.

Meanwhile, all participating Class One teams will head out to sea in an "honour lap" in memory of the two pilots at 2pm on Saturday.
 

The teams took this decision late last night as they thought this would be the most befitting manner in which to honour the memory of Al Muhairi and Sanchez.

Related Links

After making the lap, the boats will stop at the accident site and throw petals on the water. "It's our way of remembering these two people who will always remain a part of the watersport family," stated Marco Sala, Secretary General of the International Offshore Teams Association (IOTA).

Should safety measures in the sport be reviewed? Which, according to you, is the most dangerous sport? 
 

Comments (1)

  1. Added 20:07 December 12, 2009

    Sara is my Niece, and Jean-Marc my nephew. This is so sad for all the family. My heart goes out to Sara and the children. Also to the Sanchez family and Sara's parents David and Ursula and her brother Julian. Jean-Marc was much loved and was so brave. My condolences also go to the family of the valiant Al Muhairi. I know that Jean-Mark will be remembered with pride by everyone who had the priviledge of knowing him. This is all so sad. The sporting world has this day lost two sporting hero's.

    Michael Green, Swansea, United Kingdom

More from Sailing

  1. Celebrating a tradition of the seas

  2. Al Gaffal sailing race postponed by a day

  3. Al Gaffal dhow race attracts almost 100 entries

  4. Al Marzouqui hopes for Another good show

All articles in Sailing

More from Sport

Gulf News
Popular in Sailing
Multimedia
Sport Editor's choice