Abu Dhabi: Team Abu Dhabi’s John Tomlinson and Gary Ballough overcame difficult weather conditions to snatch third position and the final place on the podium in the first race at a blustery Grand Prix of the UAE, the final round of the 2014 UIM Class One World Powerboat Championship, on Thursday afternoon.
The Victory 3 crew of Arif Saif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi led from pole position to the chequered flag and looked set to secure another UIM Class One World Powerboat Championship title with one race to spare.
The pair were never troubled in a contest where Christian Zaborowski and Ugur Isik eventually claimed second place in Relekta-Zabo-Isiklar, once Guido Cappellini and Mikhail Kitashev had slipped out of contention on lap seven in New Star-Poliform.
That runner-up spot for the Norwegian-Turkish duo means that they could still deprive the Victory 3 pair of the title by a single point on Friday if they win the race outright and Victory 3 retire and fail to score a point. Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi clinched the UIM Class One Pole Position title for the 10th time in the morning’s qualifying session.
Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi began the slightly delayed race from pole position, ahead of LFF10, Newstar-Poliform and Team Abu Dhabi and gained an advantage of 12.64 seconds over Newstar-Poliform through lap one.
LFF8-Silverline moved up to third and Team Abu Dhabi slipped to fifth behind Relekta-Zabo-Isiklar. LFF10 had already fallen into the group of chasing V1 racers, headed by Chaudron, at the rear of the field.
Victory 3’s lead grew to 18.59sec through lap two and Team Abu Dhabi climbed to fourth at the expense of a struggling LFF8-Silverline, which was passed by LFF10. The Dubai boat’s lead over New Star-Poliform was extended to 27.29sec after three laps but the leading quartet held station and continued in that formation into lap five but LFF8-Silverline stopped after two completed laps.
There were no changes to the running order through five laps, with Victory heading Newstar-Poliform by 35.16sec and Relekta-Zabo-Isiklar, Team Abu Dhabi and LFF10 trailing in third, fourth and fifth positions. New Star-Poliform lost second place on lap six and their demise lifted Relekta-Zabo-Isiklar and Team Abu Dhabi into the remaining two podium places heading into lap seven.
Victory’s lead was 67 seconds after seven laps and the other three surviving Class One boats were running in procession in second, third and fourth overall, with Chaudron leading the way amongst the V1 hulls. There were no late dramas and Victory 3 reached the chequered flag 1min 19sec in front of Relekta-Zabo-Isiklar, with Team Abu Dhabi in third, 1min 52sec behind the winners.
The Grand Prix of the UAE is being held under the patronage of Dr Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Adviser to the UAE President, and chairman of the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC). Team Abu Dhabi is supported by official carrier Etihad Airways.
