Al Sharshini leads Qatari dominance in UAE Waterbike Championships

Dubai: Walid Mahmoud Al Sharshini led a trio of Qatari victories during the fifth round of the UAE Waterbike Championships on Saturday.

The 21-year-old, whose father Mahmoud doubles up as his engineer and manager, won both of the day’s Pro Runabout GP races convincingly at Al Mamzar Beach. Mohammad Jasem Al Baz from Kuwait came in second after two second places finishes, while Japan’s Jun Ikoma battled a broken piston but still claimed a pair of third-place finishes.

Two other jet-ski riders from Qatar followed Al Sharshini on to the top step of the podium, with Tamir Abu Faisal winning both Novice Runabout Stock class races and Rashid Al Manai claiming a first and a third in the Expert Runabout Stock class, which was good enough for him to take the honours.

“It’s been a tough ride for me for the past few years,” Al Sharshini told Gulf News. “It’s getting tougher by the day as putting up finances for a hobby like this is hard. We spend anything between Dh200,000 and Dh300,000 during a season. We need more support, possibly from the government as in the end it is the national flag that is raised.

“My life has been spent on the water and jet-ski racing is only a hobby for me. Sailing is my first love, but I still need some sort of backing and support.”

Other winners on the evening were Steven Duliach of France, who was dominant in the Pro Ski GP, and the UAE duo of Jaber Mohammad Saif Al Ma’asam and Saif Mohammad Saif Al Ma’asam in the Ski Junior Stock class and Expert Ski Limited class respectively.

“This championship has grown over the years and it is our wish to take things to the next level for sure,” Ali Juma Ali Bin Gulaita, Acting CEO of the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) said.

“We have the enthusiasm and the basic infrastructure. Now we only require some more support from various government institutions so that we can have something even better to match this enthusiasm.”