Boats on their way to China

Dubai: A fleet of nine boats are about to dock in Sanya, China next week for the opening round of the 2013 UIM Class One World Powerboat Championships.

Speculation had been rife in media and racing circles whether the promoter and the teams would come to terms with a race calendar for the 2013 season. Some reports had even indicated that the popular Class One Championships was headed towards an abrupt end due to a lack of commitment on the race calendar between teams and promoter-cum-organiser Nicolo di San Germano.

However, following a series of meetings, it is reliably understood that teams have come to terms on certain issues and agreed to having a new calendar for the 2013 season starting with the opening round in China at the end of this month. “We have been given to understand that the final calendar for 2013 will be announced during the first race in China,” Victory Team Manager Ragesh Elayadeth told Gulf News without giving away much.

Following the recent assurance from the promoters, six of the nine boats were loaded in Abu Dhabi and the remaining three at the Jebel Ali port on their way to China where the opening race will be held in Sanya, Hainan from March 28-30. The vessel carrying the boats is expected to reach Haikou on the northern tip of Hainan Island by March 15 after which the boats will be trucked 300km to the luxury city port resort of Sanya in the south.

The Victory 3 team of Aref Al Zafeen and Mohammad Al Merri will be out to defend their world title in Victory 3, while Rashid Al Tayer and Mohammad Al Mansouri will be on the other boat from the UAE competing with the Abu Dhabi logo. The provisional line-up for the new season shows nine boats with the likes of Victory Australia, Luca Fendi, Faro Acciai and Poliform among the prominent participants. However, the Qatar Team that normally entered two boats is missing from the line-up following an alleged disagreement on rules during the last two races in 2012.

With China the only confirmed venue so far, talk among teams indicates that the popular venues of Lake Como (Italy) and Arendal (Norway) may be added along with the last two rounds in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in December.

“Some of the support crew will leave for China between March 19 and 21 while the rest including the drivers will take off only after the third round of the 2013 UIM XCAT World Series race to be held in Dubai [on March 21-23],” Elayadeth disclosed.