ABU DHABI I’m not scared of waters. I love swimming and grab every opportunity I get to enter the waters. Among them I was also lucky to enjoy a few rides on speed boats during holidays, but never really got a chance to experience any race boats.
So when the invite for a ride on the P1 Panther, the boat for the SuperStock Series came along, it wasn’t a difficult choice.
All excited, I reached the Emirates Palace Marina in Abu Dhabi much before the scheduled time. I was introduced to Azam Rangoonwala, the Director of P1 SuperStock USA, who was the pilot for our boat.
Wasting no much time, we immediately got into the boat known for its state-of-the-art technology. Mind you, the P1 Panther is powered with the Evinrude 250HO ETEC motor and can reach a top speed of 112kmph.
As Azam manned the steering, he gave me a heads-up of the technical details as the boat slowly left the dock. Giving us company in another boat was Martin Sanborn, a two-time US National and World Champion offshore pilot.
The seats were without seatbelts and I asked Azam the reason. He said on occasions when the boat flips the passengers will not be held back but thrown to the water.
The answer was convincing but did put a slight fear in me. But the excitement of reaching around 50 miles put my fears in the backseat.
The boats began to gather speed and I held on firmly. I could feel the wind hitting my face harder. I was enjoying it.
As Azam pressed the throttle the boat began hitting the deck hard. The boat bounced as if a plane was about to take off.
But the real fun came when the boat took a sharp turn without compromising on the speed. Azam was full of concentration and navigating it to perfection, occasionally checking on me if I was comfortable.
The smile which never left my face all through the ride must have made him comfortable going high on speed.
We enjoyed four full rounds and the thrill seemed to reach fever pitch on every curve we took taking the boat completely air bound on several occasions.
We returned to the dock and I knew what was to expect when the UAE series would kick off end of this year. And for me, I really can’t wait to get into the boat again. Hopefully just before the inaugural season begins. Fingers crossed!
A peek into the Series
After tasting success in the UK and USA, the P1 SuperStock Series UAE will make its debut in the Middle East with six rounds. The UAE series begins in Fujairah in November with two races to follow in December in Sharjah and Ajman. Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah will host races in January and Abu Dhabi will be the season-ender. There will be four races held over two days—Friday and Saturday. Another entry-level series—the P1 AquaX will run alongside the P1 SuperStock Championship.
The P1 SuperStock Series is not a challenger series and is more of a feeder series to the UIM Class 1 World Championship. The P1 SuperStock is designed to integrate and link other powerboating classes. The organisers plan to introduce the series in India and China in 2013, with Brazil too a likely addition. They intend to have a World Championship, which will be held at a neutral venue, in 2015. The top two from each country will qualify for the inaugural World Championship. The P1 Panther powerboats for the UAE are currently in production in Florida, USA. They were designed in Italy.
