Ali Nasser is part of the equation

The two Alis have been inseparable from the time they were born. A mere three days separates the two members of the Victory 7 team.

"My mother told me that Ali (Nasser) is three days my junior," Al Qama recalls.

"Both of us have been together in all spheres of life since then. To start with, we come from the same locality and we grew up doing things together. This has helped us immensely to forge a strong bond," he states.

This bonding has indeed been a blessing for the duo as they unitedly pursue a dream for the nation. "We were together at the Al Wasl Club when we were young and now after so many years, we are still together," he smiles.

After years of racing with Victory Team, Ali Nasser announced his retirement from the sport, at the same time, parting ways with his childhood friend in 2003.

"But His Highness Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, insisted that Ali Nasser return to the team, and he did so," Al Qama discloses.

"Ali is a big credit to the Victory Team. He is an experienced driver and he knows what he's doing with the boat. I trust him and the way he drives," he smiles.

That return has been timely as the two Alis chase one common dream.

Ali Al Qama has seen the pinnacle of UIM Class 1 racing. A steady partner of close pal and Victory 7 driver Ali Nasser, Al Qama is not too much in favour of the change in rules and regulations mooted by IOTA and the UIM.

IOTA and UIM, the two international governing bodies for water sports, have decreed the introduction of the V8 super-charged engines on all Class 1 boats from as early and next year.

"We've invested a lot in our engines for Victory Team. So it really doesn't make sense to come out with this rule all of sudden and so quickly. Maybe they should have given a time frame wherein to introduce this rule gradually," Al Qama suggests.

"It's a wrong thing that IOTA and UIM are doing. They just can't take a decision and force down an implementation in such a short period," he fumes.

"They have tested these engines some time back, and they seem to be happy and that is why they are decreeing that we introduce these from next year. This is not the right way to go about with it as all teams should have been given an opportunity to do their own testing of the new engines," he observes.

"The V8 engines are very lazy and I am sure we will have a lot of problems if they insist on us going ahead with these engines," he states.

"Remember the diesel engines which were super-charged with turbo. It was a real disaster and we certainly do want another one from next year," he insists.