Abu Dhabi: Arif Al Zaffain and Nadir Bin Hendi in Fazza produced a late show to clinch the pole position for the opening round of the new UAE Class-3 Offshore Powerboat Championship in Khor Fakkan on Thursday.
Team Abu Dhabi’s Shaun Torrente and Faleh Al Mansoori in Abu Dhabi 4 led for much of the qualifying session before Al Zaffain and Bin Hendi, who had made a slow start after missing official practice, came through with the fastest time by just 0.252 secs.
Sharjah Team’s Konstantin Ustinov and Dmitry Vandyshev were third quickest in near perfect conditions ahead of Rashed Al Tayer and Majed Al Mansoori in Abu Dhabi 5, and Kuwait’s Bader al Dousari and Abdullatif Al Omani in Raheeb17.
Change in format
The event is being staged as part of the Khor Fakkan Marine Festival by Sharjah International Marine Sports Club, who had earlier announced a reduced schedule, with a single race taking place tomorrow afternoon.
With Team Abu Dhabi battling on two fronts this weekend, Torrente will now be replaced in Khor Fakkan by Emirati driver Mohammed Al Matlae, with Al Mansoori switching to throttleman in Abu Dhabi 4.
This will allow three-time champion Torrente to switch to free practice for the Grand Prix of Sharjah, Sunday’s final round of the F1H2O world championship on Khalid Lagoon.
Major modifications
Eager to add to their run of powerboat victories with an opening win in the new Class 3 championship, meanwhile, the team spent the summer making major modifications to Abu Dhabi 5 to improve its performance.
No changes were made to Abu Dhabi 4 because none were felt necessary, and there was little between the two boats for most of today’s official Class 3 practice session.
Both took turns in setting the pace, before Torrente and Al Mansoori used their experience to set the fastest time from their teammates in Abu Dhabi 5.
