Offshoreonly.com - Spirit of Qatar in USA

Riviera Beach, FL – February 14, 2010 – AMF Offshore Racing LLC, the owner of the World Champion Miss GEICO Racing team and AMF Offshore Rigging LLC, today announced a ten month partnership with Spirit of Qatar to run their United States operations out of AMF’s state of the art Riviera Beach facility. The Spirit of Qatar offshore race teams are owned by Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF). Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani pilots the Qatar 96 boat and is the first Qatari to win a Class 1 grand prix offshore race. He's also the President of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation, and former championship Formula 1 powerboat racer. “After racing in Key West, we decided to keep our team in America for the 2010season and the AMF facilities and staff are a perfect match for us” said Sheikh Hassan.
"The AMF-ORS partnership combines like minded organizations driven by innovation, excellence and competitiveness. We are excited about the opportunity to work out of their facilities” said Steve Curtis, president of ORS and throttleman for the Qatar 96 boat”
The Qatar boats and rigs are slated to arrive in Riviera Beach at the beginning of March and the Qatar team will be working with AMF Offshore Rigging’s Gary Stray on some innovative safety systems for both the Spirit of Qatar and Miss GEICO Race teams. “I basically grew up in the Cougar factory in England and things seem to have come full circle. I am excited about the idea of blending the technology of two of the Worlds premier race teams under one roof” said Gary. AMF Offshore Racing Owner John Haggin added “It will be an honor to have his Excellency Sheikh Hassan’s team work side by side with my guys.”