Offshoreonly.com - U.I.M. News from Doha / Qatar

I just received the press release for the Doha Race.
Here it is:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUSTRALIA?S RIVIERA CAPTURES FIRST CLASS 1 GRAND PRIX VICTORY AT THE FIRST
EVER QATAR GRAND PRIX

11 October 2002 (Doha, Qatar) ? The seventh round of the 2002 UIM Class 1
World Offshore Powerboat Championship was held on Friday, 11 October 2002
with the running of the Qatar Grand Prix in picturesque Doha, Qatar.

Australia?s Riviera, with new propellers and driven by Bill Barry-Cotter
and Peter McGrath, made an excellent start and remained in first place
throughout the first 13 laps of the 14-lap race. Then, in perhaps the
season?s most exciting moment, a spin-out in one of the final turns allowed
Victory 1 to pass them. But hammering down the throttles, Riviera
reclaimed first place just prior to the finish line. After the race,
Riviera?s McGrath said, ?After we had spun, we thought we had another lap
to go. When we saw the checkered flag I said I don?t believe it?. An
elated Barry-Cotter, one of the most experienced Class 1 pilots, added, ?It
was absolutely fantastic to be on that podium after all that work we have
done all through the season.?

Victory 7, driven by Ali Nasser and Ali Al Qama were in third place
throughout the first 13 laps of the race, but overtook teammates Victory 1
on the last lap to remain in the hunt for the season championship by
finishing second.

Victory 1, driven by Saeed H. Al-Tayer and Mohammed Al Marri, dropped into
third place after having claimed the lead briefly on the final lap.

A broken trim tab kept Spirit of Norway, driven by Bjorn Rune Gjelsten and
Steve Curtis, from challenging Riviera and both Victory boats, but
nevertheless they made steady progress toward a potential season
championship in Dubai with a fourth place finish, remaining 16 points ahead
of Victory 7 in the season standings.

Jotun, seeing the return of Andreas Ugland after newcomer Steffan Roth
filled in for him quite capably in Fujairah, along with Jann Hillestad on
the throttles, finished fifth.

Damas, which ran very well in the calm seas with Kristian Tzanov and
Giovanni Carpitella at the helm, finished 6th.

Finishing seventh, despite a broken propeller shaft, was the circuit?s new
tandem of Hollywood director-producer Renny Harlin and the ?immortal?
Italian, Edoardo Polli in Highlander.

Back in action with their spare boat for the second time since their
accident in Oslo was Binautica, driven by Roberto Biancalana and Claudio
Dionisio, improving upon their Fujairah performance with an 8th place
finish.

Roscioli Hotels, driven by Nicola Giorgi and Kurt Prufert, ran a steady
race, but were forced to retire due to blowing one of their engines.

ECS, driven by Matteo Nicolini and Bernhard Bellmann, got off to a strong
start but were forced to retire early in the race due to a broken piston in
one of their engines.

GFN Gibellato, pairing veteran Class 1 racer Gianni Giorgi with Giampaolo
Montavoci, failed to overcome a blown engine from yesterday?s practice and
was unable to race.

The Qatar Grand Prix final results are as follows:

Riviera ? Bill Barry-Cotter (Australia)/Peter McGrath (Australia) ? 1st
Victory 7 ? Ali Nasser (U.A.E.)/Ali Al Qama (U.A.E.) ? 2nd
Victory 1 ? Saeed H. Al-Tayer (U.A.E.)/Mohammed Al Marri (U.A.E.) ? 3rd
Spirit of Norway ? Bjorn Rune Gjelsten (Norway)/Steve Curtis (Great
Britain) ? 4th
Jotun/Ugland ? Andreas Ugland (Norway)/Jann Hillestad (Norway) ? 5th
Damas ? Kristian Tzanov (Italy)/Giovanni Carpitella (Italy) ? 6th
Highlander ? Edoardo Polli (Italy)/Renny Harlin (Finland) ? 7th
Binautica ? Roberto Biancalana (Italy)/Claudio Dionisio (Monaco) ? 8th
Roscioli Hotels ? Nicola Giorgi (Italy)/Kurt Prufert (Germany) ? Retired
ECS ? Matteo Nicolini (Italy)/Bernhard Bellmann (Germany) ? Retired
GFN Gibellato ? Giampaolo Montavoci (Italy)/Gianni Giorgi (Italy) ? Did Not
Start

This season?s Qatar Grand Prix marks the first time that the Class 1 World
Offshore Championship has visited Qatar, and Class 1 has been supported
locally by the Qatar Marine Sports Federation and the General Tourism
Authority of Qatar. The Dubai Grand Prix ? the final race of the 2002
season ? will be held at the Dubai International Marine Club on 18 October
2002.

For the next season the German Kurt Prüfert is planning to build up the first German Class 1 Team. We hope he ca do it. If there are any Sponsors out there send me a mail.