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By Andre Gonzaga


  Dubai is bracing for yet another World Cup when the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) plays host to the final two rounds of the UIM Class One World Powerboat Championship at the end of this year.

  Based loosely on the concept of the world’s richest horse race ‘The Dubai World Cup’ held each year at the Nad Al Sheba racecourse, the Class One World Powerboat Championship will consists of two races off the DIMC shoreline in the first half of December.

  The idea for a World Cup of powerboat racing has been mooted by DIMC Managing Director Saeed Hareb, who is also the Race Coordinator for the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) Class One World Powerboat Championship. Hareb, a former powerboat competitor himself, hit upon “…the idea of a world-class competition right here in our backyard…” following a minor shake-up in the running of the sport recently.

  “The idea is to capture the essence of an exclusive competition which will see the best Class One racers in the world go head-on to claim the Dubai World Cup,” explains Hareb.

  “We have the boats competing for the European and the Middle East Championships. Why not a new concept of determining a separate winner for a Dubai World Cup?” he shrugs.

  One of the smoother aspects of Class One racing in the UAE has been the steady backing of sponsors for the sport since its inception way back in 1990. “Major companies such as Emirates Airline and Dubai Duty Free have kept on believing in us and what we do for the promotion of the UAE by using Class One as a medium…the Dubai Government has always been with us and backed us at each step,” he states explaining the continuing popularity of Class One racing in this part of the world.

  “It’s not merely about the sport… it’s about the vision for Dubai that we share along with the sponsors and the Government,” he insists.

  The latest development on the 2006 calendar, the cancellation of the French Grand Prix off Cannes and scheduled for the first week of October, has made this fresh concept of a ‘Dubai World Cup’ even more appealing.

  The UIM Class One calendar normally consists of eight to ten races held all around the globe starting on the European circuit and culminating in the last two races right here in Dubai. And 2006 is no exception.

  But with the cancellation of the Cannes race, Saeed Hareb’s aspirations for the Dubai World Cup have swelled. “Maybe we can think about having three races instead of two.”

  “Dubai has traditionally hosted the final round of the Class One Championship...and now with this idea of a World Cup, the sporting world will be in a better position to identify Dubai with yet another top-class event,” Hareb adds.

  The concept of a ‘Dubai World Cup’ came about due to a minor shake-up in the organisation of the sport from the end of last season. Whatever the negatives that were, powerboat racing is poised for a quantum change following developments that have recently taken place in the sport.

  The fourth round of this year’s competition, held in Arendal, Norway in July, saw disagreements between the UIM – the sport’s governing body - and the various teams and managements reach a peak. To end the controversy the sport’s authorities accepted a new group, to be called the Professional Working Group (PWG), to run the Class One and Formula One powerboat competitions.

For a cause

  UIM Class One Race Coordinator Hareb has always been a strong campaigner for a worthy cause. Piqued by an unusual application of the rules by the UIM hierarchy, Hareb stepped down from his position at the start of this season asking the world governing body to show some fairness in the rules while dealing with teams. Hareb, the DIMC Managing Director also questioned the rule implementation by the UIM for the 2005 season.

  The UIM allegedly saw nothing wrong and remained committed to the 2006 calendar starting with two races in Qatar. The UIM was unrelenting, prompting Hareb to go a step further and threaten a complete disassociation from Class One racing by organizers DIMC with immediate effect.

  Support was forthcoming for Hareb from all the participating teams as they agreed in principle to stage a breakaway from the UIM and float a parallel competition. The supreme body, the International Offshore Teams Association (IOTA), intervened and brokered a deal to save the sport from an ugly split from UIM following a meeting held in Norway in July 2006. That meeting also paved the way for Class One and Formula One racing to attempt charting a new course with the PWG at the helm.

  With the PWG now in place, Class One and Formula One racing will run independently from the UIM. The four-member PWG will oversee the decision making process, calendar decisions, rule implementation and general governance of the sport.

  Ugur Isik will be the chairman of the PWG, while Series Promoter Nicolo di San Germano will represent Formula One. Hareb will be the representative from Class One and Marco Sala will continue as the Secretary General. “Our main intention was to ensure there was no harm to the series.  In fact, the setting up of the PWG has helped us guide the sport onto a different level,” Hareb says.

  At the end of five rounds of the 2006 championship, Spirit of Norway holds a slender 10-point lead against Dubai’s Victory 77. The Dubai-based boats were in awesome form during the fifth round of the championship held in the first week of August in Plymouth, England. Victory 77’s Mohammad Al Marri and Jean Marc Sanchez finished a brilliant double to put their challenge for the world title back on track.

  And with three rounds remaining, Victory 77 seems quite capable of bringing the title back to Dubai after a few years’ break.

Self-sustenance

  With the changes mooted for the sport, Hareb is convinced we are at the dawn of a new era. He envisions a fresh new period that will witness a balance in the system, especially in the uniform implementation of the rules, while also making the sport more sustainable to sponsors. “We want to make everyone enjoy the sport. We want to be more media savvy and more attractive to the spectators,” he says.

  But in a sport like Class One that sees teams jostling each other with huge expense budgets, this is a tall order indeed. Hareb adds, “I know there is this feeling that teams and the drivers are big spenders during a season. We want to change this concept by bringing in the element of professionalism.”

  Putting Class One within reach of a common man is attainable, according to Hareb. For one, the organizers have encountered several occasions when enthusiasts have shown an inclination to Class One racing. “If we can bring in a level playing field for Class One, we will be able to bring in new competitors in the near future.” he confides.

  “The rules need to be clear and teams and drivers need to have the assurance that these rules will be uniformly applied to all concerned, unlike what used to happen in the past.”

  The past has not been the best for the sport. With teams haggling with governing body UIM in the recent past, Class One has taken a beating. And now Hareb wants a facelift for the sport.

  “There are many who want to come and be part of the Class One circuit. However, they have been put off due to the small niggles that have been part of Class One and Formula One racing in recent times. We don’t want people to go away. We want them to turn to Class One and Formula One powerboat racing. The future looks bright,” he says.

Using the Formula One model

  The PWG want to adhere to the tried and tested success potion of Formula One motor racing while attempting to redefine Class One and Formula One Powerboat racing. And the start will be by emphasizing on the oft-beaten track called professionalism – something that seems to be increasingly unfamiliar to the participating teams.

  “They pay too much attention and are way too focused on to the rules instead of concentrating on just racing and winning points.”

  “A sportsman like Michael Schumacher only does racing. He does not have to be worried about how the rules are implemented or how the team strategy works. All he does is race and then leave everything in a perfectly professional atmosphere,” Hareb states.

  One of the things that occupy the attention of Class One drivers, he feels, is the strict adherence to rules governing the sport. “We need our drivers to change their mentality and approach,” Hareb states.

 “They need to get their focus and concentrate on the future of the sport and they need to concentrate on winning every time they step into the boat,” Hareb smiles.

UIM standings at the end of Round 6 held in Plymouth, United Kingdom in first week of August:

1. Spirit of Norway - Bjorn Gjelsten/Steve Curtis (72 points)

2. Victory 77 Mohammad Al Marri/Jean Marc Sanchez (62 points)

3. Jotun 90 – Christian Zaborowski/Jorn Tandberg (59 points)

4. Qatar 95 – Abdullah Al Sulaiti/Lino Di Biase (55 points)

5. Qatar 96 – Shaikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al Thani/Matteo Nicolini (51 points)

6. Foresti & Suardi-Roscioli Hotels 8 – Domenico Cirilli/Giampaolo Montavoci (44 points)

7. Victory 7 – Ahmad Al Suwaidi/Nader Bin Hindi (43 points)

8. Ceramiche Flamina 2 – Giuseppe Chillocci/Pertti Leppala (23 points)

9. King of Shaves 50 – James Sheppard/Chris Parsonage (22 points)

10. Seveneleven 9 – Pal Virik Nilsen/Nicola Giorgi (12 points)

   

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