Victory fall back in race 1
Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al Thani celebrated his 50th race start and his first win in Class 1 alongside Steve Curtis with a superb flag-to-finish victory in race 1 of the BMW Norwegian Grand Prix.
Victory’s Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi shrugged off the disadvantage of having to run an extra ‘penalty lap’ to finish in an impressive second place, with Ali Al Neama and Matteo Nicolini making it a double podium celebration for the Spirit of Qatar Team.
Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis end their long wait for their first win together since teaming-up in 2008 and hinged on a spectacular start by the Spirit of Qatar pairing, who moved from third place on the start line to immediately challenge pole-sitters, Victory’s Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi, for the lead at the first turn.
The run down the long straight saw the Victory and Qatar boats dicing side-by-side, with Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis holding their nerve to win the drag race and grab the advantage and go on to lead at the end of the first lap.
From the front they were able to control the race and go on to win the 8-lap, 52.45Nm race by over 8 seconds at an average speed of 186.61km/h.
“We knew the start would be important and we knew Victory would be very very fast, said Curtis. “But we got the jump on them at the end of the long first leg where it was a little bumpy and then managed to keep them behind us, waiting for them to take their long laps and taking ours as late as possible.”
Second place for the defending World Champions Victory keeps them at the top of the points table, but sees their lead cut to five points.
“We tried our best but it was always going to be hard in such a short race to make up the time to cover an extra long lap,” said Bin Hendi. “I am happy with our performance but finishing number one is always our target – tomorrow is another day.”
Meanwhile, heavy rains, strong winds and rough seas have forced the hands of race officials into cancelling race 2 of the BMW Norwegian Grand Prix.
“It is very disappointing for everyone involved but our absolute priority is the safety of competitors and everyone who is out on the water,” said UIM race director, Gordon Sutherland. “We had hoped the weather would lift but unfortunately it hasn’t."