29TH ANNUAL KEY WEST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Key West, Florida – November 15th, 2009, race 3
For immediate release
Monday, November 16th, 2009
SHEIKH HASSAN CLINCHES SECOND VICTORY AT KEY
WEST TO CLAIM SUPERBOAT 850 EXTREME WORLD TITLE
· Abdullah Al-Sulaiti finishes second in Spirit of Qatar 95
· Qatar Team heads back to Doha for Unlimited Hydroplane race
KEY WEST (Florida): His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and British throttleman Steve Curtis produced another sensational performance to take victory in the Superboat 850 Extreme class in the third race at the 29th Key West World Championships in Florida.
The result also ensured that Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis became 2009 Superboat 850 Extreme World Champions. The Spirit of Qatar 96 crew finished seven seconds ahead of Abdullah Al-Sulaiti and Matteo Nicolini in Spirit of Qatar 95. Spirit of Qatar 96’s winning average speed was 107.81 mph.
For the first six or seven laps, Sheikh Hassan was embroiled in a neck and neck tussle with Spirit of Qatar 95 and the American Team CRC boat racing in the Superboat 850 category, but the President of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) seized his opportunity to pull clear and stayed out in front for the remainder of the 13-lap, 79-mile race to clinch a second victory in the space of two days. The success was the third for the Qatar Team this week, following Al-Sulaiti’s triumph in race one last Wednesday.
“It was a superb end to a very enjoyable week’s racing at Key West,” said Sheikh Hassan. “The win gave us enough points to win the World Championship as well. Our class was renamed 850 Extreme by local race officials, but the race was very close for the first few laps before we managed to get ahead and stay out in front.
“It was great to see both of the Qatar boats running reliably and competitively all week. When we raced with the IOTA and Class 1, it was common for one of the boats to pull out through bad luck with minor problems, but I was happy with engine performance and the race set-up this week. Now we can look forward to returning to Doha and welcoming the Unlimited Hydroplanes to Qatar this week.”
The Spirit of Qatar Team runs under the auspices of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation and took the decision to enter the Key West meeting after withdrawing mid-season from the UIM WPPA Class 1 World Championship.
The team will now fly directly to Doha to begin preparations for this weekend’s landmark Unlimited Hydroplane race – the Oryx Cup – and the final round of the UIM World Championship, which sees 10 spectacular Unlimited Hydroplanes race outside North America for the first time.
Ends
For further information:
Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Mobile: + 44 7831 123153, E-mail: ndppublicity@googlemail.com. www.ndp-publicity.com (press releases).
www.superboat.com
www.qmsf.org