32ND ANNUAL KEY WEST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS,
Key West Florida, November 4-11
For immediate release
Saturday, November 10th, 2012
SPIRIT OF QATAR 96 FINISHES SECOND AGAIN TO SET UP
GRIPPING FINALE TO KEY WEST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
· Gasse 8 wins second race and Superboat Unlimited class
KEY WEST (USA): His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and throttleman Steve Curtis were classified second overall for the second time in two days and second in the Superboat Unlimited class in race two at the 32nd Annual Key West World Championships in Florida on Friday.
The result keeps the Qatar duo in contention after two races of the three-event boating festival and means that victory in Sunday’s finale, which counts for double points and runs over twice the race distance, would be enough for the Spirit of Qatar 96 crew to win the 2012 Key West World Championship.
Victory in a dramatic second race fell to Tor Staubo and John Tomlinson in Gasse 8. The Norwegian and the American now head into the final race with an unofficial 500 points after taking two successive wins. Despite a problem with a broken water hose, Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis managed to complete one more lap than Marc Granet and Scott Begovich in Miss Geico to take second position.
“We managed to snatch second place and finish ahead of Miss Geico, even though we broke a water hose and had to go into the pits,” admitted Sheikh Hassan, the president of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) and driver of Spirit of Qatar 96. “We were able to coast round and do one more lap and finish the race in front of Miss Geico, which had broke down and was stranded on the course.”
Shipping partner Peters & May has handled the logistics of transporting the Spirit of Qatar hull and equipment from Doha to Key West.
The all-important third race starts at 2pm Florida time (10pm Doha time) on Sunday afternoon.
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.qmsf.org
www.class-1.com