SUPER BOAT INTERNATIONAL 2013
Space Coast Super Boat Grand Prix, Cocoa Beach, Florida – May 17-19, 2013
For immediate release
Monday, May 20th, 2013
ALI AL-NEAMA AND MOHAMMED AL NASSER
FINISH FIFTH AT COCOA BEACH IN FLORIDA
· WHM Motorsports clinches Superboat class victory in Cocoa Beach
· JD Byrider passes Team Stihl to seal second position in Superboat
COCOA BEACH (Florida): Spirit of Qatar’s Ali Al-Neama and Mohammed Al-Nasser finished a solid fifth overall in the Superboat class at the Space Coast Super Boat Grand Prix in Cocoa Beach, Florida, on Sunday.
Racing for the first time at the helm of Spirit of Qatar 20 – the ex Reliable Carriers MTI catamaran – the pair lined up alongside WHM Motorsports, Team CRC, Team Stihl, Warpaint and JD Byrider in the Superboat class.
Blustery conditions and breaking waves were prevalent as the Superboats joined the Superboat Unlimited, Turbine and Superboat Extreme entrants for a combined set of races over 16 and 13 laps of the offshore course.
WHM Motorsports’ William Mauff and Jay Muller emerged as comfortable winners by the margin of 29 seconds in the Superboat class from Tony Marcantonio and Mark Kowalski at the helm of JD Byrider. The latter crew managed to pass Team Stihl in the closing stages after the pre-race Superboat category leaders had held second position through the early laps. Team CRC finished fourth and Spirit of Qatar moved up to fifth when Warpaint hit trouble late on. WHM Motorsports now leads the Superboat Championship after two races.
“It was important that Ali and Mohammed got as much seat time in the new boat as possible and finished the first race,” said His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani, president of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), who hopes to begin his own Super Boat International campaign with throttleman Steve Curtis at the next round at the start of June.
“The water was rough and they faced on of the toughest teams in that class, so they did what they had to do to reach the finish. It’s a long season and the target is Key West. The next race is in two weeks and we hope that the water conditions will be better.”
WHM Motorsports held the advantage over Stihl, Team CRC, JD Byrider, Warpaint and Spirit of Qatar after the opening lap of the 16-lap Superboat race. The objective for the Spirit of Qatar crew was to get as much seat time as possible in the new boat and the Doha-based duo maintained sixth through lap two, as Warpaint overhauled Tim McDonald and Mike Defrees in Team CRC to move into fourth.
Large waves made racing treacherous and WHM hung on to the Superboat lead from Stihl and JD Byrider. Al-Neama and Al-Nasser erred on the side of caution to preserve their boat and maintained sixth position in the brutal conditions.
WHM Motorsports duly held on to reach the chequered flag as the wind began to drop and they sealed the Superboat class victory. Stihl and JD Byrider became embroiled in a gripping late tussle for second position with JD Byrider managing to squeeze through into the runner-up spot. Robert Vesper guided Warpaint into a thrilling late fight with Team CRC for fourth position, but he was forced into the in-field with technical problems after lap 12 and Team CRC reached the finish in fourth, with Spirit of Qatar finishing fifth, two laps behind.
The next round of Super Boat International takes teams to Orange Beach in Florida on May 31-June 2.
Super Boat International
Superboat class – positions after race 2 (unofficial):
1. WHM Motorsports 1050 pts
2. Stihl 1004 pts
3. JD Byrider 489 pts
4. Team CRC 367 pts
5. Spirit of Qatar 365 pts
6. Warpaint 331 pts
Ends
For further information:
Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Mobile: + 44 7831 123153, E-mail:
www.ndp-publicity.com (press releases).
www.qmsf.org
www.superboat.com