UAE duo step closer to European title

Fazza team can clinch crown today as long as they finish ahead of closest rivals Negotiator.

Arif al Zafeen and Nader bin Hendi of Fazza can clinch the European Championship at the Italian Grand Prix in Stresa today as long as they finish better than the Negotiator team.

STRESA, Italy // World champions Arif al Zafeen and Nader bin Hendi were sensationally promoted to first place in the opening race at the Italian Grand Prix yesterday following the disqualification of Jorn Tandberg and Kolbjorn Selmer after they celebrated what they thought had been their first win of the 2010 UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship.

The Norwegians had qualified in pole position and subsequently held off the challenge of al Zafeen and bin Hendi, the championship leaders, in Fazza to win by 23 seconds.

But post-race scrutinising revealed a discrepancy with the engines in Welmax and they were disqualified from both pole position and race one. A bulletin, signed by Patrick Heslop, the WPPA technical director, referred to "Class 1 Event Rules Section J-46. Restrictor, Blow Off Valve and Air Box Sizes and Specifications."

It said: "Conformity of the air box tract seal will be checked using the official WPPA vacuum gauge applied to a running engine. Should the reading fail to reach -100 millibars, the induction tract seal will be considered illegal. Boat No 90 Welmax failed this test and [are] therefore disqualified from pole position and race one." The penalty meant the boats that finished behind Welmax were moved up one position leaving Fazza as the winner followed by Guido Cappellini and Swiss throttleman Marcello Menegatto in Primatist with third place going to Skydive Dubai, crewed by Talib al Sayed and Abdullah al Mehairbi.

The win takes bin Hendi and al Zafeen a step closer to clinching the European Championship after nearest rival Giovanni Carpitella could only take fifth place alongside Chris Parsonage in Negotiator. And their lead in the World Championship is now 25 points over al Sayed and al Mehairbi. "We had a few technical issues at the start of the race but we enjoyed it and will go away and prepare for [today]," said al Mehairbi.

"I think we need to look closely at propeller choice but apart from that we are in good shape." With Carpitella and Parsonage picking up just seven points for fifth place, the standings in the race for the European crown - held in Norway, Sweden and Italy and decided after the second race today - sees Fazza open up a one-point lead over Negotiator. It means al Zafeen and bin Hendi will retain the European Championship for the UAE simply by finishing ahead of Negotiator today.

"The Class 1 World Championship is the ultimate goal and we are completely focused on retaining the title," said al Zafeen. "However, our great friends Jean Marc Sanchez and Mohammed al Mehairi won the European Championship last year and it would be a great achievement for Nader and I to win it in their honour in 2010."

* Agency