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Dubai
is bracing for yet another World Cup when the Dubai
International Marine Club (DIMC) plays host to the final
two rounds of the UIM Class One World Powerboat
Championship at the end of this year.
Based loosely on the concept of the world’s richest
horse race ‘The Dubai World Cup’ held each year at the
Nad Al Sheba racecourse, the Class One World Powerboat
Championship will consists of two races off the DIMC
shoreline in the first half of December.
The idea for a World Cup of powerboat racing has been
mooted by DIMC Managing Director Saeed Hareb, who is
also the Race Coordinator for the Union Internationale
Motonautique (UIM) Class One World Powerboat
Championship. Hareb, a former powerboat competitor
himself, hit upon “…the idea of a world-class
competition right here in our backyard…” following a
minor shake-up in the running of the sport recently.
“The idea is to capture the essence of an exclusive
competition which will see the best Class One racers in
the world go head-on to claim the Dubai World Cup,”
explains Hareb.
“We have the boats competing for the European and the
Middle East Championships. Why not a new concept of
determining a separate winner for a Dubai World Cup?” he
shrugs.
One of the smoother aspects of Class One racing in the
UAE has been the steady backing of sponsors for the
sport since its inception way back in 1990. “Major
companies such as Emirates Airline and Dubai Duty Free
have kept on believing in us and what we do for the
promotion of the UAE by using Class One as a medium…the
Dubai Government has always been with us and backed us
at each step,” he states explaining the continuing
popularity of Class One racing in this part of the
world.
“It’s not merely about the sport… it’s about the vision
for Dubai that we share along with the sponsors and the
Government,” he insists.
The latest development on the 2006 calendar, the
cancellation of the French Grand Prix off Cannes and
scheduled for the first week of October, has made this
fresh concept of a ‘Dubai World Cup’ even more
appealing.
The UIM Class One calendar normally consists of eight to
ten races held all around the globe starting on the
European circuit and culminating in the last two races
right here in Dubai. And 2006 is no exception.
But with the cancellation of the Cannes race, Saeed
Hareb’s aspirations for the Dubai World Cup have
swelled. “Maybe we can think about having three races
instead of two.”
“Dubai has traditionally hosted the final round of the
Class One Championship...and now with this idea of a
World Cup, the sporting world will be in a better
position to identify Dubai with yet another top-class
event,” Hareb adds.
The concept of a ‘Dubai World Cup’ came about due to a
minor shake-up in the organisation of the sport from the
end of last season. Whatever the negatives that were,
powerboat racing is poised for a quantum change
following developments that have recently taken place in
the sport.
The fourth round of this year’s competition, held in
Arendal, Norway in July, saw disagreements between the
UIM – the sport’s governing body - and the various teams
and managements reach a peak. To end the controversy the
sport’s authorities accepted a new group, to be called
the Professional Working Group (PWG), to run the Class
One and Formula One powerboat competitions.
For a cause
UIM Class
One Race Coordinator Hareb has always been a strong
campaigner for a worthy cause. Piqued by an unusual
application of the rules by the UIM hierarchy, Hareb
stepped down from his position at the start of this
season asking the world governing body to show some
fairness in the rules while dealing with teams. Hareb,
the DIMC Managing Director also questioned the rule
implementation by the UIM for the 2005 season.
The UIM allegedly saw nothing wrong and remained
committed to the 2006 calendar starting with two races
in Qatar. The UIM was unrelenting, prompting Hareb to go
a step further and threaten a complete disassociation
from Class One racing by organizers DIMC with immediate
effect.
Support was forthcoming for Hareb from all the
participating teams as they agreed in principle to stage
a breakaway from the UIM and float a parallel
competition. The supreme body, the International
Offshore Teams Association (IOTA), intervened and
brokered a deal to save the sport from an ugly split
from UIM following a meeting held in Norway in July
2006. That meeting also paved the way for Class One and
Formula One racing to attempt charting a new course with
the PWG at the helm.
With the PWG now in place, Class One and Formula One
racing will run independently from the UIM. The
four-member PWG will oversee the decision making
process, calendar decisions, rule implementation and
general governance of the sport.
Ugur Isik
will be the chairman of the PWG, while Series Promoter
Nicolo di San Germano will represent Formula One. Hareb
will be the representative from Class One and Marco Sala
will continue as the Secretary General. “Our main
intention was to ensure there was no harm to the
series. In fact, the setting up of the PWG has helped
us guide the sport onto a different level,” Hareb says.
At the end of five rounds of the 2006 championship,
Spirit of Norway holds a slender 10-point lead against
Dubai’s Victory 77. The Dubai-based boats were in
awesome form during the fifth round of the championship
held in the first week of August in Plymouth, England.
Victory 77’s Mohammad Al Marri and Jean Marc Sanchez
finished a brilliant double to put their challenge for
the world title back on track.
And with three rounds remaining, Victory 77 seems quite
capable of bringing the title back to Dubai after a few
years’ break.
Self-sustenance
With the changes mooted for the sport, Hareb is
convinced we are at the dawn of a new era. He envisions
a fresh new period that will witness a balance in the
system, especially in the uniform implementation of the
rules, while also making the sport more sustainable to
sponsors. “We want to make everyone enjoy the sport. We
want to be more media savvy and more attractive to the
spectators,” he says.
But in a sport like Class One that sees teams jostling
each other with huge expense budgets, this is a tall
order indeed. Hareb adds, “I know there is this feeling
that teams and the drivers are big spenders during a
season. We want to change this concept by bringing in
the element of professionalism.”
Putting Class One within reach of a common man is
attainable, according to Hareb. For one, the organizers
have encountered several occasions when enthusiasts have
shown an inclination to Class One racing. “If we can
bring in a level playing field for Class One, we will be
able to bring in new competitors in the near future.” he
confides.
“The rules need to be clear and teams and drivers need
to have the assurance that these rules will be uniformly
applied to all concerned, unlike what used to happen in
the past.”
The past has not been the best for the sport. With teams
haggling with governing body UIM in the recent past,
Class One has taken a beating. And now Hareb wants a
facelift for the sport.
“There are many who want to come and be part of the
Class One circuit. However, they have been put off due
to the small niggles that have been part of Class One
and Formula One racing in recent times. We don’t want
people to go away. We want them to turn to Class One and
Formula One powerboat racing. The future looks bright,”
he says.
Using the Formula One model
The PWG want to adhere to the tried and tested success
potion of Formula One motor racing while attempting to
redefine Class One and Formula One Powerboat racing. And
the start will be by emphasizing on the oft-beaten track
called professionalism – something that seems to be
increasingly unfamiliar to the participating teams.
“They pay too much attention and are way too focused on
to the rules instead of concentrating on just racing and
winning points.”
“A sportsman like Michael Schumacher only does racing.
He does not have to be worried about how the rules are
implemented or how the team strategy works. All he does
is race and then leave everything in a perfectly
professional atmosphere,” Hareb states.
One of the things that occupy the attention of Class One
drivers, he feels, is the strict adherence to rules
governing the sport. “We need our drivers to change
their mentality and approach,” Hareb states.
“They need to get their focus and concentrate on the
future of the sport and they need to concentrate on
winning every time they step into the boat,” Hareb
smiles.
UIM
standings at the end of Round 6 held in Plymouth, United
Kingdom in first week of August:
1. Spirit of Norway - Bjorn Gjelsten/Steve Curtis (72
points)
2. Victory 77 Mohammad Al Marri/Jean Marc Sanchez (62
points)
3. Jotun 90 – Christian Zaborowski/Jorn Tandberg (59
points)
4. Qatar 95 – Abdullah Al Sulaiti/Lino Di Biase (55
points)
5. Qatar 96 – Shaikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al Thani/Matteo
Nicolini (51 points)
6. Foresti & Suardi-Roscioli Hotels 8 – Domenico Cirilli/Giampaolo
Montavoci (44 points)
7. Victory 7 – Ahmad Al Suwaidi/Nader Bin Hindi (43
points)
8. Ceramiche Flamina 2 – Giuseppe Chillocci/Pertti
Leppala (23 points)
9. King of Shaves 50 – James Sheppard/Chris Parsonage
(22 points)
10. Seveneleven 9 – Pal Virik Nilsen/Nicola Giorgi (12
points) | 
