Class 1 - Dubai Grand Prix

Race 1

Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi today underlined why they are triple World Champions with a faultless flag-to-finish win in race 1 of the Emirates/Dubai Duty Free Dubai Grand Prix. The Fazza pairing, who secured the 2010 Class 1 World title two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi, produced an effortless performance dominating the race from the start, completing the 12 lap, 50.42Nm race in 34mins 39.78secs at an average speed of 160.53kmh. Today's twentieth career win for Al Zafeen and Bin Hendi, already Victory Team's most successful partnership, makes them the third most successful partnership in the sport behind Steve Curtis and Bjorn Gjelsten. With the Champions out front and heading off into the distance, the race for the podium was fought out between Team Abu Dhabi and GSG Ceramic Design. The battle was eventually won by Team Abu Dhabi's Rashed Al Tayer and John Tomlinson, producing yet another impressive outing, improving on their third place in qualifying to take second place, their second podium in five race starts. After a disastrous morning practice session which saw GSG Ceramic design sidelined after a blown engine, a podium finish for Guido Cappellini and throttleman Giampaolo Montavoci, on his 51st birthday, was more than they had expected.

But their podium celebrations were short lived after GSG Ceramic Design failed post race scrutineering for a technical infringement relating to the restrictor, blow off valve and air box size specifications, and was subsequently disqualified. The post-race ruling elevates Welmax's Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tandberg, who earlier in the day clinched the 2010 Edox Pole Position Championship to third spot, ahead of Negotiator in fourth, with Relekta and Skydive 2010 completing the top six. There was disappointment for MITI/GiorgiOffshore who stopped after three laps.
EMIRATES/DUBAI DUTY FREE DUBAI GRAND PRIX, RACE 1 - results
1. Fazza - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) 00.34.39,78

2. Team Abu Dhabi - R Al Tayer (UAE) / J Tomlinson (USA) + 00.14,25

3. GSG Ceramic Design - G Cappellini (ITA) / G Montavoci (ITA) + 00.22,79*

4. Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) + 00.46,90

5. Negotiator - L Formilli Fendi (ITA) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 02.27,59

6. Relekta - P Gaiser (BRA) / C Zaborowski (NOR) + 1 lap

7. Skydive 2010 - G Manuzzi (SMR) / A Al Marri (UAE) + 1 lap

8. GiorgiOffshore - T Polli (ITA) / N Giorgi (ITA) dnf * GSG Ceramic Design disqualified after post race engine inspection
Race 2

Arif Al Zafeen and Nader Bin Hendi brought down the curtain on the 2010 UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship with their ninth win of the season on a day of mixed emotions at the Emirates/Dubai Duty Free Dubai Grand Prix. On the first anniversary of the tragic loss of powerboat champions Mohammad Al Mehairi and Jean-Marc Sanchez, the Dubai Victory Team's Fazza crew wanted to mark the occasion with a win dedicated to their team-mates. And on a day when Class 1 produced the race of the season, they delivered a fitting tribute to Al Mehairi and Sanchez winning from the front despite a titanic effort by Edox Pole Position Champions Kolbjorn Selmer and Jorn Tandberg in Welmax. The Norwegians pushed the UAE stars all the way losing out by just 3.81s after 67.74Nm of intense competition. Fazza wrapped up the 21st Class 1 win of his career with Al Zafeen at an average speed of 178.38kmph. Win number nine in 2010 also secured the Middle East Class 1 Championship for Fazza to add to the World and European crowns they had in the bag prior to the race. But the victory was never a forgone conclusion with the Welmax crew piling on the pressure throughout the race as they claimed second by just over fifteen seconds from Italians Guido Cappellini and Giampaolo Montavoci in GSG Ceramic Design in third. Behind the two leaders GSG Ceramic Design's Guido Cappellini and Giampaolo Montavoci produced their second impressive performance of the weekend to make it two podiums from six outings together this season. It was a stunning finale to a Class 1 season that has seen Bin Hendi and Al Zafeen win 75% of the races they have started and take the world title by a record 96 points over their nearest rivals. While Fazza and Welmax were having their own private battle at the front of the field, there were other bragging rights being fought over elsewhere. With their closest rivals Talib Al Sayed and Abdullah Al Mehairbi sitting out the final two races of the season after crashing in Abu Dhabi, Italians Giovanni Carpitella and Luca Fendi needed just four points to claim second spot in the World Championship and they grabbed the overall silver medal by claiming fifth in the race in British boat Negotiator. It meant Al Sayed and Al Mehairbi claimed third in the world in SkyDive Dubai. In the Middle East Championship, Team Abu Dhabi's Rashed Al Tayer and John Tomlinson claimed overall second place behind Fazza thanks to a hard-earned sixth place despite starting well behind the field thanks to a propeller problem on the first lap. Third place in the Middle East series goes to Selmer and Tandberg. Fourth place for Skydive 2010 was a marked improvement on yesterday's performance, but there was frustration for MITI/GiorgiOfshore completing just four laps before an engine problem ended their race, with Relekta stopping six laps later with a gearbox problem.
EMIRATES/DUBAI DUTY FREE DUBAI GRAND PRIX, RACE 2 - results
1. Fazza - A Al Zafeen (UAE) / N Bin Hendi (UAE) 00.41.34,50

2. Welmax - K Selmer (NOR) / J Tandberg (NOR) + 00.03,81

3. GSG Ceramic Design - G Cappellini (ITA) / G Montavoci (ITA) + 00.15,29

4. Skydive 2010 - G Manuzzi (SMR) / A Al Marri (UAE) + 1 lap

5. Negotiator - L Formilli Fendi (ITA) / G Carpitella (ITA) + 1 lap

6. Team Abu Dhabi - R Al Tayer (UAE) / J Tomlinson (USA) + 5 laps

7. Relekta - P Gaiser (BRA) / C Zaborowski (NOR) dnf

8. GiorgiOffshore - T Polli (ITA) / N Giorgi (ITA) dnf
UIM CLASS 1 WORLD POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP - after race 12 of 12
1. Fazza - 212pts

2. Negotiator - 116pts

3. Skydive Dubai - 110pts

4. GSG Ceramic Design - 95pts

5. Welmax - 91pts

6. Team Abu Dhabi - 62pts

7. Relekta - 54pts

8. GiorgiOffshore - 42pts

9. Skydive 2010 - 28pts

10. Foresti & Suardi - SCAM - 11pts

11. Welmax Alianza - 10pts
MIDDLE EAST CHAMPIONSHIP - after race 4 of 4
1. Fazza - 65pts

2. Team Abu Dhabi - 49pts

3. Welmax - 42pts

4= Negotiator - 28pts

4= Skydive 2010 - 28pts

6. Relekta - 26pts

7. GSG Ceramic Design - 19pts

8. GiorgiOffshore - 14pts

9. Skydive Dubai - 0pts

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