NEWS
30/08/2008
Ben Hendi, Al Marri Edge Pole For Romanian Grand Prix
Mamaia-Constanta (ROMANIA): With an eye on securing the European Championship, Dubai's Nader Ben Hendi and Mohammed Al Marri will lead from the front in tomorrow's(August 31) 94.77Nm Romanian Grand Prix after edging pole position in a dramatic qualifying session.
The Victory 1 crew, who know a win on Mamaia-Constanta's Lake Siutghiol will clinch a sixth European crown for the UAE team, took the customary EDOX Pole Position event by just 0.66 of a second from Norway's Jorn Tanderg and Inge Aarbakke in Jotun 90, while Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al Thani and Steve Curtis were just three-tenths of second behind Jotun in Qatar 96.
Piloting Victory 1, throttleman Ben Hendi and driver Al Marri were first on to the water but found themselves trailing in third place behind the two boat Qatar Team. But a change of propellers saw them make up more than three seconds to set the day's fastest time of 2m.46.26s.
The Victory 1 crew even had the luxury of being able to throw away the second fastest time of the session (2m.46.75s) giving second place to Jotun 90 with a final run of 2m.46.92s. Arch-rivals Sheikh Hassan and Curtis threw everything into their last lap charge but again fell short having to settle for the third best time of the day with their second run of 2m.46.95s.
With Romanian Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu watching from dry land, Ben Hendi and Al Marri showed why they are favourites to win not only the European crown but also the overall world title.
But while Ben Hendi was delighted with Victory 1's third pole of the season, he knows a sixth European crown is far from a formality. "The top four boats in pole position were split by less than a second which goes to show just how close it is," he said.
"A lot of people say pole is just for testing but we take it very seriously. I hate finishing second and try to win whatever I do. It also means we go into the race itself knowing we have a slight edge on the other boats and that we are starting from the best possible position."
Although the previous day's benign weather gave way to high winds that made the course more of test, Al Marri was happy with the conditions.
"Of course it's a test and at one stage I thought the boat was going to take off but we handled it well and I am sure we will be able to adapt when it comes to the race itself," said the veteran Dubai driver. "We're looking good but we'll take tomorrow morning's testing to test one or two small things just to make sure we have the right set up."
The other Victory Team boat crewed by Abdullah Al Mehairbi and Jean Marc Sanchez was fifth fastest of the day with a time of 2m:48.28s, 2.02 seconds behind team mates Ben Hendi and Al Marri.
Provisional Result - EDOX Pole Position (Romanian Grand Prix)
1. Victory 1 - Al Marri/Ben Hendi (UAE) 2m:46.26s
2. Jotun 90 - Tandberg/Aarbakke (Nor) 2m:46.92s
3. Qatar 96 - Al Thani/Curtis (Q/UK) 2m:46.95s
4. Qatar 95 - Al Sulaiti/Nicolini (Q/I) 2m:47.11s
5. Victory 7 - Al Mehairbi/Sanchez (Q/Fr) 2m:48.28s
EDOX Pole Position Championship (after five rounds)
1. Victory 1 - Al Marri/Ben Hendi (UAE) 75pts
2. Qatar 96 - Al Thani/Curtis (Q/UK) 59pts
3. Jotun 90 - Tandberg/Aarbakke (Nor) 51pts
The Victory 1 crew, who know a win on Mamaia-Constanta's Lake Siutghiol will clinch a sixth European crown for the UAE team, took the customary EDOX Pole Position event by just 0.66 of a second from Norway's Jorn Tanderg and Inge Aarbakke in Jotun 90, while Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al Thani and Steve Curtis were just three-tenths of second behind Jotun in Qatar 96.
Piloting Victory 1, throttleman Ben Hendi and driver Al Marri were first on to the water but found themselves trailing in third place behind the two boat Qatar Team. But a change of propellers saw them make up more than three seconds to set the day's fastest time of 2m.46.26s.
The Victory 1 crew even had the luxury of being able to throw away the second fastest time of the session (2m.46.75s) giving second place to Jotun 90 with a final run of 2m.46.92s. Arch-rivals Sheikh Hassan and Curtis threw everything into their last lap charge but again fell short having to settle for the third best time of the day with their second run of 2m.46.95s.
With Romanian Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu watching from dry land, Ben Hendi and Al Marri showed why they are favourites to win not only the European crown but also the overall world title.
But while Ben Hendi was delighted with Victory 1's third pole of the season, he knows a sixth European crown is far from a formality. "The top four boats in pole position were split by less than a second which goes to show just how close it is," he said.
"A lot of people say pole is just for testing but we take it very seriously. I hate finishing second and try to win whatever I do. It also means we go into the race itself knowing we have a slight edge on the other boats and that we are starting from the best possible position."
Although the previous day's benign weather gave way to high winds that made the course more of test, Al Marri was happy with the conditions.
"Of course it's a test and at one stage I thought the boat was going to take off but we handled it well and I am sure we will be able to adapt when it comes to the race itself," said the veteran Dubai driver. "We're looking good but we'll take tomorrow morning's testing to test one or two small things just to make sure we have the right set up."
The other Victory Team boat crewed by Abdullah Al Mehairbi and Jean Marc Sanchez was fifth fastest of the day with a time of 2m:48.28s, 2.02 seconds behind team mates Ben Hendi and Al Marri.
Provisional Result - EDOX Pole Position (Romanian Grand Prix)
1. Victory 1 - Al Marri/Ben Hendi (UAE) 2m:46.26s
2. Jotun 90 - Tandberg/Aarbakke (Nor) 2m:46.92s
3. Qatar 96 - Al Thani/Curtis (Q/UK) 2m:46.95s
4. Qatar 95 - Al Sulaiti/Nicolini (Q/I) 2m:47.11s
5. Victory 7 - Al Mehairbi/Sanchez (Q/Fr) 2m:48.28s
EDOX Pole Position Championship (after five rounds)
1. Victory 1 - Al Marri/Ben Hendi (UAE) 75pts
2. Qatar 96 - Al Thani/Curtis (Q/UK) 59pts
3. Jotun 90 - Tandberg/Aarbakke (Nor) 51pts
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