Qatar team aiming for Grand Prix win and One-Two

by Class-1.com media on 28 Feb 2008 Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis posted a series of impressive times around Doha Bay, signalling the start of their new partnership in Qatar 96, with Sheikh Hassan stating that his aim was to win his home Grand Prix and lead home a Qatar one-two. “The test was very positive,” said Sheikh Hassan. “The boat felt very good. Steve had the upper hand, as he knows the boat very well in terms of control and handling and he made it easy for me to go around the course with no hassle at all.

'Last year's boat and the new Qatar 96 are almost identical. The only differences are in the rigging and set-up. I think the package is excellent and I am sure we will be watched very closely by the rest of the teams. Steve has an excellent reputation. He has many championships under his belt, so it's an interesting combination to work with both Matteo and Steve. It's easy to create a team and gather a number of staff, but hard to have the chemistry. Our team has blended very well with each other at this stage.”

Curtis was equally upbeat about his first outing with his new team-mate. “The only difference for me is Sheikh Hassan. He is a very experienced driver and we have developed an immediate understanding - I am very happy with everything so far. Our times were close to my pole winning time last season and we can only get quicker with more time on the water together.”

At the end of a quiet residential street, in Doha, sits a new 1,800 sq. mtr. building that calmly operates to the strains of people talking softly in Arabic, Norwegian and Italian.

The building, in Tabouk Street is, the all new, purpose-built, technical facility for Team Qatar’s Class 1 World Powerboat Team, headed by Team Principal, Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and managed by Italian, Matteo Nicolini.

Today there is an efficient hum of industry as mechanics prepare the team’s Class 1 and Class 3 race boats for this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, the opening round of the 2008 Class 1 World Powerboat Championship and round two of the GCC Class 3, 6litre Championship, organised by the Qatar Marine Sports Federation.

The impressive new building, housing offices, engine bays, storerooms and a massive state-of-the-art workshop is occupied by Norwegians, Italians and Qatari’s working side-by-side on Qatar 96 and Qatar 95 respectively, as they prepare to give Sheikh Hassan and eight times World Champion Steve Curtis (Qatar 96) and team-mates Abdullah Al-Sulaiti and Matteo Nicolini (Qatar 95) the edge over their rivals in their bid to complete a Qatar one-two in Saturday’s race.

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