Sheikh Mayed Jet Ski Endurance
The special Jet Ski Endurance race held under the patronage of Sheikh Mayed Bin Mohammed drew tremendous response from both local as well as GCC riders. The event was held Saturday at 3 pm in the Le Meridien Mina Seyahi lagoon. Stringent rules were applied and riders adhered to it. Though the course appeared to be easy to navigate the prime factor was endurance as 43 riders participated in three categories. Running concurrently on the same course to kick off the Sheikh Mayed Jet Ski Cup were the junior and ski class racers.
The junior class proved their mettle with Omar Abdullah Rashid clinching first place followed by Nader Bin Hindi’s son Ali and nephew Hisham in second and third place respectively. Abdullah Nader Bin Hindi was not so lucky this time round but managed to save himself with a fourth place. It seems like the Bin Hindi’s will rule the circuit for a while in Jet Ski competitions. 30 minutes on the water constantly is some endurance for the youngsters. Jury had a tough time keeping track of the results as jet skis kept going past at swift paces. On the ski class front Omeir Bin Thani kept his pace and stayed way ahead in the lead up to the finish. Chris Wilkinson maintained a steady speed often getting thrown back a notch by Alex Kim from time to time but managed to retain a second place at the podium followed by Alex in third. Off the 13 entrants not many were able to stay the course as a few faced technical problems with their jet skis and had to retire.
The runabout class was a thrill. 24 skis racing against each other created a spectacular image on the water. No sooner had the flag gone up than there was a swarm of skis zipping their way down the course. It took skill and control to navigate their way around the course especially closer to the break water. A slight misjudgment would see the rider and his ski propped well on the rocks. Well experienced and overall champion of the season, Nader Bin Hindi maintained a good lead stopping for a few minutes for refueling and technical checks but his loss of time while off the water did not cost him his lead position. Taking the victory stand, Nader was followed by Huraiz Bin Huraiz who was close enough behind but could not beat the champ. Saif Khalifa Bin Futais maintained his speed and put up an exhilarating performance taking third place at the podium. Unfortunately none of the visitors from Qatar, Kuwait or Syria were abler to make it in the top five. Guess they were just not ready for an endurance race that lasted one hour and forty five minutes. The riders looked exhausted after the race and could wait to get over with the prize giving. Saeed Hareb and Officer of the Day, Ghanim presented the Sheikh Mayed jet Ski Trophies to the winners. As an added feature to the event, a free style show was put up where Sultan Mohammed Qubaisi displayed his skills on and off the jet ski making him the shining star of the evening followed by his brother Hamdan Qubaisi in second place and Ahmed Jaber Al Hamli in third place despite having slipped off his jet ski sending it hurtling on the rocks.
Saeed Hareb described the race as exciting and thrilling. “This is the first time that we have introduced the endurance circuit and since it appears to be successful, we will have it as an annual feature. It has drawn a lot of response from the riders and am sure in future we will see more GCC nationals participating. Thanks to the continued support of Sheikh Mayed this event will surely be a race desired for”.
More Information:
Patrick Francis, Press Officer, DIMC
P.O.Box 24883, Dubai, UAE
Contact: +971 4 399 5777
web: http://dimc-uae.com
mail: pressofficerdimc@gmail.com