SARASOTA (Florida, USA): His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and British throttleman Steve Curtis will take to the water for the first time in Al Adaa’am 96 - the Spirit of Qatar Team’s brand new turbine race boat that is named after the theme of Qatar National Day - at Sunday’s 29th Annual Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix Festival at Sarasota in Florida.
The project was first announced last year and technicians at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) are putting the finishing touches to the race craft that Sheikh Hassan hopes will be competitive enough to dominate the turbine class in Super Boat International (SBI) and enable him to retain his Key West World Championship title in November.
The Qatar turbine boat has been built in the USA in collaboration with Whispering Turbines, Five-Axis Industries and Mystic Powerboats. Al Adaa’am 96 is powered by a pair of T53 turbine engines and is capable of propelling the boat to a top speed of 354km/h (200 mph) using Five-Axis technology.
“I had not seen the boat in its final trim until it arrived here in Sarasota,” enthused Sheikh Hassan. “It had always been covered while the crew was getting it prepared. It is definitely an awesome sight, especially after we have waited all this time. The crew now have something that they can all be very proud of.”
Registration and inspections for the race took place on Friday, July 5th in Sarasota and Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis will be permitted on to the water for official testing on Saturday.
Race one will start from Lido Beach at 11.00hrs (18.00hrs Qatar time) on Sunday and the second race fires into life at 13.00hrs (20.00hrs Qatar time).
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