Excitement builds ahead of Oryx Cup World C’s

The excitement is beginning to build in Qatar, as officials and drivers from the United States of America arrive in Doha to make their final preparations for this weekend’s Oryx Cup UIM World Championship, the final round of the ABRA Unlimited Hydroplane World Championship and the first event of its kind to be staged outside the Americas.
Ten of the world’s most exciting racing boats arrived in Qatar just under two weeks ago and now sit centre stage on the Corniche, near the Doha Sheraton, as the countdown begins to the first Unlimited test session on the Doha Bay course from 9.30hrs on Thursday morning and the two days of frenetic Unlimited heat action on Friday and Saturday, which culminates with the Oryx Cup UIM World Championship at 4pm on Saturday.
The Oryx Cup is being staged by the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) in conjunction with the American Boat Racing Association (ABRA). All the drivers and team members have now arrived in Qatar and have been acclimatising to the Middle East time zone and taking their first look at the Doha Bay race course.
“I have been looking at pictures on the internet, trying to look where the pits and race course might be,” said Brian Perkins, from Black Diamond in Washington, who drives the U-48 Go Fast Turn Left Racing boat and joined the series for the first time in 2007.
Ken Muscatel, from Mercer Island in Washington, has already visited Qatar on two occasions in the last 12 months. He arrived in Doha on Tuesday and is raring to go in his T-55, L-7 turbine-engined U-25 Superior Race Team entry. Muscatel began racing Unlimited Hydroplanes in 1990 and finished 11th in last year’s series with 1,021 points. His crew chief Jay Leckrone arrived in Doha three days before the rest of his team to assist with the early set-up.
Other drivers enjoying the Qatari hospitality this week include defending champion Steve David, from Lighthouse Point in Florida, who has already taken nine Unlimited Hydroplane wins in his career and won the Columbia Cup race this season in U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto/Miss Madison.
One of his main rivals this weekend will be Jeff Bernard, who finished second in last year’s championship and won the Thunder on the Ohio race this season at the helm of U-5 Formulaboats.com.
His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and Abdullah Al-Sulaiti were scheduled to return to Qatar from their triumphant Key West World Championship race successes on Tuesday evening, while staff at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation have been working around the clock to prepare the Corniche area for the race meeting. “The set-up will stay in place for next week’s Qatar Grand Prix (a round of the UIM F1 World Championship) as well,” enthused Mona Nasser of the QMSF.
“We have tried to design the race village this time so that it is as spectator friendly as possible. The spectator grandstands will be open from Thursday morning and we have designed the walk-through area in such a way that it is as close to the teams and the boats as possible, so that spectators and race fans can really feel a part of the action.”