By Owen Blauman
DOHA, Qatar -- The Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) is putting the final preparations on the Doha Corniche for this weekend's Oryx Cup World Championship, the final round of the 2011 Air National Guard Hydroplane Championship - the most spectacular power boat racing series on the planet.
Twelve of the world's fastest hydroplane racers have arrived in Qatar for the weekend's event, which forms the final round of the series for the third consecutive year thanks to the vision and foresight of His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani, the president of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), has worked tirelessly to bring this form of marine sport to a global audience and to the Middle East for the first time in 2009.
"Once again we are delighted to welcome our international visitors and friends to Doha for the third Oryx Cup," said Sheikh Hassan. "This event has now taken its place as the final round of the World Championship and we continue to make improvements where necessary to ensure that the race in Qatar is well received by everyone. Everyone at the QMSF wishes our visiting guests and teams a safe and successful weekend's racing on Doha Bay."
On-water action starts on Thursday morning with three hours of testing, where spectators will be able to witness J. Michael Kelly starting his three-day campaign to repeat his victory here in 2009. Kelly this year is driving the No. 88 Degree Men unlimited hydroplane. The 3,000hp Air Guard series boats are capable of reaching top speeds of 200mph-plus (321.87km/h) on the water and have a lap speed record of 173mph (278.42km/h) on a 2.5-mile course, with a world record speed of 354.868km/h set on a kilometre course in Seattle.
The QMSF has made the format of this year's Oryx Cup as spectator-friendly as possible. Entry to the facility will be free of charge during the three-day running of the event and Mona Nasser, the QMSF's race and event co-ordinator, has outlined an exciting line-up of entertainment.
Mona Nasser also confirmed that the larger public grandstand now caters for up to 500 people and the pit area will be open to the general public each evening after the race heats have taken place. "This will give spectators the chance to meet the teams and see the boats up close and personal," added Nasser.
Testing and qualifying will take place on Thursday (Wednesday in the US), with the first two pairs of the four sets of heats taking place on Friday (Thursday in the US) on the Doha Bay course. The third and fourth sets of heats will be staged on Saturday (Friday in the US) in preparation for the Oryx Cup World Championship final at 3pm on Saturday (Friday) afternoon.
