Victory Team
Encyclopedia
Victory Team is a government
-owned offshore powerboat racing
team from the United Arab Emirates
. It is one of Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum
's several business interests and is considered to be one of the most successful teams in the sport. Unlike the majority of teams, Victory currently field three boats, numbered 7 and 77 and another, numbered 3 under the Fazza name. It currently competes in the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship
, doing so since its inaugural season in 1992.
The team has since won 51 Class 1 offshore races, with 8 C1 World Championships (1993, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2007 and 2008), 5 European Championships (1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2007), 5 Pole Position Titles and 3 Middle East Championships (2002, 2005 and 2008) and 4 C2 World Championships (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001), making them one of the most successful teams in offshore powerboat racing.
Gianfranco Venturelli, a former Lamborghini
engineer and American powerboat designer Michael Peters runs the operation.
The team builds its own boats in-house, utilizing designs by Michael Peters, the majority of teams, including Bjørn Rune Gjelsten
's Spirit of Norway, uses boats built by Victory.
The team scored its eighth world title in 2008.
There are currently four boats in its range:
, in the Isle of Wight
. His boat hit a wave, flew out of the water, only for it to land upside down and was trapped in the boat. His boat was reached by emergency crews, where he was taken to a hospital in Gosport
and was pronounced dead later. Hamed, who was acting as a throttleman for his brother Rashid, who was uninjured. A trophy was named in honour of him which is awarded to the highest placed oversea competitor at the Cowes-Torquay race.
In 1993, during the Class 1 World Championship, held at Ischia
, in the Tyrrhenian sea
, one of its boat, driven by Saeed Al Tayer and Felix Serralles, in an attempt to overtake their teammates Khalfan Harib and Ed Colyer, went wide and crashed into jury's boat sinking it instantly, instantly killing the boat owner Francesco Rando and a 18-year-old boy who was on the boat, where he died from injuries after being taken to hospital. Four other people and the drivers escaped with minor injuries.
December 11, 2009: Dubai (UAE): Pilots Mohammad Al Mehairi from the UAE, and Jean-Marc Sanchez of France, were killed following a racing accident during race one of the Dubai Grand Prix, the final round of the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship. The two pilots, representing the Dubai Victory Team, were involved in a high-speed crash during the early stages of the race at the Dubai International Marine Club, which was subsequently red flagged.
Safety personnel attended to both pilots at the scene. They were subsequently airlifted to a local hospital, where all efforts to resuscitate them were in vain. As a mark of respect to both pilots and their families the event organisers cancelled the final days racing.
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
-owned offshore powerboat racing
Offshore powerboat racing
Offshore powerboat racing is racing by large, specially designed ocean-going powerboats, typically point-to-point racing.Probably one of the largest, most dangerous, and most powerful racing machines of all, the extreme expense of the boats and the fuel required to participate make it an expensive...
team from the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. It is one of Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum
Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum is the President of the Department of Civil Aviation, CEO and Chairman of The Emirates Group and Chairman of Dubai World.- Background:...
's several business interests and is considered to be one of the most successful teams in the sport. Unlike the majority of teams, Victory currently field three boats, numbered 7 and 77 and another, numbered 3 under the Fazza name. It currently competes in the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship
Class 1 World Powerboat Championship
Class 1, referred to officially as the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, is widely regarded as the pinnacle of international offshore powerboat racing, and is officially sanctioned by the Monaco based Union Internationale Motonautique , the world governing body of powerboating...
, doing so since its inaugural season in 1992.
History
The team made its offshore powerboat racing debut in 1986, it wasn't until 1990 that it began to build its own boat. During the final two round of the inaugural season of the Class 1 Championship in 1992, Victory Team debuted as a guest entry, and finished first and second in both of its races. It went on to win the title at the following season.The team has since won 51 Class 1 offshore races, with 8 C1 World Championships (1993, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2007 and 2008), 5 European Championships (1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2007), 5 Pole Position Titles and 3 Middle East Championships (2002, 2005 and 2008) and 4 C2 World Championships (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001), making them one of the most successful teams in offshore powerboat racing.
Gianfranco Venturelli, a former Lamborghini
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini , is an Italian car manufacturer. The company was founded by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques like...
engineer and American powerboat designer Michael Peters runs the operation.
The team builds its own boats in-house, utilizing designs by Michael Peters, the majority of teams, including Bjørn Rune Gjelsten
Bjørn Rune Gjelsten
Bjørn Rune Gjelsten is a Norwegian businessman and Offshore powerboat racing World Champion. He was also a joint owner of Wimbledon Football Club and involved in the controversial relocation of the team from London to Milton Keynes.Gjelsten made his powerboat racing debut in 1994 in the U.S.,...
's Spirit of Norway, uses boats built by Victory.
The team scored its eighth world title in 2008.
Commercial Division
In 2002, the team branched out to build boat custom made commercially for use in not just powerboat racing and for pleasure, but boats for commercial maritime vessels, notably patrol boatsThere are currently four boats in its range:
- 56 Fast Yacht
- VT-P56 Patrol
- VT-P46 Patrol
- VT-56 Fast Fishing
Incidents
In 1995, one of its drivers, the 1994 Class One champion, Hamed Buhaleeba, was killed whilst leading the race when his boat somersaulted and landed upside down during a Class 2 race at CowesCowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
, in the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. His boat hit a wave, flew out of the water, only for it to land upside down and was trapped in the boat. His boat was reached by emergency crews, where he was taken to a hospital in Gosport
Gosport
Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
and was pronounced dead later. Hamed, who was acting as a throttleman for his brother Rashid, who was uninjured. A trophy was named in honour of him which is awarded to the highest placed oversea competitor at the Cowes-Torquay race.
In 1993, during the Class 1 World Championship, held at Ischia
Ischia
Ischia is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about 30 km from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures around 10 km east to west and 7 km north to south and has...
, in the Tyrrhenian sea
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....
, one of its boat, driven by Saeed Al Tayer and Felix Serralles, in an attempt to overtake their teammates Khalfan Harib and Ed Colyer, went wide and crashed into jury's boat sinking it instantly, instantly killing the boat owner Francesco Rando and a 18-year-old boy who was on the boat, where he died from injuries after being taken to hospital. Four other people and the drivers escaped with minor injuries.
December 11, 2009: Dubai (UAE): Pilots Mohammad Al Mehairi from the UAE, and Jean-Marc Sanchez of France, were killed following a racing accident during race one of the Dubai Grand Prix, the final round of the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship. The two pilots, representing the Dubai Victory Team, were involved in a high-speed crash during the early stages of the race at the Dubai International Marine Club, which was subsequently red flagged.
Safety personnel attended to both pilots at the scene. They were subsequently airlifted to a local hospital, where all efforts to resuscitate them were in vain. As a mark of respect to both pilots and their families the event organisers cancelled the final days racing.