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05.05.2006
TZANOV CLINCHES MAKTOUM SAILING TROPHY
Kristian Tzanov and his K1 Offshore Racing Team duly clinched the Maktoum Sailing Trophy today (Friday) after dominating the Gulf’s top fleet racing series from start to finish. Tzanov and his crew won each of the three remaining races of the fourth and final round at Dubai International Marine Club to complete the series with a comfortable winning margin over last year’s champions, Horizon FCB.
It is a challenge that will be relished by Tzanov, the former moto cross rider who now switches between sailing and powerboat racing where he competes in the GCC Class 3 Championship. He has already confirmed that he will enter two boats in next year’s Maktoum Sailing Trophy. After his 44-7ft Pal Zileri-sponsored yacht had won each of the three previous rounds, scoring ten race victories out of 11, it was a familiar story as they followed up their two race wins on Thursday by winning the first two today (Friday). In the first race of the day, David Rostant took Mattafix to second place ahead of Horizon, although the defending champions, skippered by Frenchmen Christophe Vanek and Alain Fédensieu, fought back to take second place in race two. Vanek and Fédensieu had been hoping to close out the series with at least one race win in the final round, but their last chance disappeared when they dropped to the back of the fleet in the final race following a false start. But there were no problems for Tzanov and his crew who went on to clinch the race from Mattafix in second place, and Switchblade, skippered by Will Ramage and Cam Price, who finished third overall in the series.Just as dominant this season in Class 2, Gill Smith took Blitzem to the title for the smaller boats, taking two out of three race wins on the day to complete an almost flawless series. The other Class 2 race on the day was won by Yousef Khalid Mohammed and his all-Emirati crew, one of two UAE teams who were using the event as part of their preparations for the Doha Asian Games in December.
Maktoum Sailing Trophy, fourth round provisional overall standings Class 1 1. K1 Offshore Racing Team (Francis Carr) 5pts Maktoum Sailing Trophy, fourth round provisional overall standings Class 2 1. Blitzem (Gill Smith) 6pts
1. K1 Offshore Racing Team (Francis Carr) 18pts Maktoum Sailing Trophy, provisional overall standings Class 2 1. Blitzem (Gill Smith) 18pts Captions: 1. The fleet in final day race action as the Maktoum Sailing Trophy 2. The K1 Offshore Racing Team on their way to the Maktoum Trophy 3. Kristian Tzanov and his crew celebrate their Maktoum Trophy success
- Tony Lewis, Narayana Marar, Total Communication Dubai -
Author: Maggy (admin)
Last modified: Friday, 05.05.2006 - 10:18 More reports from this category all copyright automobilsport.com.
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They will receive the Maktoum Trophy at the official prize giving tomorrow (Saturday) night at Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Resort & Marina, and Tzanov already knows that he faces a tough challenge to hold on to the title next year. The series is being given a new ten-day format for 2007 in a deliberate move by Dubai International Marine Club to attract more overseas competitors and usher in a new level of competitive fleet racing in the Gulf.
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