JEDDAH: Prince Turki Bin Thamer Bin Saud Bin Abdul Aziz was tasked by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque, to form a Saudi team to participate for the first time in World Class One Powerboats Championship, which is to be held in eight countries. Prince Turki, who will be on the boat in its 2011 racing debut, expects the Kingdom to be a strong competitor in the series that attracts top teams from more than 30 countries, including the United Arab Emirates, which is on top of the field. “Saudi Falcon is the name selected for the boat on which I was trained in Italy and Dubai,” he said. “The 30-person crew is from Norway, including the assistant driver, who has won three international competitions. The competition will begin in Brazil, move on to other countries and then to Dubai for the finals.” Teams earn points according to their positions in each race and the team with the most points at the end of the season is awarded the championship. Prince Turki said he hopes Saudi Arabia participates with three or four boats with properly trained Saudi crews. He also hopes to establish a training center for speedboat driving and development of maritime sports.
