Rashed and Khaled Al Muhannadi win first ever Red Bull Jet Duel in Qatar Thousands of spectators gather along Doha’s Corniche for a unique Jet Ski tournament Doha, Qatar – 30 Mar 2012: Rashed and Khaled Al Muhannadi were yesterday crowned the first Red Bull Jet Duel Qatar Champion after 4 hours of intense Jet Ski action, witnessed by thousands of spectators along Doha’s Corniche. 32 Jet Skiers, a number of whom were professional members of Qatar’s Marine Sports Federation, skimmed across the waters of the Corniche at high speeds as they slalomed and sprinted in the unique Red Bull Jet Duel, a hybrid of a Jet Ski relay race and a game of “capture the flag”. The audience spent a day in the sun cheering their favourite among the 16 competing teams, which included the Qatar Jet Ski Champion 2009 and 2010 Rashed Al-Kuwari going head-to-head for the title. The high-speed race involved teams of two in a face-off that started with a tight slalom to a jetty mid-way through the course, where the first member of each team would hand over the machine and their lifejacket to their teammate. The second rider would then sprint around the Old Palm Tree Island roughly a kilometre from the shore, capture the flag positioned at the far end of the island, before heading back to the same jetty for another swap. The first team member back on the bike would then repeat the high-speed slalom, this time with flag in tow, and the first to the finish line with the flag would automatically go through, the losing team immediately eliminated. Qatar was the perfect location to host Red Bull Jet Duel, as Jet Skiing is the second most popular motor sport in the country and is a favourite past time for many locals and residents alike. The inclusion of a twist to the normal format of a Jet Ski race added to the sense of excitement in the crowd, which kept growing as the day went on. The high-octane event came to a dramatic close as Rashed and Khaled Al Muhannadi beat runners-up Youssef Ziyara and Ali Al Merri as well as Rashed Al-Kuwari and Abdullah Al Sulaiti in third place in the final moments of the tournament, as the competition came to an early end due to adverse weather conditions and the winners were chosen on the times achieved in the semi-final round. - ILQ news -

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