The start point for Quad bikers.—Photos by Joseph Shagra

KUWAIT: A huge crowd gathered around the Marina Crescent cheering on the 16 Quad Bike and Jet Ski riders who competed during the second season of Red Bull Bar Bahr on Friday afternoon. Deservedly, Meshari Bushaiba and Mohammed Al Baz won the first place, scoring the fastest record and wrapping up the long-awaited Quad Bike and Jet Ski relay race.

Stunning shots taken from land, sea and sky captured the breathtaking moments in the event that was organized professionally in line with high safety measures. After two hours of roaring motors on sand and sea, the event was concluded with crowning the top three winning teams on the podium, awarding the winning team two trophies in addition to a Kawasaki 300 LX Jet Ski.

The event has yielded a large success under the organization of Basel Salem Al-Sabah Motorsport Club and the sponsorship of Nissan Al-Babtain, Public Authority for Youth and Sports, Kawasaki, Pirelli, GoPro, Acqua Eva, Marina Mall, Al Anbaa Newspaper, Kuwait Times Newspaper, and Studentalk Magazine.

PRIZES AND MEDALS

Bader Al Qanna'i and Mohammad Al-Ali took the second place while Bader Al Khalfan and Fahad Al Mousallam won the third. As for prizes, gold, silver and bronze medals awarded to the first 3 winning teams; the first team were handed trophies by Ahmad Al Qallaf, Treasurer of Basel Salem Al-Sabah Club, the second team were awarded by Mohammad Burbayea, world Jet Ski champion and Red Bull athlete who won the championship's first season in 2014. Mohammad Jaffar, Red Bull athlete and motocross champion, was honored to award the third team with medals.

First Round

As the scheduled time for the start of the race inched closer, crowds of spectators spread across Marina Beach to witness - with extreme eagerness - the flow of the race in which the 16 teams participated.

Quad bikers and Jet Ski riders kicked off the first round, each Quad biker was required to finish four laps then hand the key to his teammate so he would finish, in turn, four laps on his Jet Ski and come back fast. The winners were shortlisted based on the time they spent in finishing the laps.

Quad Bike laps in this round were both thrilling and difficult. The greatest challenge lied in the second to last curve that constituted an obstacle to all participants; it was almost certainly the hardest part of the race given the difficulty of crossing it with high speed.

SECOND ROUND

Some competitors failed to qualify to the second and so, the racers built momentum and geared up for the second round to the sound of the rousing music and applause. The competition kicked off and the whistle signaled the start of the race. Having acquired the know-how during the first round, the participating teams raced more wildly this time knowing how the land bumps and water curves should be crossed best. As the time set for this round was over, 6 teams out of 12 qualified and made it worthily to the final decisive round in which the fastest team, on both land and water tracks, shall be granted the "Red Bull Bar Bahr" title.

THE FINAL ROUND

During this round, the 6 remaining teams were vying for the last battle on the shores of Marina Beach at the end of a beautiful sunny day. Ina tough competition between the 6 teams, the supervising committee, the cameras monitoring the race and the crowd estimating the potential winner, the battle raged between Boushaiba- Al Baz team versus Al Qanna'i - Al Ali team. The Quad Bike race kicked off with a high drive to score the fastest timing. Boushaiba and his teammate won the first place, leaving the third place medal for Al Khalfan and Al Mousallam.

When asked about his victory in Red Bull Bar Bahr, Meshari Boushaiba said: "I am happy to have won this title. I managed to meet the required timings in the middle of an exciting competition against Fahad Al Mousallam and Mohammad Al-Ali. I succeeded, along with my teammate Mohammad Albaz, in clinching the title and thus taking the first place after a tough competition in the third and fourth curves in land and water tracks alike".

"I would like to thank Red Bull for this unique race as its distinctive concept combines Jet Ski and Quad Bike disciplines together. This highlights the role played by Red Bull, Basel Salem Al-Sabah Motorsport Club and all the sponsors who organized the event. Also, for spreading the motocross sport culture in Kuwait amongst the youth, and urging them to stay away from unsafe races and thus participate in this thrilling and professionally organized race," Bushaiba added.

In turn, Mohammad Al Baz who won the first place for the Jet Ski discipline extended his thanks to everyone who contributed in organizing and executing the event.

"We had to focus in the fourth round and we advanced with a wide margin of time, which allowed us to win the first place in a raging competition amongst the participating racers who are highly competent and had previously acquired titles at their clubs, they also have won the championships they have participated in thus far," Al Baz added.

Turning to champion Mohammad Burbayea, member of the supervising committee, he said: "We would like to congratulate both winners of the first place for demonstrating good leadership skills which turned the race's final moments to their favor."

Mohammad Jaffar, Red Bull athlete and member of the supervising committee also praised the competitors' good discipline, saying that he was astonished by the level of thrill and challenge throughout the race's three stages, until the moment when the name of the winning team of Red Bull Bar Bahr's second season was announced.

ELECTRIFYING SHOWS

As part of "Red Bull Bar Bahr" event, professional Red Bull athlete Brian Capper on his Trial Bike and Abdul Aziz Matar on his Jet Ski performed two electrifying shows, adding more flashes of excitement to the spectators and to the event as a whole.

THE RACE VILLAGE

Beside the relay race, visitors and onlookers following up on the race were attracted by tents in the racing village mostly displayed by sponsors like Kawasaki, GoPro, Acqua Eva, Chilli Beans, Artspace and Nissan Al-Babtain. The latter organized a test drive competition offering a chance to enter the draws for cash prizes.