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Budva, Montenegro: Dubai's Victory Team will be without defending Class 1 World and European Champion, Arif Saif Al Zafein, when the intense rivalry between the sport's top two teams is reignited at this weekend's Hypo Group Montenegrin Grand at the Adriatic resort of Budva.
This is the second round of the 2008 Class 1 World Powerboat Championship and the first of four races for the Class 1 tour in Europe.
Victory 1's Al Zafein, winner of the opening Edox Pole Position and Grand Prix of the season in Qatar in March alongside throttleman, Nadir Bin Hendi, has been forced to sit out of the race on medical advice after sustaining serious back injuries in a crash during a Formula 2 race in Egypt several weeks ago.
But while the loss of Al Zafein, who has won five Grands Prix races from just nine starts, is a bitter blow for the team, Victory has been able to call on the services of former World and Middle East Champion, Mohammad Al Merri -- a veteran of 55 Grands Prix, with nine race wins and 26 podiums under his belt - to step into the driver's seat.
Victory's main championship rivals, Qatar 96, will see this enforced change as an opportunity to put pressure on the championship leaders and close the gap in the title race by taking their first win of the season.
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