Dubai: The new combination of Rashid Al Tayer and Jay Price led their Skydive Dubai boat to a dominating finish and help the trio of Dubai boats make a clean sweep at the Italian Grand Prix, the fourth round of the 2013 UIM Skydive Dubai XCAT World Powerboat Series in Stresa on Sunday.

Held on Lake Maggiore north of Milan, Skydive Dubai led from the start to the finish to end win by more than 300 metres from second-placed stablemate Fazza, while Victory Team followed in third.

Al Tayer and Price did not get off to the best of starts, but once they found themselves as race leaders they just kept going. It turned out to be a fantastic race for defending champions and overall leaders Arif Al Zafein and Mohammad Al Marri in Fazza as they took very little time in pushing themselves into second place after starting at the back of the 13-boat grid for a weight violation after Saturday’s Emaar Pole Run.

At one stage, Al Tayer and Price, who were racing together as a team for the first time, were more than 600 metres off the pace and although Fazza made ground the seasoned duo were able to stay in front.

The Victory Team combination of Salem Al Adidi and Talib Al Sayed, who clocked the best time during Sunday morning’s second official practice, settled into third place.

Consul Brokers came in to challenge Victory Team for the third spot briefly, but found the speed of the Dubai boat too much to handle as the race progressed and ultimately finished in fourth, while Mouawad, with Gary Ballough and Omar Danial at the helm, nestled into fifth place.

Earlier on Sunday, the Qatar Team of Mohammad Al Nasser and Hamad Jasim had held their nerve to win the Dubai Duty Free Speed Cat Run for the second time out of the four starts so far this season.

Taking on the rest of the field in the thrilling, head-to-head run that is contested on a straight 1-kilometre course, the team of Al Nasser and Jasim had staved off some tough opposition, defeating Fazza in the penultimate round before getting the better of Team Westerlund in the final.

This was the Qatar Team’s second successive Speed Cat victory, having topped the podium in the last round of the series in Dubai in March.

The boats will now move further up on Lake Maggiore to Arona for the fifth round of the 2013 UIM XCAT World Series scheduled to be held on September 6-8.