Abu Dhabi: Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashid Al Tayer and Faleh Al Mansouri will be aiming to defend their commanding lead in the 2015 UIM XCAT World Series when they tackle the Cascais Grand Prix in Portugal this weekend.
The duo achieved outright victory at the opening race in Fujairah in February and consolidated that championship lead with an impressive run to second place behind X-Dubai’s Arif Saif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi at round two in Dubai in March. Those two results mean that the Team Abu Dhabi duo arrive at Marina de Cascais off Portugal’s Atlantic coast with a 21-point lead in the championship over a X-Dubai and Salem Al Adidi and Eisa Al Ali at the helm of Dubai. Italy’s Matteo Nicolini and Tomaso Polli are a further three points behind in Hoorsenbuhs.
“We have made a great start to the season, but that is just the start and we realise that there is a long way to go if we are to achieve the goal of winning the title,” said Al Tayer, who has been able to carry out some testing in recent weeks to stay fresh for the Cascais race. “Faleh and I know that the competition is getting stronger and achieving a second win will not be easy.”
The event will also mark the debut of the potent American pairing of former Qatar F1 H20 team drivers Jay Price and Shaun Torrente as part of the Altman Marine team aboard Lady Spain. Price was the 2008 UIM F1 H20 World Champion, while Torrente is one of the fastest drivers on the current tunnel boat scene and won the Qatar Grand Prix in March.
Other boats likely to challenge include Giovanni Carpitella and Ahmad Al Hameli in T-Bone Station and the Swecat Racing and Marine Investimenti Sud entries.
The Cascais Grand Prix is being organised by the ATC (Associação de Turismo de Cascais) in cooperation with the WPPA and with the full support of the FPM and the UIM. Administration and technical scrutineering will take place on Friday morning and crews will be permitted to venture on to the water for a first practice session from 6pm UAE time. There will be a parade, a pre-race press conference and a pilots’ briefing later that afternoon.
Saturday’s action gets underway with pole position from 10.30am and this precedes a photo call and a Skydive Dubai flyboard exhibition at 2.30pm. The Dubai Duty Free Speed Cat Run then takes centre stage from 3pm and is followed by the podium and prizegiving.
After a stint practising the start procedure from 10am on Sunday morning, crews will be permitted one hour of official practice from 11.30am, before the Cascais Grand Prix gets underway at 3pm.
