Abu Dhabi: Dubai 33’s Salem Al Adidi and Eissa Al Ali led from pole and fended off a fierce challenge from Team Abu Dhabi 5’s Rashid Al Tayer and Majid Al Mansouri to seal an impressive 3.16-second victory in Friday afternoon’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
This was the final round of the 2016 UIM XCAT World Series at the Abu Dhabi Breakwater.
The two boats were neck and neck throughout the red flag-interrupted race, but the Dubai boat managed to stave off the local challenge on two occasions when Al Tayer and Al Mansouri tried to use the long lap strategy to their advantage. The two boats were the class of the field, while T-bone Station’s Giovanni Carpitella and Ahmad Al Hameli managed to beat Lady Spain’s Joakhim Kumlin and Jay Price to confirm the final place on the podium. The result also gave Dubai 33 the runner-up spot behind the Victory Team in the UIM XCAT World Series points’ standings.
“I guess we must be happy with second position, but the win was the aim from the start,” said Al Tayer. “We thought we had the strategy mapped out perfectly. We took a long lap before them twice and thought we could nip inside and snatch the lead on both occasions. But, I guess, they were able to carry the speed and momentum down the straight and managed to stay in front.
“It was a very close race. We were evenly matched for speed.”
Arif Saif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi stole a march on Team Abu Dhabi through the opening turns and first two laps, before flipping their Generation 2 four-stroke XCAT boat into retirement. The team had been having handling issues with the boat after Emaar Pole Position on Thursday. Carpisa Yamanay failed to start the race. Gold Coast Australia pitted early with technical issues. before continuing, and engine problems forced the Fujairah Team out of the running.
Team Abu Dhabi are sponsored by Etihad Airways and runs under the patronage of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, adviser to the Head of State and chairman of the board of directors of the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC).
The Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC) now switches its attention to next week’s three-race UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship meeting that takes place between Tuesday and Friday.
2016 Abu Dhabi XCAT Grand Prix — results (unofficial):
1. Dubai 33 — Salem Al Adidi (UAE)/Eisa Al Ali (UAE) 40 min 44.36 sec
2. Team Abu Dhabi 5 — Rashid Al Tayer (UAE)/Majid Al Mansouri (UAE) @ 3.16 sec
3. T-bone Station 10 — Giovanni Carpitella (ITA)/Ahmad Al Hameli (UAE) @ 18.04 sec
4. Lady Spain 46 — Joakim Kumlin (SWE)/Jay Price (USA) @ 19.29 sec
5. Spirit of France (Yacht) 96 — Saul Bubacco (ITA)/Francois Pinelli (FRA) @ 44.63 sec
6. The Blue Roo (Team Australia) 8 — Brett Luhrmann (AUS)/Pal-Virik Nilsen (NOR) @ 1 min 07.19 sec
7. Swecat Racing 2 — Mikael Bengtsson (SWE)/Erik Stark (SWE) @ 1 min 10.30 sec
8. Raheeb 17 — Abdull Atif Al Omani (KWT)/Khalid Burabee (KWT) @ 1 min 49.92 sec
9. Gold Coast Australia 11 — Tom Barry-Cotter (AUS)/Ross Willaton (AUS) +4 laps
Fujairah Team 20 — Serafino Barlesi (ITA)/Alessandro Barone (ITA) +6 laps
Victory Team 3 — Arif Saif Al Zafeen (UAE)/Nadir Bin Hendi (UAE) +12 laps
Carpisa Yamanay 22 — Alfredo Amato (ITA)/Diego Testa (ITA) DNS
*New Star 9 — Mikhail Kitashev (RUS)/Dmitry Vandyshev (RUS)@ 2 min 09.03 sec
*not registered for points
