Dubai: Football legend Diego Maradona will be one of the high-profile attendants at this weekend’s third leg of the UIM Skydive Dubai XCat World Series in Naples, Italy.
It will be a sort of homecoming for the Argentinean legend, who played for Serie A side Napoli from 1984 to 1991. During his time there, Maradona is credited with guiding the club to two Serie A titles within three years, leading to him being hailed as a hero of the city.
This week he has promised to return to give his support to the 13 teams taking part in the race, which will be staged in Naples for the first time.
“We are honoured that Diego Maradona will be joining us for what promises to be a thrilling race in Naples this weekend,” said Dr Khalid Al Zahed, vice-president of the World Professional Powerboating Association.
“As a hero of the local football side back in the 1980s, we have no doubt that his presence will add to the excitement that is already building around the third race of the series.”
Maradona was a special guest at the season-ending Dubai Grand Prix in December.
Racing gets under way on Friday with the first official practice, while the Emaar Pole Position and the Dubai Duty Free Speed Cat Run will take place on Saturday, and the Napoli Grand Prix will be contested from 3.30pm local time on Sunday.
Arif Al Zafein and Nadir Bin Hindi’s Fazza currently leads the standings with a maximum 800 points after emphatic victories in the two races of the season so far in Dubai and Fujairah.
Skydive Dubai’s Sultan Al Daheri and Jay Price are in second with 525 points, while Italian team Six with Tomaso Polli and Matteo Nicolini are in third place with 313 points.
All the action will be streamed live via the series website: www.xcatracing.com.
