2015 UIM XCAT WORLD SERIES, Dubai Grand Prix, round 2 – March 19-21

Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashid Al-Tayer and Faleh Al-Mansoori qualified in third place for the Dubai Grand Prix, round two of the 2015 UIM XCAT World Series off the coast of the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) at Mina Seyahi on Friday.

The series leaders will have a fight on their hands to retain their championship lead in Saturday afternoon’s second race of the season, after X Dubai’s Arif Saif Al-Zafeen and Nadir bin Hendi claimed pole position from T-Bone Station in their re-branded Victory hull. The former Victory Team duo also won the Dubai Duty Free Speed Cat Run.

The run took place on Friday afternoon and first into the shoot-out were Mouawad and X Dubai, with Fujairah winner X Dubai taking the heat win. Air Team crushed Videx in heat two and Yachts pipped Lady Spain to a narrow win in heat three to book their quarterfinal place. Marine Investimenti Sud overcame Team Saracen Australia and Team Abu Dhabi held off Hoorsenbuhs to set up a last eight contest with Swecat Racing.

X Dubai comfortably saw off Air Team in the first quarterfinal and Yachts edged through to a last four clash with X Dubai after beating Marine Investimenti Sud. Team Abu Dhabi came from behind to beat Swecat Racing and set up their semi-final contest with Dubai, who beat wild card Videx in the last of the quarterfinal heats.

X Dubai made a strong start to comfortably beat Yachts to reach the final and Team Abu Dhabi lined up against Dubai in an all-UAE second semi-final but Salem Al-Adidi and Issa Al-Ali managed to hold off the Abu Dhabi duo to set up an all-Dubai final. Al-Tayer and Al-Mansoori faced Yachts in the third-placed play-off heat and missed out on third in a thrilling finish. X Dubai managed to hold off Dubai to claim the win in the final.

New additions to the 14-strong field included the American Jay Price and Italian co-pilot Roberto Lo Piano in Lady Spain. A wild card entry was also given to the four-stroke boat, 4 Strokes 4 Future, crewed by Mohammed Al-Marri and Fatima Abdullah Al-Za’abi - the first Emirati lady to appear in powerboat racing at this level.

Team Abu Dhabi’s Al-Tayer and Al-Mansoori took part in Pole Position qualifying on Friday morning after running for only three laps during Thursday’s practice session that was won by Giovanni Carpitella and Ahmed Al-Hameli in T-Bone Station. X Dubai edged into an early lead from T-Bone Station, Mouawad and Lady Spain, but Team Abu Dhabi’s first tour of 2min 39.89sec saw them move into fourth place.

X Dubai held on to claim pole position with the lap of 2min 34.57sec. T-Bone Station was a solid second and Team Abu Dhabi’s final tour of 2min 38.82sec in the dying seconds was enough for them to snatch third place from Yachts. Mouawad and Lady Spain qualified in fifth and sixth.

Team Abu Dhabi is based at the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC) and is supported by Etihad Airways as official carrier and sponsor and runs under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Khalifa Al-Nahyan, advisor to the Head of State and chairman of the board of directors of the ADIMSC.

Teams will take part in the Dubai Grand Prix, the second round of the 2015 UIM XCAT World Series, at 3pm on Saturday afternoon.

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Al Zafein, Bin Hindi prove class in new boat.

Gulf News

March 21, 2015 2:23 AM

They may be racing in a new boat, but Arif Al Zafein and Nader Bin Hindi will still start on pole for …


Arif Al Zafein and Nader Bin Hindi put their 2015 campaign back on track on Friday by taking pole position for Saturday’s Dubai Grand Prix — the second round of the 2015 UIM XCAT Powerboat World Series at the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC).

In their new boat XDubai, Al Zafein and Bin Hindi completed just one lap, but that was more than enough as they clocked 2min 34.57sec. Joining XDubai on the front row will be T-Bone Station, with Giovanni Carpitella and Ahmad Al Hameli on board, following their time of 2:38.65.

Rashid Al Tayer and Falah Al Mansouri’s Team Abu Dhabi, the winners of the opening round in Fujairah last month, will start from third after producing a time of 2:38.82, while Francois Pinelli and Saul Bubacco’s Yacht were fourth with 2:39.17.

“It is a huge relief for us to finish at the top as that is where we are meant to be. We don’t want to do anything unusual, but just stick to the basics and see that we win our home race tomorrow,” Bin Hindi told Gulf News.

In Fujairah, Al Zafein and Bin Hindi’s Fazza boat caught fire while leading comfortably. Fazza has since been temporarily retired from racing and XDubai has been drafted as the new boat at least until the end of the season.

Al Tayer and Al Mansouri made the most of their rivals’ misfortune to win the race and hand Team Abu Dhabi 36 points. Just six points behind them is the Italian duo of Tomaso Polli and Matteo Nicolini in Hoorsenbuhs, while another of the new additions to the series, Swecat Racing (Erik Stark and Mikael Bengtsson) are third on 28.

“Weather conditions are expected to be different tomorrow with a lot of heat and humidity, so we may have to change the set-up a bit,” Bin Hindi said.

“We want to put our experience in Fujairah behind us and start the season from Dubai and, hopefully, everything will work out as per our plans in tomorrow’s race.”

Entry to DIMC to watch Saturday’s race is free of charge, with entertainment on offer. The Dubai Grand Prix will be flagged off at 3pm.

2015 UIM XCAT WORLD SERIES
Dubai Grand Prix, round 2 – March 19-21

- X Dubai’s Al-Zafeen and Bin Hendi clinch Dubai Grand Prix victory

- Dubai’s Al-Adidi and Al-Ali in third

Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashid Al-Tayer and Faleh Al-Mansoori finished second overall in a thrilling Dubai Grand Prix, the second round of the 2015 UIM XCAT World Series, at Mina Seyahi on Saturday afternoon.

The duo had shadowed T-Bone Station’s Giovanni Carpitella and Ahmed Al-Hameli for much of the race, before defending champions, Arif Saif Al-Zafeen and Nadir bin Hendi, began to close in after playing the long lap strategy perfectly in X Dubai. They sneaked through when the leading pair headed off for their long lap and managed to hold off Team Abu Dhabi to claim the victory.

T-Bone Station retired soon afterwards and the points for second position ensured that Team Abu Dhabi extended their lead at the top of the championship standings after two rounds. Dubai’s Salem Al-Adidi and Eisa Al-Ali finished third on an all-UAE podium.

X Dubai started the race from pole position, with T-Bone Station and Team Abu Dhabi in close attendance. Carpitella and Al-Hameli edged in front and began to pull away from Team Abu Dhabi, with Mouawad in third, Dubai holding fourth and Lady Spain rounding off the top five. X Dubai managed to pass Matteo Nicolini and Tomaso Polli in Hoorsenbuhs and move up to sixth position.

T-Bone Station and Team Abu Dhabi began to gradually pull away from third-placed Mouawad, as Lady’s Spain’s Jay Price and Roberto lo Piano began to come under pressure from Al-Zafeen and Bin Hendi in X Dubai.

T-Bone Station and Team Abu Dhabi remained out in front of Mouawad, Dubai and Lady Spain, but Dubai climbed to third when Mouawad took a long lap. The leaders were soon on the tail of the Kuwaiti’s Raheeb boat and managed to pass and began to close in on catching Team Saracen Australia.

X Dubai and Lady Spain managed to get passed Dubai and a fascinating battle ensued for third overall behind T-Bone Station and Team Abu Dhabi, with the Emirati boat making a move and slotting into third. T-Bone Station and Team Abu Dhabi lapped the Australian XCAT, but X Dubai were also on a charge and once they had passed Raheeb they began to reduce the leading duo’s advantage.

The leading duo took their long lap and X Dubai managed to close up with the three leading boats neck-and-neck down the back straight. T-Bone Station led from X Dubai and Team Abu Dhabi heading around the back of Logo Island. Mouawad and Dubai regained their fourth and fifth positions from Lady Spain, as the race entered a potentially thrilling final few laps.

T-Bone Station, X Dubai and Team Abu Dhabi remained neck-and-neck through the next lap, but Al-Zafeen and Bin Hendi managed to find a way passed T-Bone Station around Logo Island and hit the front, as Team Abu Dhabi also found a way through into second place.

Mouawad, Dubai and Lady Spain began to close on a slowing T-Bone Station, as X Dubai and Team Abu Dhabi headed off into the distance. Swecat Racing and Marine Investimenti Sud had already retired.

T-Bone Station returned to the pits and retired with mechanical issues on the next lap and X Dubai and Team Abu Dhabi managed to edge further clear of third-placed Dubai, with Mouawad in fourth and Lady Spain a close fifth at the chequered flag after a thrilling race. Hoorsenbuhs reached the finish in sixth place.

Team Abu Dhabi is based at the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC) and is supported by Etihad Airways as official carrier and sponsor and runs under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Khalifa Al-Nahyan, advisor to the Head of State and chairman of the board of directors of the ADIMSC.

There will now be a break in competitive action in the 2015 UIM XCAT World Series before racing resumes in Europe in May.

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