MEDIA INFORMATION
2015 UIM XCAT WORLD SERIES
Dubai Grand Prix, round 2 – March 19-21
TEAM ABU DHABI’S AL-TAYER AND AL-MANSOORI MAINTAIN
XCAT WORLD SERIES LEAD WITH SECOND PLACE IN DUBAI GRAND PRIX
X Dubai’s Al-Zafeen and Bin Hendi clinch Dubai Grand Prix victory; Dubai’s Al-Adidi and Al-Ali in third
DUBAI (UAE): Saturday, March 21: 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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For further media information and information about Team Abu Dhabi:
Please contact: Khalid Al Saadi, Media Incharge, Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club, P.O. Box 45656, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Mobile Telephone: + 971 50 768 6761, E-mail: alsaadi@adimsc.ae.
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www.adimsc.ae