MEDIA INFORMATION
2017 UIM XCAT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Dubai Grand Prix, November 30-December 2
TEAM ABU DHABI BATTLES AGAINST ADVERSITY TO FINISH EIGHTH IN OPENING UIM XCAT RACE IN DUBAI
· Al Wasl takes victory in race one at Dubai Grand Prix off Palm Jumeira
· Series-leading Blue Roo crew flip Team Australia boat in qualifying session
DUBAI (UAE): Friday, December 1: Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al-Tayer and Majed Al-Mansoori struggled with engine issues to finish eighth overall in race one of the Dubai Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the 2017 UIM XCAT World Championship, off Palm Jumeirah on Friday afternoon.
Al Wasl’s Arif Saif Al-Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi played their long lap strategy to good effect to reach the chequered flag 7.3 seconds ahead of Victory 33’s one-off partnership of American Gary Ballough and Emirati Ahmed Al-Hameli, who started the race from pole position and led for long periods.
Victory Team’s Salem Al-Adidi and Eisa Al-Ali shadowed their team-mates at the start of a race where the second Victory boat had been introduced to bolster the Dubai team’s chances of retaining the XCAT title. But they were pipped to third position on the final lap by Swecat Racing’s Mikael Bengtsson and Erik Stark, although they remain firmly in contention to win the title on Saturday.
The Blue Roo’s Brett Luhrmann and Pål Virik-Nilsen severely dented their title ambitions after inverting their boat in the morning’s qualifying session. They managed to change boats for the race to use the old Lady Spain hull and gained points for 10th place. It means that Team Australia and Victory 3 will go head-to-head to decide the outcome of the championship on Saturday, with Team Abu Dhabi having an unofficial mathematical chance of snatching the silverware.
Etihad Airways is the official carrier for Team Abu Dhabi that is also supported by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council 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 Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club and under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Sultan Bin Khalifa Al-Nahyan, Vice-President and CEO of the ADIMSC. The racing team runs under the auspices of the ADIMSC and board member and general manager Salem Al-Remeithi.
Race 1
Both Victory boats locked out the top two places on the starting grid with defending champions Al-Zafeen and Bin Hendi in third place in calm conditions. Engine issues prevented Team Abu Dhabi from progressing through Q1 and they started near the rear of the field for the delayed race to be held over one start lap, two long laps and 13 normal tours of the Palm Jumeira course. Team Australia was forced to change to the old Lady Spain boat to ensure that they started the race after the morning’s accident.
Al Wasl started well but Victory 33 held the line through the opening turns to maintain the advantage from Al Wasl and Victory 3. Team Abu Dhabi also made a good start but 33 began to edge away from their rivals and Team Abu Dhabi opted for an early long lap. Caccia Engineering held fourth position and the leaders held station through four laps until Victory 3 took a long lap and Fujairah Team moved into fourth. Caccia Engineering, Swecat and Gasbeton held fifth, sixth and seventh positions. Team Abu Dhabi had work to do in eighth and Team Australia (badged as Lady Spain) were 10th.
Victory 33 stayed out in front as the race progressed through seven laps from Al Wasl, Victory 3, Caccia Engineering and Swecat Racing, but long lap strategies came into play soon afterwards and Al Wasl snatched the lead from Victory 33 and Victory 3 with New Star, Swecat Racing, Caccia Engineering, Fujairah Team, 222 Offshore, Team Abu Dhabi and Team Australia running behind with a little over four laps to run.
Caccia Engineering slipped back to ninth after incurring a one-lap penalty, as Al Wasl maintained a five-second advantage over Victory 33 and continued to edge away from Victory 3. Caccia Engineering then incurred a second lap penalty for another course infringement and the victorious Al Wasl reached the chequered flag ahead of Victory 33, but a late long lap by Victory 3 meant that they were passed on the closing metres by Swecat Racing for third place.
Pole Position and practice
The 11 boats that had entered the three Chinese races in October were joined by a second Victory Team boat (33) for American veteran Gary Ballough and F1 racer Ahmed Al-Hameli and Spirit of France (badged as Gaspeton 96) in the hands of Frenchman François Pinelli and Italian Lorenzo Bacchi.
Al Wasl and Team Abu Dhabi topped the practice times on Thursday afternoon, in a session where Raheeb and Lady Spain failed to take to the water. Al-Zafeen and Bin Hendi carded a fastest lap of 2min 57.432sec on their third of four laps and that was just over half a second quicker than their Emirati rivals. Team Australia was classified in third and New Star and 222 Offshore rounded off the top five.
Pole position qualifying took centre stage on Friday morning and the new partnership of Ballough and Al-Hameli claimed pole position from Victory 3, Al Wasl and Caccia Engineering in a three-way Dubai lock-out of the podium places.
Team Australia failed to pass Q1 after flipping their boat and they were joined by a disappointed Team Abu Dhabi (engine issues), 222 Offshore, Gasbeton, Raheeb and Lady Spain in the bottom half of the grid. Swecat Racing and New Star were two of the boats to leave the fray in Q2 and that opened the door for the two Victory boats, Al Wasl and Caccia Engineering to storm into Q3.
The UAE celebrates its National Day on Saturday and further official practice will be permitted from 10.30hrs. The final XCAT race of the season gets the green light at 14.30hrs.
2017 Dubai Grand Prix – race 1 result (unofficial @ 16.26hrs – barring protests and penalties):
1. Al Wasl 7 – Arif Saif Al-Zafeen (UAE)/Nadir bin Hendi (UAE) 29min 20.95sec
2. Victory 33 – Gary Ballough (USA)/Ahmed Al-Hameli (UAE) @7.3sec
3. Swecat Racing 2 – Mikael Bengtsson (SWE)/Erik Stark (SWE) @25.13sec
4. Victory 3 – Salem Al-Adidi (UAE)/Eisa Al-Ali (UAE) @31.52sec
5. Fujairah Team 20 – Serafino Barlesi (ITA)/Alessandro Barone (ITA) @1min 16.03sec
6. 222 Offshore 10 – Giovanni Carpitella (ITA)/Darren Nicholson (AUS) @1min 23.77sec
7. Caccia Engineering 22 – Alfredo Amato (ITA)/Daniele Martignoni (ITA) @1min 27.58sec
8. Team Abu Dhabi 5 – Rashed Al-Tayer (UAE)/Majed Al-Mansoori (UAE) @1min 31.09sec
9. New Star 9 – Mikhail Kitashev (RUS)/Dmitry Vandyshev (RUS) @1min 46.80sec
10. The Blue Roo (Team Australia) 8 – Brett Luhrmann (AUS)/Pål-Virik Nilsen (NOR) 1 lap behind
11. Gasbeton 96 – François Pinelli (FRA)/Lorenzo Bacchi (ITA) 1 lap behind
2017 UIM XCAT World Championship – standings after race 7 of 8 (unofficial @ 16.26hrs):
1. Victory 3 159pts
2. The Blue Roo (Team Australia) 8 154pts
3. Team Abu Dhabi 5 126pts
4. 222 Offshore/Weihai China/Miphere Xiamen 119pts
5. Al Wasl 7 116pts
6. Swecat Racing 2 111pts
7. Fujairah Team 20 89pts
8. Caccia Engineering 22 75pts
9. New Star 9 59pts
10. Raheeb 17 34pts
11. Victory Team 33 30pts
12. Lady Spain 46 22pts
13. Gasbeton 96 4pts
– Ends –
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.
www.adimsc.ae
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