Dubai 33 pip Abu Dhabi 5 to victory
abu dhabi — Dubai 33’s Salem AlAdidi and Eisa Al-Ali led from pole and fended off a fierce challenge from Team Abu Dhabi 5’s Rashed Al-Tayer and Majed Al-Mansoori to seal an impressive 3.16-second victory in Friday afternoon’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, 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 fend off the local challenge on two occasions when Al-Tayer and Al-Mansoori 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 Ahmed Al-Hameli saw off the challenge of Lady Spain’s Joakhim Kumlin and Jay Price to confirm the final place on the podium. The result also gave Dubai 33 the runnerup 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 AlTayer. “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 fourstroke XCAT boat into retirement. The team had been working 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.