Dubai Grand Prix - Fazza to start in Pole Position

by Karien Jonckheere on 14 Dec 2013 For the Dubai Grand Prix, Dubai-based Victory Team capped off a great morning’s racing by securing the top three spots in the race for Emaar Pole Position at DIMC today.

Current UIM Skydive Dubai XCAT World Series leaders Fazza will start tomorrow’s Dubai Grand Prix in pole position after recording the fastest lap of the morning in 2:30.68. The duo of Arif Al Zaffain and Nadir Bin Hendi took advantage of the smooth morning conditions to get the better of teammates Skydive Dubai (Sultan Al Dhaheri and Jay Price) who finished with a best time of 2:31.15 after exchanging the lead several times.

Starting in third spot tomorrow will be the Victory Team boat, with Talib Al Sayed and Salem Al Adidi having recorded a fastest time of 2:32.25. And taking the fourth spot was the Italian combination of Alfredo Amato and Marco Pennesi who finished with a best time of 2:32.89.

The Team Westerlund Racing combination of Joakim Kumlin and Daniel Svenson, who claimed victory the last time XCAT racing took place in Dubai, claimed the fifth spot to complete the top gate for the start.

'It was good. My throttleman [Al Zaffain] pushed me to the limit but I enjoyed it,' said Bin Hendi afterwards. 'I missed it but I still have the touch. I didn’t lose it,' he added referring to his return to XCAT racing after a two-year suspension.

Talking about the battle with teammates, Skydive Dubai, Bin Hendi added: 'We are always neck and neck. Don’t forget that boat has Jay Price in it. It’s a good boat on acceleration but we’ll try to be there with them and hopefully stay in front.'

As for tomorrow’s Dubai GP, where Fazza will be looking to secure the overall Series win, Bin Hendi added: 'We have to make sure we finish in the top three and make no mistakes. The main target for us is to have the Championship, to play it safe and to finish with the boat in one piece.'

Before then, however, the 14 boats will contest the thrilling Dubai Duty Free Speed Cat Run which pits two boats against each other in a straight, 1km test of speed, starting at 3pm this afternoon.

'It’s always fun and also challenging. It’s nice to have two boats neck and neck. It’s a different set-up to pole position to get more acceleration and speed in a short distance so we’ll see how we go,' reckoned Bin Hindi.

Tomorrow’s Dubai GP gets underway at 2.30pm tomorrow and entry for the general public is free of charge. XCat Racing website