Victory Team boats dominate as Fazza goes fastest

Sport360 staff 11:59 25/01/2014
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Top speed: Fazza leads Skydive Dubai during the Speed Cat Run yesterday.

    Victory Team outfit revelled in home conditions to claim the top three starting spots for today’s first round of the 2014 UIM Skydive Dubai XCAT World Series.

    The Dubai-based team’s three boats – Fazza, Skydive Dubai and Victory Team – all looked slick out on the water off the Dubai International Marine Club as they battled it out in the race for Emaar Pole Position.

    And it was 2013 Series champions Fazza (Arif Al Zaffain and Nadir Bin Hendi) who were the only boat out of the 15 teams to dip below two minutes 30 seconds, recording the fastest time at 2:28.39.

    Victory Team’s Salem Al Adidi and Taleb Al Sayed were second with 2:30.23 and Skydive Dubai third in 2:30.67.

    Meanwhile, finishing in fourth were the Italian pair of Alfredo Amato and Giovanni Carpitella in Videx in a time of 2:31.23. Completing the top start gate was Westerlund Racing team of Joakim Kumlin and Erik Stark in a time of 2:32.45.

    Victory Team manager Ragesh Elayadeth said: “I’m very happy like always with the pole position and one, two, three and looking forward to the race.”

    Talking about today’s race, Elayadeth said despite Fazza starting in pole position, the result was far from a foregone conclusion.

    “If you look at the race course, we have long laps so teams with good speed can overtake. It’s all about strategy – it’s not like a normal race course. If you have good strategy and your boat has speed, it’s definitely possible.”

    Meanwhile, the Dubai Duty Free team of Pal Virik Nilsen and Tom Barry Cotter stood on the XCAT podium for the first time after the Norwegian-Australian combination claimed third spot in the Dubai Duty Free Speed Cat Run.

    It was once again Fazza (Al Zaffain and Bin Hendi) who showed their speed and class in taking top honours, beating Skydive Dubai’s Sultan Al Dhaheri and Jay Price in the final.

    They had earlier dispatched Spirit of Dubai, Victory Team and Yachts.

    Skydive Dubai had booked their spot in the final by defeating Team Gibraltar, Qatar Team and Dubai Duty Free.

    Virik Nilsen and Barry Cotter earned their third spot by getting the better of Yachts (Francois Pinelli and Saul Bubacco) in the race-off for the final podium place, having beaten Mouawad and Six in the opening rounds.

    Speaking about Saturday's race, Cotter said: “The race is obviously very different. The water was much calmer for today’s race and it really suits our set-up, so we’ll see how tomorrow pans out.”

    XCAT action continues today with the main race, the Dubai Grand Prix, taking place at 15:30.

    Entrance for the general public is free and there are plenty of activities such as Skydive Dubai, Freestyle Jetski and Flyboard shows on offer to keep the whole family entertained.

    Recommended