He may hail from Italy, but powerboating stalwart Matteo Nicolini now calls Dubai his home – and considers the upcoming Emirates Airline XCAT Grand Prix his home race.
Nicolini and his driver in the boat, Six, Tomaso Polli are relishing the prospect of once again taking to the water at DIMC for the final round of the 2014 UIM Skydive Dubai XCAT World Powerboating Series, starting this Thursday.
“Dubai for me is my home race. I have lived in Dubai from many years and I have raced in Dubai since 1992,” explained Nicolini.
“At DIMC, where we race, I have some of my best local friends so I consider DIMC like a family and I can add that it is for sure the best location and organisation for a race so I am always more than happy to race in Dubai,” he added.
Currently lying in fourth place with 511 points after four rounds, the Six team have a shot at finishing the season with an overall top-three podium place.
“It is our target to finish top three this season and we will do our best to get this result, even if I know that our competitors are very strong and will not be easy for us,” reckoned Nicolini.
“Actually I never like to talk about the result before the race. Each race has its own history.
“For sure my team is racing to win but at the same time I know that on before any win, there is a lot of work done by the team before the race. We have done some work but haven’t had the possibility to test yet so I will be happy if the changes that I’ve done on my boat will give me what I expect.”
XCAT action will get underway on Thursday, December 11 with Official Practice before the race for Emaar Pole Position takes place on the morning of Friday, December 12.
The thrilling head-to-head drag race-type Dubai Duty Free Speed Cat Run will then kick off later that afternoon.
The main event of the weekend, the Emirates Airline XCAT GP, will take place on the afternoon of Saturday, December 13.
