The UAE’s Fursan Al Emarat rose to the occasion and did not disappoint their home fans, winning the Al Ain Air Championship by the closest of margins on Saturday.
The seven-pilot team put on a stunning aerobatic display, consisting of 14 maneuvers finished with a dash of UAE flag colours, leaving the spectators in awe at Al Ain International Airport.
And that was enough for the home crowd to cast their vote for the Emirati side and along with the judges points, they scored a team total of 51.06.
– VOTE: International Sportswoman of 2015
– VOTE: International Team of 2015
Pre-tournament favourites Bravo3 Repsol, led by European champion Castor Fantoba, had to settle for second, finishing 0.01 points
behind with 51.05.
Britain’s Breitling Wingwalkers wowed the fans with heart-stopping stunts and were rewarded with third position with 50.21, while compatriots Richard Goodwin finished fourth with 47.80.
It was a strong end to the three-day tournament for Fursan and their triumph was more remarkable after booking the last finals berth on Friday. Lieutenant Colonel Nasser Al Obaidli, leader of the Fursan team, was lost for words after the presentation ceremony but paid tribute to his team.
“It’s a great achievement to win this tournament especially here in the UAE in front of our home fans,” said the 43-year-old.
“There were a lot of strong teams who came here from around the world. That meant we knew we had to be at our very best from day one.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t have a good day in the skies on Thursday. But we didn’t let that setback affect us. With seven pilots it’s never easy, but we managed to keep it really tight. We minimised our errors and we did enough to make the UAE fans proud.”
Team-mate Sultan Al Kindi, described the feat as an “amazing victory”. He said: “It really is an amazing victory for all of us. To win this competition with so many strong teams here is a fantastic achievement and I hope we can win more Al Ain titles in the future.”
Despite falling short, Fantoba praised Fursan’s performance. “Fursan Al Emarat were really good and they put on a strong show,” said the 49-year-old and six-time Spanish champion.
“It was one of the most beautiful shows I’ve ever seen by jets. They fully deserve their victory.”
