14 February 2024 – Arif Al Zaffain and Nadir Bin Hendi extended their lead at the top of the UIM Skydive Dubai XCAT World Series standings with a second consecutive win in Fujairah this afternoon.
The Fazza duo led from start to finish in a race that certainly wasn’t without drama, with three boats failing to finish.
Team Westerlund (Joakim Kumlin and Daniel Svenson) who started the race in fourth position flipped their boat on a turn in the 10th lap, but emerged unscathed, thanks to a speedy response from Dubai Police Rescue and the WPPA Rescue team.
Mouawad (Omar Danial and Gary Ballough) and Team GB (Richard George and Scott Williams) had earlier succumbed to mechanical trouble and returned to the pits.
But it was once again a faultless performance from Fazza, who had booked their spot on pole in the morning and maintained their lead throughout.
Meanwhile, a great start from the Italian duo of Tomaso Polli and Matteo Nicolini in Six saw them powering from fifth into second spot– a position they held until the finish.
And it was the #MyDubai pair of Salem Al Adidi and Taleb Al Sayed who had perhaps the widest smiles on the podium. After a troubled weekend, which saw them knocked out in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Speed Cat Run and then finishing 11th in Emaar Pole Position, the Dubai duo bounced back to claim third spot.
“I said before today already that the race would be a big fight between six or seven boats, which is was,” said Al Zaffain afterwards. “But I just tried with my best friend, Nadir, from the start to take position number one so I am very happy.”
Asked if he was aware of the drama unfolding behind him, Al Zaffain added: “Yes, our radio man always tells us what is happening so I enjoyed what I saw behind us. I’m really happy with what I saw from all the teams – they have really improved from the previous races.”
Speaking about the start that propelled them to the all-important second position (which earned them 300 Series points), Polli explained: “We started in fifth position which I didn’t mind because I prefer to be on one end of the pack.
“It was a rough start which meant that if you take a few risks and the boat does well on the rough, you arrive on the first corner with a bit of an advantage which is what happened. We defended the second position pretty much the whole race.”
After the Westerlund Racing team’s boat capsized on the 10th lap, the race had to be restarted, with just two laps to go.
“The restart is always a bit tricky,” said Polli. “There could be another accident, there are many other boats all close together. We knew 33 [#MyDubai] and 7 [Skydive Dubai] were going to be very aggressive on the restart and they were.
“We had one on the one side and one on the other. But we just stayed centre, closed our eyes and managed to squeeze through,” he joked. “We got to the first corner with 33 on the inside and I managed to protect my line and stay very close to the buoy and then it was over. There was one more lap to go so it was all good.”
After this afternoon’s Fujairah GP, Fazza now hold the lead with 800 points. Skydive Dubai are second with 469, #MyDubai third with 450, Six fourth with 313 and Mouawad fifth with 169.
XCAT action now moves Daytona, USA where the third round of the UIM Skydive Dubai XCAT World Series will take place from 11-13 April.
