Videx claim top spot in race for Emaar Pole Position

12 December, Dubai – The Videx team of Alfredo Amato and Marco Pennesi continued their fine form at DIMC as they claimed the fastest time of the morning in the race for Emaar Pole Position in the final round of the 2014 UIM Skydive Dubai XCAT World Series. The duo will start tomorrow’s Emirates Airline XCAT GP up front after recording the fastest lap of the morning in 2:53.79. This is not the first time they are starting on top this season, after the pair also claimed Emaar Pole Position on home ground in Napoli in May. The Italians are hoping the race itself goes much better this time though. “We have done well this season in Pole Position, with two first and two second places but we seem to then fail in the races so hopefully tomorrow we will get it right,” said Amato after the morning session. “Today there was total silence in the cockpit, just like in Napoli where we also got pole position,” he added. “We tested the first pair of props but they were too short so we changed them and Marco got the set-up just right. The set-up was fundamental because of the long waves out there and the big jumps.” Starting in an unfamiliar second spot in tomorrow’s race will be the French boat Yachts. Francois Pinelli and Saul Bubacco were pleasantly surprised with their second position, thanks to a fastest lap of 2:55.36. Meanwhile, starting in third spot, with the aim of securing second position overall in the Series behind Fazza (Arif Al Zaffain and Nadir bin Hendi) will be another Italian team – Luca Fendi and Giovanni Carpitella in T-Bone Station. Despite struggling with the rough conditions, they recorded a fastest lap of 2:55.57. “I’m happy because our boat is very short – it’s for the flat water so we did our best but if there is a distance between the waves, some boats that are two or three feet longer stay up – we go in. So we jumped a lot,” explained Carpitella. “We pushed hard but we didn’t take any risks because we are here to play with number 7 – Dubai – for second place in the championship so we want to save everything. We pushed, but not 100 per cent. We know they are at the back – in eighth position – so for us it’s perfect. “The plan for tomorrow is to accelerate as soon as we can and if we can arrive first at the first buoy we have already 70 per cent possibility of finishing in second place overall. We have to watch the position of number 7 and then decide if we need to push more or relax.” Having already secured the championship, the Fazza team are testing the soon-to-be-introduced four-stroke engines this weekend, meaning they will earn no points in tomorrow’s Emirates Airline XCAT GP. As a result several boats are still in with a shot at completing the overall Series podium – in second and third spots, making tomorrow’s showdown all the more thrilling. XCAT action continues this afternoon with the head-to-head Dubai Duty Free Speed Cat Run at 3pm while tomorrow’s main race will take place at 2.30pm. Entrance for the public areas is free of charge and, as always, there is plenty on offer to keep the crowds entertained with exciting activities both on and off the water in between racing, a kids’ fun zone, heritage village and other attractions including the daring Breitling Wingwalkers.