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AUSSIES SNATCH TEAM ABU DHABI'S XCAT WORLD TITLE WITH DRAMATIC WIN IN DUBAI
Australians Tom Barry-Cotter and Ross Willaton secured the 2019 UIM XCAT World Championship with triumph in the Dubai Grand Prix today as Team Abu Dhabi's Shaun Torrente and Faleh Al Mansoori saw their expectations of a second progressive title finished in sensational style.
A punishment lap forced on the guarding champions for missing a float in Abu Dhabi 4 demonstrated definitive as Barry-Cotter and Willaton cleared past them in Maritimo to win the end of the week's second race by 34.85 seconds from Rashed Al Tayer and Majed Al Mansoori in Abu Dhabi 5
The Dubai Police team of Arif Al Zaffain and Nadir Bin Hendi took third position in front of Torrente and Al Mansoori whose fourth spot in Abu Dhabi 4 after their race achievement 24 hours sooner surrendered those sprinters spot in the title.
After a staggering beginning, Abu Dhabi 4 pawed out a three-second lead over Maritimo before being dropped back by the penalty lap, with the weight from Barry-Cotter and Ross Willaton driving an essential misjudgement.
"They were speedy and we were pushing and I think we just pushed somewhat harder than we could without committing errors," said Torrente. "We missed a float and the race advisory group was speedy about it, giving us a long lap punishment
"So we just managed that and we pushed as hard as we could without committing further errors. Despite everything we needed to remember second spot in the title. That was not our objective so we missed the mark this year, yet myself, Saleh and the remainder of the group won't stop until we recover the title."
The American will scarcely have the opportunity to regain some composure in front of a captivating a week ago of the period in the UAE which will see Team Abu Dhabi planning to gather another four world titles to add to the UIM F2 and perseverance titles previously won.
Torrente heads from Dubai to Sharjah in a commanding position to hold the UIM F1H2O drivers' crown, just as the group title with Thani Al Qemzi.
In the interim, Rashed Al Tayer changes from powerboats with a battling opportunity to guarantee a first world aquabikes crown in Runabout GP1, as Rashid Al Mulla offers to secure a second progressive world free-form title with a tenth straight Grand Prix triumph.
Dubai Grand Prix Race 2 outcomes
1. Maritimo (AUS) Tom Barry-Cotter/Ross Willaton 43.40.42
2. Abu Dhabi 5 (UAE) Rashed Al Tayer and Majed Al Mansoori 44.15.27
3. Dubai Police (UAE) Arif Al Zaffain/Nadir Bin Hendi 44.22.60
4. Abu Dhabi 4 (UAE) Shaun Torrente/Faleh Al Mansoori 44.24.30
5. 222 Offshore (IT/AUS) Giovanni Carpitella/Darren Nicholson 44.55.34
6. HPI Racing Team (IT) Rosario Schiano Di Cola/Guiseppe Schiano Di Cola 45.02.89
7. Victory Team (UAE) Salem Al Adidi/Eisa Al Ali 45.43.81
8. Kuwait (KWT) Abdullatif Al Omani/Moustafa Al Dashti 46.15.64
9. De Mitri (IT) Roberto Lo Piano/Marco Di Cosmo 44.04.30 + 1 lap
10. Videx (IT) Alfredo Amato/Saul Bubacco 44.34.48 + 1 lap
XCAT World Championship positions
1. Maritimo 202pts
2. Abu Dhabi 4 193
3. Dubai Police 191
4. Abu Dhabi 5 169
5. 222 Offshore 107
6. HPI Racing Team 94
Captions:
1. Team Dubai's Shaun Torrente and Faleh Al Mansoori - title race depended on a punishment lap forced
2. The world championship top three in the wake of getting their trophies from H.H. Sheik Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai International Marine Club