Team Abu Dhabi Duo Bounce Back With Fujairah XCAT Race Victory
Team Abu Dhabis Shaun Torrente and Faleh Al Mansoori revived their UIM XCAT World Championship title hopes with a convincing victory today at the Fujairah Grand Prix.
The 2018 world champions in Abu Dhabi 4 shrugged off their early exit 24 hours earlier to win the second of Fujairahs three Grand Prix races by 5.12 seconds from the Dubai Police crew of Arif Al Zaffain and Nadir Bin Hendi, the new championship leaders.
Rashed Al Tayer and Majed Al Mansoori in Abu Dhabi 5 thought they had completed a memorable result for Team Abu Dhabi to mark the UAEs 50th National Day celebrations when finishing third to briefly top the championship.
They later slipped to fourth on the day and second in the standings after a 30-seconds penalty was imposed for a race infringement, but retain strong XCAT world title hopes, with three rounds of the series remaining.
The Italian Australian pairing of Giovanni Carpitella and Darren Nicholson in 222 Offshore hold third place in the standings after taking sixth position today following their victory in the opening race off Fujairah International Marine Club.
While Torrente and Al Mansoori are still 20 points off the championship lead in sixth place overall, they underlined their title ambitions by setting the fastest time in official practice and then securing pole position before a start-to-finish race win.
Torrente said after the previous days engine failure that a change in tactics was required to bounce back into the championship reckoning, and he is plotting another all-out charge in Saturdays Grand Prix race, with the first priority to grab the advantage of pole position.
The Victory Teams Erik Stark and Mohamed Alyammahi are just two points ahead of Abu Dhabi 4 after a sixth place finish today following their fourth position in the opening race.
The XCATS are back in action tomorrow afternoon in the Speed Cat Run for the Fujairah Trophy, before Saturdays 11am pole position qualifier and Race 3 starting at 2.30pm
Back-to-back races at the Dubai Grand Prix on 10-11 December complete this years shortened UIM XCAT World Championship.
Fujairah Grand Prix Race 2 leading positions
1. Abu Dhabi 4 (UAE) Shaun Torrente/Faleh Al Mansoori 41.30.24
2. Dubai Police (UAE) Arif Al Zaffain/Nadir Bin Hendi 41.35.36
3. Six (MC) Tomaso Polli/Matteo Nicolini 42.12.94
4. Abu Dhabi 5 (UAE) Rashed Al Tayer/Majed Al Mansoori 42.39.08
5. New Star (RU) Mikhail Kitashev/Dmitry Vandyshev 42.44.73
6. Victory Team (UAE) Erik Stark/Mohamed Alyammahi 42.49.81
7. HPI Racing Team (IT) Rosario Schiano Di Cola/G.S. Di Cola 42.53.92
8. 222 Offshore (IT/AU) Giovanni Carpitella/Darren Nicholson 43.04.12
9. Foresti E Suardi (IT) Roberto Lo Piano/Giampaolo Montavoci 43.14.24
10. Kuwait (KW) Abdullatif Al Omani/Moustafa Al Dashti 43.39.59
UIM XCAT World Championship standings
1. Dubai Police (UAE) Arif Al Zaffain/Nadir Bin Hendi 55pts
2. Abu Dhabi 5 (UAE) Rashed Al Tayer/Majed Al Mansoori 52pts
3. 222 Offshore (IT/AU) Giovanni Carpitella/Darren Nicholson 45pts
4. Six (MC) Tomaso Polli/Matteo Nicolini 44pts
5. Victory Team (UAE) Erik Stark/Mohamed Alyammahi 37pts
6. Abu Dhabi 4 (UAE) Shaun Torrente/Faleh Al Mansoori 35pts
7. New Star (RU) Mikhail Kitashev/Dmitry Vandyshev 30pts
8. HPI Racing Team (IT) Rosario Schiano Di Cola/G.S. Di Cola 22pts
