The 3rd heat of the XCat Middle East Powerboat Series kicks off this week in Abu Dhabi organised by Abu Dhabi International Marine Sailing Club in conjunction with the UIM and World Professional Powerboat Association (WPPA). The race, which has been postponed from Friday 18th to Monday 21st due to expected strong winds and high seas over the weekend will have up to 20 boats competing for the Middle East Series title which will be decided in the final round in Dubai on March 25th.

Teams have started arriving in town to make last minutes checks and prepare their boats before the practice round start on Sunday. There are nine countries taking part in the Series and seven of the competing boats are from the UAE, 4 form Dubai, Fazza 3, Extreme Marine, Dubai Team and Skydive Dubai. 2 from Abu Dhabi, Spirit of Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Racing Team and 1 from Umm Al Quwain, Al Qubaisi Team. The top three boats after the first two rounds are all from the UAE, in first place is Fazza 3 with Nadir Bin Hendi & Arif Al Zaffain with 800 points, Extreme Marine with Rashid Khalifa Al Marri is in second place with 600 points and Spirit of Abu Dhabi with Rashid Suahil Al Tayer and Majid Saeed Al Mansouri is in third with 450 points.

Meanwhile the Swedish team, Secoil who are in 4th place were really encouraged that they nearly made the podium in the last race in Dubai. ‘We have had several great memories in the XCat Class so far, we loved the first ever race we did in 2009, it was so new and exciting. We came 7th out of 20 boats at that time but the last race in Dubai was so tight and we were so close to being on the podium. We’ve got really high hopes for the next two races.’

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will start at 16:00 on Monday 21st and can be viewed from the Corniche. There will be a practice race at 14:00 on Sunday 20th and Pole Position at 10:00 on the 21st.

The next and final race is in Dubai on Friday 25th March at 16:00

 

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