All is set for the final stage of the XCAT World Championship

The third and final leg of the UIM XCAT World Championship is ready to start in Dubai. On Sunset Beach, in front of the renown artificial archipelago “The World”, the drivers and teams are ready to fight for the podium and for the 2019 crown. And, after a 2-year absence and the 2017 World Title, Victory Team join the pack and will compete as a wild card.

At the moment Championship is definitely open, with Dubai Police of Arif al Zaffein and Nadir bin Hendi in the lead with 143 points, followed by Maritimo of Tom Barry Cotter and Ross Willaton at 137, and Abu Dhabi 4 of Shaun Torrente and Faleh al Mansoori at 136.
With two races to go and 70 points at stake, even Abu Dhabi 5 (Rashed Al Tayer and Majed Al Mansoori) with 113 points are eligible for the overall win, although the challenge seems really tough.

The big news is the return of Victory Team, with boat 33 and the drivers Eisa al Ali and Salem al Adidi: the 2017 XCAT World Champions are back to the series after an absence of almost two years. For this event they will race with a wild card, which means they won't be eligible for points. Still, is good to see them back in the fight, especially looking forward to the next season.

During the two Official Practice sessions of today the wind was blowing at 12-15 knots, with waves exceeding one meter. Not a big deal for the competitors, but as pole position and races will be held in calmer water (according to the forecasts) not all the teams took their tests. Still, some spectacular jumps delighted the spectators, also considering that the main straight and the finish line of the race course run just 10 meters from the shore.
The fastest time of the two sessions is for Consulbrokers of Andrea Comello and Joakim Kumlin, who stopped the chrono at 2:13.3 despite in the roughest sea conditions of the whole day.

Tomorrow (Friday) pole position is scheduled from 9:00 to 10:30 am local time (GMT+4), while race 1 will start at 3pm.