Al Zafeen, bin Hendi clinch UIM XCat title

Al Zafeen and bin Hendi celebrate their victory.

 XDubai's Arif Saif Al Zafeen and Nadir bin Hendi clinched the UIM XCAT World Series for the fourth year in a row today as Team Abu Dhabi were denied in their brave bid for a second world powerboat title inside a month.
Entering the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix holding a fragile five-point lead over Rashed Al Tayer and Faleh Al Mansoori in Team Abu Dhabi 5, Al Zafeen and Nadir bin Hendi led the final round of the championship from start to finish, winning it by the comfortable margin of 25.42 seconds.
The defending champions hit the front on the opening run from the green flag and played the long lap strategy to perfection to win from Giovanni Carpitella and Darren Nicholson in T-Bone Station.
Al Tayer and Faleh Al Mansoori made a fierce challenge right to the finish of the 14-lap race, but lost time on the opening run and a different long lap strategy to eventually take third place and finish championship runners up in their first season of XCAT racing.
"I tried to push but it was very rough out there so I played safe because it was important to finish the race and take second place in the championship in our first season in XCATs," said Al Tayer at the end of the race, hosted by Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club.
Al Mansouri said: "It was dangerous with big waves, a lot of air and side by side racing, but we enjoyed it and well done to XDubai for winning the title again. It was our first season in XCATs so second in the championship is a very good result for us."
Al Tayer and Al Mansouri had been attempting to deliver a second world powerboat title to Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club to add to the UIM Class 1 triumph earned by John Tomlinson and Gary Ballough earlier this month, and will hope to go one better next year.
There was disappointment for Majed Al Mansoori and Rashed Al Qamzi in Team Abu Dhabi 4 who went out with mechanical problems two laps from the finish.
The American pairing of Jay Price and Shaun Torrente lost out on third place in the closing stages and eventually finished fifth. behind Dubai's Salem Al Adidi and Eisa Al Ali.