Arif Al Zaffain and Nadir bin Hendi of Fazza set the pace in first official practice of the opening round of the UIM XCat World Series in Fujairah on Wednesday.
The top seven boats all recorded fastest laps within four seconds of each other, with two of the boats being new entries – Abu Dhabi Team (Rashed Al Tayer and Faleh Al Mansoori) fourth fastest in a time of 2m38.17s and Gold Coast, Australia (Tom Barry-Cotter and Pal Virik Nilsen) sixth in a time of 2:38.92.
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Al Zaffain and bin Hendi sped around the course in 2:35.04 while Team Dubai (Salem Al Adidi and Eisa Al Ali) clocked 2:35.93.
Al Adidi and Al Ali are a new combination in the Dubai boat, and team manager Mohammed Al Marri was particularly impressed with their progress.
One of those new teams is the Gold Coast boat which was unveiled by mayor of Gold Coast City Tom Tate in Fujairah on Wednesday morning as part of the city’s commitment to hosting the fifth round of the series in August later this year.
Another team from Down Under, Team Saracen Australia, also took to the waters for the first official practice.
XCat action continues on Thursday as the teams battle it out for Pole Position at 09:30.
This will be followed by the thrilling head-to-head Dubai Duty Free Speed Cat Run at 14:30 with the main event, the Fujairah Grand Prix, taking place at 15:30 on Friday.
Entry for the general public is free of charge.