Torrente, Al Mansoori battle to second place finish in China as team-mates also grab podium spot
Team Abu Dhabi’s Shaun Torrente and Faleh Al Mansoori retained their overall lead in the UIM XCAT World Championship today with a battling second place finish in the first of three races making up this weekend’s Shanghai Grand Prix.
The defending champions in Abu Dhabi 4 climbed from fourth position at the start to finish runners up to their nearest challengers in this year’s XCAT world title race, the Dubai Police pairing of Arif Al Zaffain and Nadir Bin Hendi.
Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al Tayer and Majed Al Mansoori, who had earlier secured their first ever pole position in the XCAT series, took the third podium place in Abu Dhabi 5 to rise to joint third in the championship.
The result means Torrente and Al Mansoori carry a nine-point championship lead into tomorrow’s second Grand Prix race, with a third to follow on Sunday.
Shanghai Grand Prix Race 1 results
1. Dubai Police (UAE) Arif Al Zaffain / Nadir Bin Hendi 40:10.41 (17 laps)
2. Abu Dhabi 4 (UAE) Shaun Torrente / Faleh Al Mansoori 40:16.90
3. Abu Dhabi 5 (UAE) Rashed Al Tayer / Majed Al Mansoori 40:27.01
4. New Star Racing (RU) Mikhail Kitashev / Dimitry Vandyshev 41:50.47
5. Kuwait (KWT) Abdullatif Al Omani / Moustafa Al Dashti 41:58.96
6. Maritimo (AUS) Tom Barry-Cotter / Ross Willaton 42:04.08
7. HPI Racing Team (IT) Rosario Schiano Di Cola / Guiseppe Schiano Di Cola 42:15.15
8. 222 Offshore (IT/AUS) Giovanni Carpitella / Darren Nicholson 42:32.51
9. De Mitri (IT) Roberto Lo Piano / Marco Di Cosmo 40:20.84 (16)
10. Videx (IT) Alfredo Amato / Saul Bubacco 42:45.87 (15)
XCAT World Championship positions
1. Abu Dhabi 4 (UAE) Shaun Torrente / Faleh Al Mansoori 100pts
2. Dubai Police (UAE) Arif Al Zaffain / Nadir Bin Hendi 91
3. Maritimo (AUS) Tom Barry-Cotter / Ross Willaton 60
3. Abu Dhabi 5 (UAE) Rashed Al Tayer / Majed Al Mansoori 60
5. The Blue Roo (AUS) Pal Virik Nilsen / Jan Trygve Braaten 48
6. 222 Offshore (IT/AUS) Giovanni Carpitella / Darren Nicholson 41
7. New Star Racing (RU) Mikhail Kitashev / Dimitry Vandyshev 34
8. HPI Racing Team (IT) Rosario Schiano Di Cola / Guiseppe Schiano Di Cola 25
9. Swecat Racing (SWE) Erik Stark / Sebastian Groth) 22
10. De Mitri (IT) Roberto Lo Piano / Marco Di Cosmo 18