Yesterday in the turbulent waters of Fiumicino, which made the protagonists’ performances even more challenging, the 1st leg of the UIM XCAT World Championship 2023 officially kicked off, featuring 9 world-class teams from three continents.
There was great anticipation for the first time-trials of the season and for the first pole position race, which acted as an important check up on the tuning of the boats’ engines and the form of the pilots. There was certainly no shortage of spectacle, and today’s Race 1 (which begins at 3:30 p.m.) certainly promises to be exciting and hard-fought, judging by the competitiveness of the competing vessels.
The best time was set by the defending champions, the mixed Italian-Australian crew composed by Giovanni Carpitella and Darren Nicholson (222 Offshore) who snatched pole with a very fast first lap locking in at 03.06.221 with an average lap speed of 114.053 km/h; in second place were the notable Emirati drivers, Arif Al Zaffain and Nadir Bin Hendi who, aboard Fazza, lapped only once but stopping the time at 3.12.243; a brilliant third place for Consulbrokers, the catamaran led by Alfredo Amato and Luca Betti, who came within a whisker of the UAE boat with a time of 3.12.759; yet another Italian crew in fourth place, HPI Racing Team of Rosario and Giuseppe Schiano Di Cola in 3.19.056.
Race 2 is scheduled for Monday, May 1, with Pole Position from 12 noon to 12:30 p.m. and the start at 3:30 p.m.
Recordings of the live and live streams can be found on the UIM XCAT YouTube channel.
Text Credits: UIM XCAT World Championship 2023
Photo Credits: UIM XCAT World Championship 2023
Video Credits: ICARUS Sports
