Here we are on beautiful Lake Lugano, the weather cloudy and with some moderate rain.
Water conditions look to be relatively flat with a slight chop and a light North Easterly breeze as final preparation are taking place on the eve of the great race.
It’s the final day for any major changes or rearranges and the teams are going full throttle in preparation for the big race which begins tomorrow.
Nadir Bin Hendi driver of the Dubai based Victory Team said,
I am curious to see how the new Mercury 4-Stroke engines will perform in fresh water.
He also commented that the flatter conditions, the extra weight load that the boat will carry and the fact that the boat will be sitting lower in the water due to the new heavier Mercury Engines will be an interesting test for the team, but is sure it will not pose for anything to worry about as they prepare for their first run at Lake Lugano.
He expressed that whole team is very confident, are at the top of their game and he looks forward to an exciting competitive race.
The latest addition to join the The Xcat Series is New Star, they are very excited to be competing in their first race on the beautiful Lake Lugano.
The team has a very experienced Crew Chief Mr Trevor Chantler who was formerly with Victory Team for 17yrs.
According to Chantler, he is confident with the Teams New Driver Mikhail Kitashev from Russia who will join Shaun Torrente in Lugano.
Chantler said,
The Boat is ready to go, we are only doing the final checks, we will know more about the boat and what we need to tweak after our first run on Friday.
New Star will be running on a 2-Stroke set up making the boat lighter.
After a brilliant performance in in the UAE city of Fujairah Team Australia is motivated and ready for an extremely competitive race.
They Feel the race will be fast with conditions flat.
The course is longer than what the team is typically used with many twists and turns but Lars Inge Graver says,
they are confident in doing very well in any conditions.
After a serious scuffle at the Fujairah race which lead to the teams boat rolling, Lars said that the boat was repaired to the highest standards and running before it left the UAE with the tremendous help of JT and Vladimir and the rest of the crew.
The team is confident that the boat is in peak condition and ready for action, they look for forward to giving the other teams a run for their money.
All the real fun starts tomorrow where the Official Practice Run will be held at approx. 15:00 CET then a fabulous Boat Parade in the center of town finishing up with a Welcoming Party.
