Maritimo clinches XCAT world championship title
Last-race win narrowly snares overall victory for the only manufacturer to enter the catamaran seriesGold Coast luxury motor yacht maker Maratimo has won the 2019 UIM XCAT world championship in the last race of the series.
The win comes seven years after Maritimo’s last overall title win in the outboard engine-powered catamaran series. It also comes after a difficult season last year after the team crashed badly, ruining its tilt at a championship win.
Drivers Tom Barry-Cotter and Ross Willarton won pole position for the final race of the series and claimed victory to win by a narrow nine-point margin over rivals Abu Dhabi 4.
Maritomo, the only manufacturer in the series, also won the championship trophy for the number of pole positions it claimed in the season.
New boat design
"We competed in a brand new boat designed and built by Maritimo on the Gold Coast and first raced in Italy in Round 1 where it secured pole position and second place in Race 1 in its first outing," Barry-Cotter said.
"We developed the boat all year, improving handling and speed. We took two wins in Shanghai last month to set up the championship showdown with Dubai Police 3 and Abu Dhabi 4.
"Conditions were challenging here in Dubai, but they suited the boat's design. We took pole position and secured the Pole Position Championship on Friday."
The victory wasn’t an easy one for Maritimo; the team was hit with a technical issue in the opening laps that dropped it to fifth position.
The problem cleared and Maritimo was able to secure second place with the championship decider coming down to the last race of the season. Once again there was a problem with the boat losing communications with its shore-based teammates. Instead, it had to use hand signals.
Fighting position
"We got a great start in race two and were fighting in second position from the opening lap,” Barry-Cotter said.
"We felt we had the pace and were applying constant pressure to Abu Dhabi 4 in front. That pressure became too much for [Abu Dhabi] 4 and they hooked the boat in a turn missing a turn mark, thus releasing us, into clean water with no boats in front.
"We are incredibly proud and excited to bring the championship back to Australia for the first time and share with our 300 staff at Maritimo," he said.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
