Powerboat P1 - German Grand Prix of the Sea, Tragic Accident on Day One

Sergio Carpentieri Team Carpenter

Teams pay their respect to Sergio

The first leg of the Powerboat P1 German Grand Prix of the Sea was cancelled following a racing incident at the start of the race in which pilot Sergio Carpentieri suffered fatal injuries following a start-lap collision with Fainplast. The Italian throttleman and owner of Team Carpenter was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The crew of Fainplast and Sergio's co-pilot, Luca Nicolini were unhurt although Nicolini was taken to hospital, suffering from shock. The tragic accident was captured by an on board camera placed on the Carpenter boat and shows that this was a racing incident. The sequence of events is as follows: - Fainplast ( Number 64) made a very quick start - Carpenter (Number 03) was running behind to the starboard side - Fainplast then suffered a mechanical failure resulting in a broken propeller and causing a rapid de-acceleration - The collision then occurred with Carpenter hitting Fainplast, the momentum causing the Carpenter boat to barrel roll. At this point Sergio and his co pilot, Luca Nicolini were thrown from the craft. Nicolini, who was admitted to hospital suffering from shock, has now been discharged. 

With Day One overshadowed by the death of pilot and team owner Sergio Carpentieri, Powerboat P1 Management in consultation with the teams decided to race Day 2. The race will be dedicated to Sergio Carpentieri following yesterday's tragic accident. As a mark of respect for the much-loved Italian, a representative of each team layed flowers into the sea ahead of the race. In the Evolution Class King of Shaves continued there domination in this class as they won the German Grand Prix. This gave a narrow lead for the Fountain powerboat in this class. Wettpunkt.com had arrived in Germany as championship leader and looked certain to finish in second until a blown turbo midway through the race ended it's challenge and the team limped home in fifth place. OSG took advantage of this mishap to move into second but were robbed on the line by Outerlimits Powerboats or so it seemed! Infact, Outerlimits were disqualified for straying from the race course when the engines lost power, handing the runners-up place to OSG with Searex Germany third. The disqualification was a bitter pill to swallow for Outerlimits Powerboats who provided the crowds with a superbly enjoyable chase as Nigel Hook and Mike Fiore re-fired the engines and started to reel in the leading boats. In the early stages of the race this all-American boat had looked evenly matched for speed with King of Shaves, and more enthralling battles between these arch rivals look inevitable. The lone German entry, Searex, proved to be one of the stars of the show, much to the pleasure of the large crowds. The Fountain 42 piloted by Kurt Prufert and Siegfried Greve gave an impressive display in its debut race in the prototype class as did Limmi from Belgium who finished fifth. The Metamarine boats of Fainplast and Kiton made the decision not to run the race following the death of Sergio Carpentieri, who tragically lost his life during yesterday's first round of the Grand Prix. In the production Supersport Class Roscioli Hotels Roma posted another dominant performance. The win strengthened the Italian teams championship challenge although it was Buzzi Bullet that crossed the finishing line first, with Chinese entry, Sun Lik Beer, no more than a few boat lengths behind. Time penalties then demoted the British pair to second and Sun Lik Beer to third. Buzzi Bullet led from start to finish. 

The result means that Championship leaders Roscioli Hotels Roma have extended their lead with the 2006 champions ExtremeBoat losing ground, having struggled with a propeller problem. Buzzi Bullet moves up into second place. Until the penalties were introduced for breaking safety speed limits, the third place battle between Sun Lik Beer and Chart Leader Roscioli Hotels Roma had provided the large crowds with excitement throughout. On the straight, the Chaudron 41 of the Italian's had a clear advantage but in the turns the tables were reversed. Behind them, VoomVoom.com was starting to show the true potential of the Yanmar powered Hustler Slingshot closely followed home by the Maltese entry Chaudron 2. The competitiveness in the production class is emphasised when the Sunseeker XS 2000 cleverly took sixth place from Extremeboat in the final lap.
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