Powerboat P1 - Portugal Grand Prix, Fountain World Wide Claim Title Again

Rain may have brought an early end to proceedings in this weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix of the Sea, but nobody could damped the spirits of this year’s Evolution and SuperSport title winners as they were officially crowned and awarded with their championship trophies at the final podium ceremony of the season. Throttleman Angelo Tedeschi and pilot Aaron Ciantar have brought new meaning to the word ‘dominance’ in the SuperSport class, taking victory in all but one race in their Racing Project-run 44 Conam Yachts boat. The Mercury-powered Chaudron hull has proved unbeatable and unbreakable in the production-based series, and Tedeschi’s second title and Ciantar’s first are undoubtedly well deserved – especially with a astounding points tally of 1150 points. The 07 Microlink PC VoomVoom.com team were confirmed as the second-place championship finishers, narrowly pipping the 38 Baia High Performance team with a tally of 670 points to the Italian outfit’s 650 points. The increased competition in the Evolution class this year meant that pilot James Sheppard and throttleman Craig Wilson were set for a tough job to defend their title from an astonishing rookie season in 2007, but no-one predicted just how hard they’d have to work. After four wins in the first two events of the year, they’ve had to fight to maintain their points lead as they bid to retain their crown in the Imor-powered 99 Fountain Worldwide 1st4boats.com entry. But, fight they did and third place in yesterday’s Portuguese Grand Prix of the Sea means they’re the first team to successfully score back-to-back Evolution class titles with a grand total of 780 points. The 60 GFN Gibellato team have been confirmed as second-place finishers in the championship chase with 630 points to 88 Kiton Outerlimits’ 580 points. The bronze and cherry-wood sculptures that both teams were awarded at the ceremony are the work of celebrated Italian artist Andreas Perathoner, whose sculptures feature in a number of private collections throughout Europe. Perathoner has also created trophies for a variety of other sports, including the Superbike motorcycle world championship. Each trophy consists of two pieces: an elegant bronze powerboat and a cherry-wood base carved to represent the sea. Perathoner sculpted the original boat designs in wood, which were then sent to a leading Italian foundry in Bologna, where they were cast in bronze. After the champions were awarded their trophies, all the teams in both the SuperSport and Evolution classes – who are the true lifeblood of the championship were invited onto the stage to join the festivities. Then the end-of-season celebrations could really begin!

Evolution Class Sprint Results
1 88 Kiton Outerlimits 54m14.28s
2 10 The Fantastic 1 56m15.02s
3 99 Fountain Worldwide 1st4boats.com 56m35.52s
4 60 GFN Gibellato 58m59.55s
5 66 Cranefields Wine 58m35.05s - 1 lap
6 57 Centaurian Yachts 57m37.78s - 2 laps
7 53 Pignolo 53 56m49.89s - 3 laps
8 77 Lucas Oil RET
9 76 Italcraft RET
10 69 honeyparty.com RET

SuperSport Class Sprint Results
1 44 Conam Yachts 47m25.08s
2 38 Baia High Performance 47m37.97s
3 07 Microlink PC 47m43.56s
4 26 Team Konrad 48m03.25s - 1 lap
5 46 The Spirit of Portomaso 48m46.66s - 1 lap
6 17 Going Lean 47m31.12s - 2 laps
7 08 Phoenix TV 47m31.12s - 2 laps
8 22 The Big Sergio RET
9 47 Silverline Buzzi Bullet DNS

2008 Final Standings

SuperSport Championship
1 44 CONAM Yachts, 1150 pts

2 07 MicroLink PC, 670 pts

3 38 Baia High Performance, 650 pts

4 47 Silverline Buzzi Bullet, 310 pts

5 08 Phoenix 8, 210 pts

6 46 The Spirit of Portomaso, 200 pts

7 22 Big Sergio, 200 pts

8 11 Sunseeker Challenge, 170 pts

9 59 SAHO, 140 pts
Evolution Championship
1 99 Fountain Worlwide, 780 pts

2 60 NSG Gibellato, 630 pts

3 88 Kiton Outerlimits, 580 pts

4 53 Pignollo 53, 480 pts

5 10 Fantastic 1, 440 pts

6 77 Lucas Oil , 270 pts

7 66 Cranefield Wine, 270 pts

8 57 Centaurian Yachts, 260 pts

9 69 Honeyparty.com, 220 pts

10 76 Italcraft, 110 pts

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