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It looked to
the large crowds lining the Cowes Esplanade that the
Sunseeker Challenger of Andy Wilby and Gavin Brown had taken
its first win when the Fiat Powertrain Technologies (FPT)-powered craft crossed the line in the first leg of the
P1 British Grand Prix, but the win was denied by a
subsequent time penalty. This would have been the first
Powerboat P1 win for FPT engines, however despite not winning the
performance clearly demonstrates the growing competitiveness
of the package. The actual winner, timing its race to
perfection, was ExtemeBoat piloted by Jackie Hunt and Mike
Shelton with a photo finish for second, third and fourth
places.
The unusually calm waters
had made for high speed racing around the Island, with the
boats able to drive flat out, putting many above the average
top-speed limit, implemented for safety reasons. As a
result, the racing spectacle became somewhat confusing as
the lead boats slowed before the chequered flag to avoid
time penalties. It was probably inevitable after the fast
and furious early pace.
The race for the coveted
production class win was typically intense and competitive
with Southampton based VoomVoom.com, the Yanmar-powered
Hustler of Vee Gangavian and Charles Williams-Hawkes the
first to show. VoomVoom led throughout the circuit laps
before the boats embarked on their 'Round the Island
challenge'.
The impressive performance
would eventually lead to a photo finish for second place
with SunLik Beer and Buzzi Bullet, SunLik being awarded
second, with Voom Voom third and Buzzi Bullet fourth. Buzzi
now lead the world standings, closely followed by
Extremeboat with the season's dominant boat, Roscioli Hotels
Roma, disqualified for missing a marker. After race one
three teams jointly led the championship standings ahead of
Sunday's eagerly awaited second leg, which was set to be
contested over the short circuit course off Cowes, providing
one of the most exciting arenas in world motorsport.
Another superb tactical performance on
Sunday from Jackie Hunt and Mike Shelton in Extremeboat,
secured an emphatic victory and with it the British Grand
Prix SuperSport title for the husband and wife pairing. It
was the second consecutive year that Hunt and Shelton have
won their home event and they now move on to the season's
penultimate Grand Prix as championship leaders.
In a fiercely fought production class
encounter, Sun Lik Beer, the Anglo-Chinese boat of Martin
Lai and Andreas Halkiopoulos moved through the field,
overtaking VoomVoom.com on lap 4 to take second place and
put pressure on Extremeboat. Behind them the Championship
leaders, Roscioli Hotels Roma, were building up a head of
steam, making up for a disappointing result in Friday's
first leg and eager to secure valuable championship points.
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