P1 German Grand Prix summary and results

by Event media on 4 Jul 2007
In a weekend overshadowed by the death of pilot and team owner Sergio Carpentieri, Roscioli Hotels Roma posted a dominant performance to claim the Powerboat P1 SuperSport class in the German Grand Prix of the Sea.

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, Drew Langdon and Jan Falkowski, to second and SunLik Beer to third. Buzzi Bullet had led from start to finish in a boat that, according to Langdon, now has a near perfect set-up. 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 Martin Lai and Andreas Chaikiopoulos in Sun Lik Beer and Angelo Tedeschi and Fabio Magnani in 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 of the production class was never more emphasised than when the FPT powered Sunseeker XS 2000 of Gavin Brown and Andy Wilby cleverly took sixth place from Extremeboat as the two craft turned into the final lap.

German Grand Prix of the Sea - SuperSport Result
Pos. - No. - Boat Name - Pts.

1. - 44 - Roscioli Hotels Roma -100
2. - 47 - Buzzi Bullet - 80
3. - 08 - Sun Lik Beer - 60
4. - 07 - VoomVoom - 50
5. - 46 - Chaudron 2 - 40
6. - 11 - Team Sunseeker - 30
7. - 01 - Extremeboat - 20

10 - Naue Racing [Wild Card] - DNS

And with very little activity on the F1 circuit until China, two pilots are trying their hand at offshore racing in the Powerboat P1 Series. Guido Cappellini joined Max Ferrari in the Skater 38 'Pignola 53' while fellow Tamoil driver Fabian Kalsow was aboard the German entry 'Team Nave'.

'Pignola 53' never made the start after sucking up a plastic bag in the cooling system and Kalsow retired with mechanical problems. The meeting in Travemunde, Germany was marred by a fatality in the first of two races.

King of the Evolution Class!

King of Shaves, the Ilmor-powered Fountain of James Sheppard and Craig Wilson provided another racing master class to take victory in the Powerboat P1 German Grand Prix of the Sea. It was the third consecutive Evolution class victory for the sole British entry and they now narrowly lead the championship as the focus turns to Cowes over August Bank Holiday for the P1 British Grand Prix of the Sea.

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.

Last year's world champions, OSG, took advantage of this mishap to move into second, the Sterling Performance powered Donzi of Cangiano and Carpitella once again demonstrating the reliability and speed necessary to win championships. However, with the chequered flag in sight, OSG started to slow and were robbed on the line by Outerlimits Powerboats or so it seemed!

Infact, Lucas Oil - 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 archrivals 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 race was dedicated to the memory of Sergio Carpentieri, who tragically lost his life during the first round of the Grand Prix.

German Grand Prix of the Sea - Evolution Result

Pos. - No. - Boat Name - Pts.

1. - 99 - King of Shaves - 100
2. - 88 - OSG Racing - 80
3. - 76 - Searex - 60
4. - 57 - Limmi - 50
5 - 81 - Wettpunkt.com - 40
59 - Way to Happiness - DNF
53 - Pignolo 53 - DNS
64 - Fainplast - DNS
90 - Kiton - DNS
97 â€' Lucas Oil Outerlimits - DQ

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