Sicilian Grand Prix of the Sea Sprint Race - SNAV OSG closes gap

by Powerboat P1 media on 13 Sep 2009
#88 SNAV OSG closed the gap to just 35-points in the Evolution Class after a barn-storming win in Saturday’s Sicilian Grand Prix of the Sea Sprint Race which saw arch-rivals and fellow title contenders Silverline cross the finish line in a lowly sixth position.

The result leaves the World Championship on a knife edge in the closed-canopy category which promises to deliver a dramatic climax to the Powerboat P1 World Championship 2009 season in Sunday’s Endurance Race.

Cranefields Wine roared into an early lead on the opening lap reaching speeds in excess of 115mph but as in PowerPole, the Germans suffered engine problems and were forced out of the race early.

From there, the sleek Outerlimits hull, piloted by Giancarlo Cangiano and Giovanni Carpitella, raced into the lead before powering home to claim victory in the penultimate race of 2009, keeping their hopes of a championship crown very much alive.

Cigarette Smash Poker’s Luca Formilli Fendi and Matteo Nicolini retain a fighting chance of winning the World Championship title after finishing second ahead of Belgium’s finest, Furnibo.

Marco Pennesi steered the returning Metamarine Pignolo into a respectable fourth, one place ahead of Lucas Oil, who were some way ahead of the Silverline British duo, Drew Langdon and Jan Falkowski.

In the SuperSport Class the title will go down to the wire as Baia Attolini claimed second spot and are now only 11 points behind current leaders Seagull Chaudron who ended the race in fourth. Team SW1 Capital roared home to their third consecutive victory, marking a remarkable debut for team sponsor-come-navigator Simon Luhr.

Italian entry Saho, were responsible for keeping the contenders to the SuperSport title apart by taking a third place finish, however, as a wild card entry they received no championship points and Seagull Chaudron were promoted to a third place finish ahead of the all-female crew of Ikocasa. Last over the finishing line were Federico Montanari and Alfredo Zanardo in Blue Shaft, with fellow Al & Al team Big Sergio and the Sprit of Belgium boys both failing to register any points as neither boat completed the race.

Classified Evolution Results:
1. #88 SNAV OSG (Giancarlo Cangiano / Giovanni Carpitella) Time: 00:35:55.70
2. #10 Cigarette Smash Poker (Luca Formilli Fendi / Matteo Nicolini) 00:37:03.68
3. #33 Furnibo (Frank Hemelaer / Pierre Colpin) 00:37:11.70
4. #53 Metamarine Pignolo 53 (Marco Pennesi / Stefano Bonnano) 00:37:22.20
5. #77 Lucas Oil Outerlimits (Nigel Hook / Nico Huybens) 00:36:13.56*
6. #47 Silverline (Jan Falkowski / Drew Langdon) 00:41:59.00**
7. #66 Cranefields Wines (Mark Niemann / Siegfried Greve) RETIRED***

*9 laps completed
**8 laps completed
***0 laps completed

Points:
1. #88 SNAV OSG - 100 points
2. #10 Cigarette Smash Poker - 90
3. #33 Furnibo - 81
4. #53 Metamarine Pignolo 53 - 73
5. #77 Lucas Oil Outerlimits - 66
6. #47 Silverline - 60
7. #66 Cranefields Wines – 0

Classified SuperSport Results:
1. #26 Team SW1 Capital (Daniel Cramphorn / Kim Collins / Simon Luhr) Time: 00:36:39.40
2. #38 Baia Attolini (Stefano Acanfora / Renato Guidi / Vittorio Foglia Manzillo) 00:37:02.38
3. #43 Seagull Chaudron (Aaron Ciantar / Angelo Tedeschi / Viktor Shemchuk) 00:37.10.45
4. #44 Iko Casa (Shelley Jory / Audrien Ciantar) 00:37:35.13
5. #28 Blue Shaft (Gianbattista Gabriele / Alfredo Zanardo / Federico Montanari) 00:39:01.54
6. #17 Spirit of Belgium (Micha Robyn / Patrick Huybreghts / Marc Sluszny) RETIRED*
7. #22 Big Sergio (Alfredo Nuzzo / Alfredo Amato) RETIRED**

*3 laps completed
**2 laps completed

Points:
1. #26 Team SW1 Capital - 100 points
2. #38 Baia Attolini - 90
3. #43 Seagull Chaudron - 81
4. #44 Iko Casa - 73
5. #28 Blue Shaft - 66
6. #17 Spirit of Belgium - 0
7. #22 Big Sergio - 0

Event website: http://www.powerboatp1.com