P1: Series Italian GP race one report

ITALIANS DOMINATE HOME WATERS IN POWERBOAT P1 ROUND 5

U.S. Manufacturers Fair Well in Italian Grand Prix of the Sea

Independence Day racing in the Adriatic Sea off San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy produced no real fireworks, but delivered podium finishes for U.S. manufacturers as Italian teams dominated round 5 of the Powerboat P1 World Championship Italian Grand Prix of the Sea.

With both Evolution and SuperSport racers sharing the flat-calm waters of the Lingomare shoreline in Saturday's Sprint race, Italian-flagged teams took the top three spots in both classes, tightening the points competition in advance of round 6 racing on Sunday.

After jumping out to a significant lead in Evolution Class, #10 CIGARETTE SMASH POKER - throttled by Matteo Nicolini and driven by Luca Formilli Fendi, spun their Mercury-powered Cigarette in lap six, allowing #88 SNAV OSG, SNAV Italy crewed by fellow countrymen Giancarlo Cangiano and Giovanni Carpitella to take the lead. The Mercury-powered Outerlimits never relinquished the lead, taking the checkered flag ahead of CIGARETTE SMASH POKER, which recovered nicely but had little time to chase down the new leader. Hometown hero Marco Pennesi, whose Seatek diesel-powered #53 METAMARINE PIGNOLO 53 was built in San Benedetto del Tronto and won the Power Pole position on Friday, finished third for an all Italian podium. Pennesi's regular throttleman, Max Ferrari was replaced due to a scheduling conflict by Luca Nicolini, brother of Matteo. The Nicolini brothers were born a short distance from the race venue.

In SuperSport, Defending champions Angelo Tedeschi and Aaron Ciantar racked-up another checkered flag in their Seagull Italy #43 SEAGULL CHAUDRON, powered by Ilmor. Stefano Acanfora and Renato Guidi, in the Mercury-powered Donzi #38 BAIA ATTOLINI, finished second after winning the Power Pole on Friday. Third place saw the all-female team of Shelly Jory and Audrien Ciantar in the #44 IKO CASA, a similar Chaudron hull as their #43 teammates, only powered by Mercury Racing. The ladies have been delivering consistent performance for Tedechi's Racing Project, and only ten seconds separated the top five teams in SuperSport Class on Saturday.

Up for grabs on Sunday is the longer, tougher Endurance Race, competition for the weekend's Italian Grand Prix of the Sea title, and awarding of endurance points for any teams who have not had to make an engine change during the first half of the Powerboat P1 World Championship season. Live race action begins at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time, and can be heard at www.powerboatp1.com/radio.

-credit: p1