| This year's newly crowned Powerboat P1 Evolution Champions, Craig Wilson and James Sheppard, will be taking their all-conquering Ilmor Viper-powered Fountain Worldwide race boat to the UIM-sanctioned Super Boat Key West World Championships in Florida, USA. The annual event, which features three races over five days and all counting towards the American 'World' Championships, will take place between 7th-11th November. Both Craig and James are familiar with racing in the USA. Craig lives in Florida and has raced extensively on the US circuit while James shocked the US establishment last year when, in partnership with Nigel Hook, the pair of them won the Super Vee world title against the odds. This was the first time a British crew had won a world title in Key West since |
Steve Curtis achieved the feat back in 1985. The King of Shaves-sponsored entry was shipped back to the Fountain facility in Washington, North Carolina, immediately after winning the Portuguese Grand Prix of the Sea. The team's technical director, Mark Wilson, intends to carry out some weight-saving modifications to the boat in a bid to seek out its maximum performance before deciding on what class - of the many on offer - the team will choose to compete in. "Americans have a love of absolute maximum power and top speed so we'll need to be careful which class and title we aim to contest," said team manager Chris Witty. "We're mindful of P1's growing reputation in the USA and therefore we don't want to disappoint ourselves or the series we're representing." |
