| Eleven boats started the first leg of the Italian Grand Prix of the Sea, which was won with a convincing margin by last year’s world champions, Racing Project of Naples, Italy. It was evident that those craft with a full season of racing behind them would be hard to beat and so it proved with all three podium places going to 2007 stalwarts. The FPT-powered Sunseeker XS Challenger was racing for the first time and in the hands of the experienced throttleman, Pete Little, and driver, Andy Wilby, a firm foundation has been set. It was a promising debut for both Little and the boat, finishing in the points and proving the Sunseeker’s reliability over the endurance course of 79 nautical miles. The teams attention is now firmly focussed upon tomorrows ‘sprint’ race and another strong performance.” “It was a solid effort if a little tough on the backside,” explains Pete Little. “We knew it was too early in the season to challenge at the front but Andy and myself worked well in our debut race together and will be looking |
to build on this in tomorrow’s second leg.” The Italian Grand Prix of the Sea will be decided tomorrow, Sunday 11th, when the boats line up at 10.30 am BST for the second round, a 50 nautical mile sprint event. The aggregate of the two races will decide the Italian Grand Prix of the Sea. “There is nothing like racing to understand the boat and the competition,” comments Mel Wilby. “It is a relief to have the first race behind us and know that we are reliable and in good shape for tomorrow. In the past 24 hours, with our engine partner FPT, we have made good progress and will use the data downloaded from the race to further improve the engines’ performance.” Dominic Byrne, Sunseeker Sales Group, Managing Director praised the team’s performance. “So much hard work has gone on over the winter by everyone associated with the team that it is a great relief to have successfully finished the first race. Our aim tomorrow will be to complete the race without incident, building upon today’s performance.” |
