COMPETITORS in the July 1st Powerboat P1 German Grand Prix of the Sea voted to go ahead with second round racing following the death of an Italian pilot.
Team Carpenter's Sergio Carpentieri suffered fatal injuries when his boat collided with Fainplast in the start-lap of Saturday's first round race. The Italian throttleman and team owner was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
The crew of Fainplast and Carpentieri's co-pilot, Luca Nicolini, were unhurt although Nicolini was taken to hospital suffering from shock.
He said: "We asked the teams what they wanted to do and there was a unanimous vote. The Italian teams were adamant they wanted to go ahead with Sunday's race."
Large crowds watched the Roscioli Hotels Roma team's win in the Powerboat P1 SuperSport class after time penalties demoted Britain's Buzzi Bullet and the Chinese entry, Sun Lik Beer, from initial first and second positions.
Until the penalties were confirmed for breaking safety speed limits, the second place battle between front-running teams, Martin Lai and Andreas Chalkiopoulos in Sun Lik Beer and Angelo Tedeschi and Fabio Magnani in Roscioli Hotels Roma, had kept the crowds gripped throughout the rally.
In the Evolution class, King of Shave's Craig Wilson and James Sheppard gave a dominant performance to make it their third consecutive victory. The result puts the British team narrowly in the lead at the midway point of the UIM Powerboat P1 World Championship.
Jan Falkowski, navigator of Buzzi Bullet, said it was a relief to have a successful race following Saturday's tragedy.
"Obviously Sergio was in the back of our minds but I am very pleased we had a good result today. Everything fell into place nicely and it was very close racing," he said.
Related News:
British Chinese win in Powerboat P1 German Grand Prix of the Sea
Entries (RSS)