SuperSport champion - Angelo Tedeschi Q&A

Italian Angelo Tedeschi and his Racing Project team secured their second SuperSport title in Vigo. The #44 Conam Yachts throttleman talks about 2008 and his expectations for 2009…

They say that defending a title is almost harder than winning it for the first time. After last year’s title success, what were your expectations going into this year?
This year has gone much better than we ever could have expected. I knew from the start of the year that we’d be a strong team, especially with the arrival of Aaron Ciantar. We knew that the #07 VoomVoom.com boat, the #38 Baia High Performance and #59 Saho Donzi boats and the experience of the #47 Silverline Buzzi Bullet team would make them strong. So, maybe we took advantage of some of their problems.

You’ve used the same Chaudron hull and Mercury Racing engine as 2007, but what changes did you make to step up your performance even higher for 2008?
One of the big things has been Aaron coming in as pilot. Plus, over the winter we’ve worked really hard on the boat. We refit the electrical system, we bought new engines, we worked on the drives and bought new props, so there was a lot of work that went on pre-season – even if you don’t see it because the boat looks outwardly the same. From 2007 to 2008 we have improved maybe another 15 to 20 per cent. There are always ways to improve.

You seem to have really enhanced your links with the Chaudron factory. How has that helped?
I have to admit that Chaudron have helped me so much this year. The boat spent a lot of time in the factory, getting parts changed from the US by Aaron directly. So some part of the work has been done by my two Italian mechanics from Racing Project and some work has been done by Chaudron. It’s a big puzzle that all fits together nicely thanks to the cooperation between the Racing Project team and the Chaudron factory.

Your working relationship with Aaron Ciantar as team-mates in the boat seems to have gelled incredibly well…
I have to say, the characteristic of our feeling is that we don’t need to talk much. We hardly talk at all during the race, and sometimes I feel that I need to say something to make sure that Aaron is there. We are so professional, and everyone is doing their job as best as possible. Aaron, in particular, keeps his concentration very, very high – all the way through the race. He’s always right on the buoys, and it’s very rare that he makes a mistake. So, no talking and lots of concentration seems to be his secret!

You’ve always said reliability was important, and you’ve fulfilled that end of the package, but – on pace – you’ve been pretty much unbeatable on the water. What is there left to improve for 2009?
That’s a very good question. We have to think about it. We still have little things to improve on the boat, which we’ve all been talking about. But we’re only going to work on the acceleration and the handling, because we already have the speed and they’re not changing the 85mph maximum limit for 2009. So, we want to keep focused on reliability, being quick in the turns and quick on acceleration.

You’re the first double title winner in SuperSport. You’ve talked about wanting to move up to the Evolution class. Is that still a possibility for 2009?
If our co-operation continues, [Aaron’s father and Chaudron owner] Charlie Chaudron says that, in the middle of 2009, he’ll start to build an Evolution-class boat for 2010. Next year we’ll just focus on trying to defend our SuperSport title. Now that our competition knows what the target is, they’ll look at us carefully, and take the ideas from our team. They know now what kind of speed they need, what kind of performance they need to win, so I think you’ll see five or six boats next year very close. But we’re looking forward to taking them on.