12 moments that made 2008 great (1-6)

We chart some of the highs and lows and the thrills and spills that made this year’s Powerboat P1 season the best in recent memory

1. The action-packed Evolution Endurance race in Italy
The town of San Benedetto del Tronto on the Adriatic coast proved a perfect new host for Powerboat P1’s Italian round, and this year’s season-opener. Powerboat P1 paid back in spades. The Evolution-class Endurance race, in particular, provided some great entertainment as everyone got back into their stride after the long winter break. New team #77 Lucas Oil with new female pilot Shelley Jory, and the new #10 Fantastic 1 Cigarette team got their year off to a perfect start, racing at the front until the #77 Lucas Oil boat had to swerve dramatically to avoid the slowing #10 Fantastic 1 boat. Then #88 Kiton Outerlimits did a dramatic double spin with broken drive. And through it all came the title-defending #99 Fountain Worldwide 1st4boats.com, which – just hours before – had only just arrived in the dry pit after shipping delays. It was one of the best Powerboat P1 races ever seen and, as it all happened in front of the San Benedetto beach, the capacity crowd easily got their money’s worth.

The #57 Centaurian Yachts boat was lucky to survive a nasty race collision in France

2. A bruising set of encounters in Marseilles
Two weeks after the season-opener in Italy, the city of Marseille in France provided another great new venue for Powerboat P1. But the brooding grey skies offered an ominous warning of the bruising events to come. The #11 Sunseeker Challenger boat dramatically sunk in Friday practice, leaving its crew shaken, but happily relatively uninjured. The waters were incredibly rough for Saturday’s Evolution event and, as most teams missed the first buoy, the #69 Honeyparty.com and #99 Fountain Worldwide boats bounced off each other leaving #69 Honeyparty.com with a cracked hull. The SuperSport boats replayed the first corner chaos from Saturday’s Evolution event on a rainy Sunday, while #10 Fantastic 1 and #69 Honeyparty.com had a go at some stockcar-style racing before #66 Cranefields Wine took a shark-sized bite out of the #57 Centaurian Yachts entry – quite literally. Carbon fibre and GPRS were much in demand after that weekend.

#44 Conam Yachts pilot Aaron Ciantar celebrates his double win in Malta

3. Aaron Ciantar’s double win in Malta
Aaron Ciantar had a lot of pressure on him going into his home round of the Powerboat P1 championship in Malta. The little island nation with a great maritime heritage has always been a great host for Powerboat P1, and the Chaudron family-run boat firm of Charlie Chaudron is a national institution, while rising racer Aaron (Charlie’s son) is a sports star that – per capita – is probably more famous in Malta than David Beckham is in all of Europe. But, in the Racing Project-run #44 Conam Yachts Mercury-powered Chaudron, Ciantar has found the perfect weapon in which to demonstrate his skills. Team boss and throttleman Angelo Tedeschi – the reigning champion – says that Ciantar drives “like a smuggler”, but there was no need for Ciantar to hide his cards in Malta. He and Tedeschi put in another dominant pair of performances in Malta to give Ciantar the home SuperSport spoils.

Giancarlo Cangiano's #88 Kiton Outerlimits boat scored a pair of wins in Malta

4. The Evolution championship turns in Malta
Malta’s incredibly rough waters provided a stern test of man and machine, and also proved the turning point in the Evolution class title fight. After four races of domination by the reigning champion #99 Fountain Worldwide 1st4boats.com team, the majority of the Powerboat P1 paddock flew into the harbour city of Valletta expecting much of the same. The #88 Kiton Outerlimits team, though, decided that maybe it was someone else’s turn to win. Throttleman Giancarlo Cangiano and pilot Joe Sgro dominated Saturday’s Endurance race by a full two minutes, and a full minute in a shortened Sunday Sprint race. #99 Fountain Worldwide struggled to second place and fourth place with reliability problems and a curious lack of pace. Throttleman Craig Wilson and pilot James Sheppard looked on edge for the first time in quite a while.

The #07 VoomVoom.com SuperSport boat powers through the waves in Malta

5. Vee Ganjavian takes a tumble in Malta
The in-boat video camera was telling its own story about how happy Vee Ganjavian and Gareth Williams were with the handling of their #07 VoomVoom.com boat in Malta. In Saturday’s Endurance race, one over-intercom “Motherf***er” was quickly followed by “We are all over the f***ing place”. Gareth’s hands were rubbed raw as they struggled to find the perfect balance. Things got even rougher on Sunday. “Gimme some tabs. Not that much. Perfect. Too much actually. Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter.” Things were clearly all at sea. Then they got even worse. As the #07 VoomVoom.com crew dived down the inside of the #47 Silverline Buzzi Bullet boat, they caught a duff wave and nearly flipped. Vee was almost thrown clear of the hull, with only fast leg-grabbing reactions from Gareth saving him. Vee’s racer’s instinct wasn’t deterred, though. “Grab me. Grab me. Put the kill cord back in,” he shouted before the duo powered to a stunning third place, just missing out on second place by a narrow two-second margin. Magic!

6. You can’t crack #38 Baia High Performance
The scenic (and incredibly hot and sunny!) resort of Jasmine Hammamet in Tunisia provided a fantastic new venue for Powerboat P1, and a great finale to the first half of the season. But the #38 Baia High Performance SuperSport team weren’t having a fun time while everyone else was partying on Friday evening. The first we heard about it was when several key members of the series organisers dashed past us out of race control. “They’ve just dropped the Baia boat off the crane,” one blurted out. Yep, in a rare failure, the straps had snapped, dropping the hull onto the dock and leaving the potentially title-contending OSG Racing-run team with a huge crack to fix to ensure they could race. On Saturday, with the paint over the repairs still drying, the #38 Baia High Performance crew of Stefano Acanfora, Renato Guidi and Roy Capasso drove to a stunning third place, only missing out on second place by a boat length, keeping their title hopes alive for another day.