#44 Conam Yachts win tight SuperSport Endurance

Saturday 12 July 2008

The #44 Conam Yachts crew just missed out on the SuperSport PowerPole in Tunisia

The reigning champion #44 Conam Yachts team of pilot Aaron Ciantar and throttleman Angelo Tedeschi took their sixth win of the 2008 Powerboat P1 season in today’s Tunisian Grand Prix of the Sea Endurance race, but the Italian-based outfit was nearly beaten on the track for the first time this year.

The #07 VoomVoom.com boat took the initial lead on the run through the first corner, they were passed on the back straight by the #59 Saho Offshore Ranas boat of pilot Maurizio Di Stasio and throttleman Federico Terenziani. The twin-canopy boat then powered into a comfortable lead that they held for the first half of the race.

On lap seven, though, the #59 Saho boat fell off plane on the far side of the course, and despite a concerted effort to restart the race, they were forced to pull into the harbour. That gave the lead back to the #44 Conam Yachts crew, who had quickly worked their way past the #07 VoomVoom.com boat and chased #59 Saho as they opened up a clear gap over #07 VoomVoom.com and the rest of the field.

Ultimately, the #07 VoomVoom.com crew took second, but it was a close run thing. The #38 Baia High Performance mechanics had worked all through the night to make their Donzi hull seaworthy after it was inadvertently dropped on the dock while being craned out of the wet pits on Friday afternoon. After just making the start of the race, they powered their way through the field to a well-deserved podium finish.

The #05 Team Tullio Abbate Wild Card entry, the #22 Big Sergio Al & Al boat and the #11 Team Sunseeker crew rounded out the top six finishers. There was disappointment for the #47 Silverline Buzzi Bullet crew as they were forced to miss the race after suffering a seized engine in final practice, while the #08 Phoenix TV and the #46 Spirit of Portomaso boats retired.