#60 GFN Gibellato wins survival of the fittest

Saturday 12 July 2008

The #60 GFN Gibellato team took third place in the Evolution PowerPole scrap

The #60 GFN Gibellato crew of Marco Pennesi and Giampaolo Montavoci continued their impressive 2008 form in this weekend’s Tunisian Grand Prix of the Sea Evolution Endurance race. The Italian crew pipped the #88 Kiton Outerlimits and #99 Fountain Worldwide 1st4boats.com entries in a dramatic race of incidents and attrition that proved a real test for the stamina of both boats and crews.

With 40C temperatures on the shore, and probably 50C+ temperatures in the closed canopy Evolution cockpits, the battle for the lead in the early stages of the event was a fierce four-way duel between the #10 Fantastic 1 Cigarette boat, the #69 Honeyparty.com boat, and the #77 Lucas Oil team.

Closing fast on this mix were the reigning champion and current class-leading #99 Fountain Worldwide 1st4boats.com team, but just as the British-based squad seemed like they were about to do their usual job of emerging ahead of the pack, they yo-yoed from fourth to first, and back to fourth again after a dramatic first corner spin.

Things weren’t any easier for the leading pack as – one-by-one – the #10 Fantastic 1 Cigarette boat, the #69 Honeyparty.com boat and the #77 Lucas Oil team dropped by the wayside with mechanic problems, many of which were related to the intense heat.

Going into the closing laps, the #60 GFN Gibellato team emerged from the gaggle leading the #88 Kiton Outerlimits boat, the #99 Fountain Worldwide boat and the sole remaining survivor – the #53 Pignolo 53 entry. If such tough conditions and unpredictable results continue for tomorrow’s Sprint race, we could well have some significant changes at the top of the Evolution class points standings.