Evo crews brand Endurance race “toughest ever”

Saturday 12 July 2008

The #69 Honeyparty.com team took Evolution PowerPole honours in Tunisia

The crews competing in today’s Evolution class Endurance round of the Tunisian Grand Prix of the Sea have branded the race one of the hardest they’ve ever done. With shore-side temperatures of 40C and temperatures in the cockpits and engine bays of the closed canopy Evolution boats in excess of 60C, the event proved a real test of stamina for both man and machine.

Only four boats finished what proved to be a real race of attrition, with many suffering heat-related (and, in particular, water pump problems). The majority of crews were also clearly suffering with heat exhaustion with bottles of cold water and iced towels much in abundance on the wet pits pontoon.

“So beautiful to win in such tough conditions that I want to immediately start working on the boat so I can do just as well tomorrow,” said Marco Pennesi, pilot of the winning #60 GFN Gibellato boat. “The heat was unbelievable. I’ve been competing for many years, but in that race I was destroyed. In the last four laps, we lost one of our trim tabs, so the boat was uncontrollable. That made it even harder. By the end of the race, I was so fatigued I couldn’t turn my neck. I’ve never competed in race like that. It was unbelievable.”

James Sheppard, pilot of the third-place finishing #99 Fountain Worldwide 1st4boats.com team, was equally surprised by just how tough the conditions were. “It was a fantastic race, but probably one of the hardest races I’ve ever competed in,” he said. “I’ve raced in Florida and Dubai, and it has never felt that hot in the cockpit. Like everyone, we had problems with engines and overheating, so we just had to hang on and keep pushing. Hats off to everyone who finished that race, because it was tough.”

#69 Honeyparty.com pilot Mark Pascoe said that the surprisingly choppy conditions added to the tough nature of the race, and gave the #60 GFN Gibellato boat a crucial advantage. “It was really rough out there,” he said. “Really horrible waters. It was always going to be the case that the #60 GFN Gibellato boat would come through the field. Once that boat burns off its fuel, it’s almost unstoppable.”