Tunisian Grand Prix joy for #60 GFN Gibellato

Sunday 13 July 2008

The #60 GFN Gibellato boat secured the Evolution Endurance win in Tunisia

Marco Pennesi, pilot of the #60 GFN Gibellato Evolution class boat, has said he is overjoyed at his team's Tunisian Grand Prix of the Sea win. Although the Italian squad slowed with fuel problems in the closing stages of Sunday’s Sprint race, their Endurance race win and third place in the Sprint allowed them to pip the #10 Fantastic 1 and #53 Pignolo 53 boats to the weekend honours.

The diesel-powered boat proved to be the class of the field for much of the Tunisian weekend, and were easily the fastest boat in the Sprint event. The double points success has allowed them to close within 10 points of the second-placed #88 Kiton Outerlimits crew in the overall championship standings.

“We made a small error in the calculation of how much diesel we needed,  and we consumed more than we thought,” Pennesi said. “It’s a mistake which cost us victory in the Sprint race. However, when we took the lead we did show the world the most beautiful overtaking move. Honestly, it was beautiful.

“I’d say that we are very strong right now, and I think that we still lack eight per cent of our maximum. Over the next two months we’ll work to reach 100 per cent potential of this engine and hull. This boat surpasses all our imagination. Winning the Tunisian Grand Prix of the Sea also takes on enormous significance, because we can now really fight for the title until the end.”