#99 Fountain Worldwide regain 100 points from Italy

Friday 15 August 2008

The #99 Fountain Worldwide 1st4boats.com team had mixed fortunes in Tunisia

The #99 Fountain Worldwide 1st4boats.com team have had the appeal against their disqualification from the Evolution class Sprint race at the season-opening Italian Grand Prix of the Sea event upheld. The decision was announced today by the UIM Appeal Board, and means the team wins back the 100 points it lost from the event.

A protest was made at the San Benedetto del Tronto race that the #99 Fountain Worldwide boat had competed in the event with two engines that hadn’t been properly dyno tested (see story here). However, the UIM Appeal Board has backed the eligibility of Craig Wilson and James Sheppard’s race win.

Allied to the 50 points gained in Tunisia for not having changed their engines in the first half of the season, this increases their points tally by 150 points back to 640 points, and puts them 220 points clear of their nearest rivals, the #88 Kiton Outerlimits boat.

The #60 GFN Gibellato, #53 Pignolo 53 and #77 Lucas Oil teams all lose points as a consequence of the amended race result, with the #77 Lucas Oil crew dropping to seventh behind the #66 Cranfields Wine boat after previously having been level on 220 points. Two more appeals on the #60 GFN Gibellato and the #69 Honeyparty.com boats from the Marseille Grand Prix of the Sea in France are still pending.