Cangiano: 'This was a learning year for us'

Wednesday 01 October 2008

#88 Kiton Outerlimits won Saturday's Evolution-class Sprint race in Portugal

#88 Kiton Outerlimits team boss and throttleman Giancarlo Cangiano has said he’s not disappointed to have lost out in the battle for second place in the Evolution class championship in 2008, and says that this his been an important learning year with the new Mercury-powered Outerlimits hull that could yield the title in 2009.

Cangiano started the season keen to try and recapture his 2006 Evolution title. A move to an all-new 43-foot Outerlimits SV43 hull, allied to Mercury engines, made him one of the title favourites going into the season-opener in San Benedetto del Tronto in Italy. A double no-score with technical problems in that event put a dent in his title campaign, though, that a consistent string of podium and points finishes and wins in the rough waters of Malta and Portugal couldn’t overcome.

The #88 Kiton Outerlimits team ended the year level on points with the #60 GFN Gibellato boat, but ultimately lost out to second place despite having more wins as the #60 GFN Gibellato team picked up 50 bonus reliability points as the Sunday Endurance race in Portimao, Portugal, was cancelled due to bad weather.

“I’m not disappointed, because – with the loss of Bahrain, and the cancellation of the Endurance race in Portugal – we actually did three races less than expected,” Cangiano said. “Our boat was the most innovative this season, but our project is two years long. The results from this year are clear, though – in rough seas, we are on top.

“If we didn’t have some of our problems this year, we actually could have won the championship again. It’s important that, in all my career, I never fall below third place at the end of the season.”

For a definitive team-by-team rundown of how the rest of the Evolution class performed in 2008, click here.