Ilmor full of praise for Powerboat P1

Monday 06 October 2008

The Evolution-class teams berth in the Marseilles marina for France's round of Powerboat P1

Ilmor Marine Engines president Paul Ray has praised Powerboat P1 for raising offshore racing’s profile and providing a competitive test bed for hull and engine manufacturers to test themselves against each other. The Ilmor-powered #99 Fountain Worldwide 1st4boats.com team took its second back-to-back Evolution title this year.

Ilmor may be a relative newcomer to the Powerboat P1 championship, but has quickly made its mark in the series, winning the Evolution class title in its rookie campaign in 2007 with the V10-powered #99 Fountain Worldwide boat of pilot James Sheppard and throttleman Craig Wilson. This year the team scored a second consecutive crown, while Ilmor teamed up with Italian Max Ferrari to add the #53 Pignolo boat to its roster.

“In the past 25 years, Ilmor has won championships in some of the highest-level racing series in the world, including Formula 1 and Indycar,” Ray said. “We believe the toughest test and the greatest reward is winning against the best competition. Powerboat P1 is the finest powerboat racing series in the world, and their management and staff do a superb job.

“They are great at promoting the events and making all of the fans and competitors feel welcome. It’s a first-class organisation. We are proud to be champions of the Powerboat P1 world championship series. There is tremendous interest for next year, and we look forward to continuing with both #99 Fountain Worldwide and #53 Pignolo in 2009. The competition will only be tougher next year as they fight to catch up – we’ll be ready.”

To read more about how the other Evolution class teams fared during the 2008 season, click here.