TEAM PROFILE
There’s a new look for the reigning Powerboat P1 Evolution class champions in the #99 Fountain Worldwide 1st4boats.com team, but nothing under the skin has changed as last year’s rookie sensations bid to retain their crown in 2008.
The #99 King Of Shaves-backed Fountain Worldwide team may have been newcomers to Powerboat P1’s Evolution class in 2007, but they sure didn’t act like it. “We consider ourselves genuine title contenders,” they said at their arrival, despite missing the season-opener in Malta. Their bold claim would prove to be true as they were crowned champions at the 2007 season-finale in Portimao, Portugal. An incredible achievement.
To be fair, rookie packages don’t often come toting the amount of experience that Fountain Worldwide boasted for their debut campaign. Fountain Powerboats – founded by esteemed US boat racer Reggie Fountain and based in North Carolina, USA – has grown to become one of the largest and most successful manufacturers of recreational boats in the world. It’s equally famed for its sporting prowess and its succession of world speed records as it is for its quality consumer products.
Equally, engine builders don’t come much more successful than Ilmor Marine Engines, whose parent company built the Mercedes-Benz engines that have powered the McLaren racing team to four-wheeled Formula 1 glory. Behind the wheel, 2006 World SuperVee champion James Sheppard has been racing powerboats since the age of 12, while throttleman Craig Wilson – the son of former inshore racer, Harmsworth Trophy winner and team owner Mark Wilson – is equally experienced. He also has a vested interest in keeping Fountain Worldwide at the front of the pack, as he’s the president of Fountain International’s sales agency.
2007 RECORD
Despite missing the season-opening round in Malta, the #99 King Of Shaves Fountain Worldwide team quickly got onto the Evolution class groove in Italy (with a double victory), before scoring another win in Germany that gave them the championship lead and a pair of second-place finishes in Britain. The only low-point of the year was fourth place in Belgium, but a fifth win of the year in Portugal guaranteed the team an astonishing rookie championship title.