The opening round of the Harmsworth Trophy was won at Cowes on Wednesday (August 25) by Italian powerboat ace Fabio Buzzi driving Gran Argentina alongside Lord Beaverbrook, son of the Cowes-Torquay race founder.
The opening round of the Harmsworth Trophy was won at Cowes on Wednesday (August 25) by Italian powerboat ace Fabio Buzzi driving Gran Argentina alongside Lord Beaverbrook, son of the Cowes-Torquay race founder. Despite an earlier forecast of rough seas, conditions on the day were less severe allowing the pair to set a high race average of 75.93mph over the 66 nautical mile course. But not all was celebration. The winning crew were penalised for exceeding the strict speed limit imposed in the Cowes harbour area and will now carry a yellow card. Further infringement during the Harmsworth series could result in disqualification. Lord Beaverbrook also suffered a slipped disc in the rougher sections of the race and has withdrawn from the rest of the series. Second place overall went to defending holder of the Harmsworth Trophy, Austrian Hannes Bohinc driving Wettpunkt.com. Together with his English crew, Miles Jennings and Ed Williams-Hawk, the team finished five minutes behind the overall winner at 69.55mph after a trouble-free race. Britain’s Drew Langdon and Jan Falkowski filled third slot in Buzzi Bullet three minutes later. Not so fortunate were Andy Macateer and his crew aboard Eraser II. They lost a diesel turbocharger early on near Hurst Castle and were the only team not to finish. The second round of the three-race Harmsworth Trophy series takes place on Friday (August 27).
