First ever all-girl crew wins major offshore powerboat international
Shelley Jory and Audrien Ciantar became the first all-female winners in P1 history after scoring victory in Saturday’s SuperSport Sprint Race at the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul.
Driving the Chaudron-manufacturedIko Casa, P1’s first-ever ladies team triumphed at the expense of SuperSport World Champions, Angelo Tedeschi and Aaron Ciantar, following theSeagull Chaudronteam’s agonising last-lap penalty for over-speeding which saw them drop from first to fourth.
Jubilant Ikocasa pilot Shelley Jory said it was a “dream come true” to stand on top of the Powerboat P1 World Championship podium.
“It was a wonderful feeling to make history as the first all-girl team to win a race. I don’t think any women have ever got to this high level in motorsport, either in Formula 1 or Indycar. It’s just been an amazing day.”
Championship rivalsBaia Attoliniwere runners-up with Belgian enteredMasforcecelebrating its first podium of the season. However, Friday’s PowerPole pacesetters,Team SW1 Capital, suffered a third-lap retirement when a drive shaft snapped.
In the Evolution Class,Lucas Oil Outerlimitscontinued their dominance on the Bosphorus by powering to their first triumph of the 2009 P1 World Championship series.
FurnibopushedLucas Oil Outerlimitspair Joe Sgro and Mike Fiore all the way in their debut run-out but any hopes of a perfect start to their campaign failed to materialise, especially with the American team featuring on the turns.
Fore was delighted to keep the momentum going in Istanbul after claiming pole position on Friday, saying:
“We were happy coming out of Malta but the boat went very well today even though we took it pretty conservatively. The other two boats were quick but as long as we keep consistently accumulating points and keep the boat in good condition we’ll be happy. “
Strong challenges were expected to come from Maltese Grand Prix victors,SNAV OSG, and the returningMetamarine Pignolo 53, but both boats were back in the dry pits before the first lap was completed.
Sprint kings in Valletta’s season-opener,Cigarette Smash Poker, edged a close battle withSilverlineto secure third spot.
Results
SUPERSPORT CLASS
1. Ikocasa (Shelley Jory/Audrienne Ciantar) 36:35.25
2. Baia Attolini (Stefano Acanfora /Renato Guidi/Roy Capasso) 37:15.52
3. MasForce (Micha Robyn/Patrick Huybreghts/Marc Sluszny) 37:20.66
4. Seagull Chaudron (Aaron Ciantar/Angelo Tedesci /Viktor Shemchuk) 37:30.29
5. Blue Shaft (Gianbattista Gabriele/Alfredo Zanardo/Federico Montanari) 39:34.91
6. Big Sergio (Alfredo Nuzzo /Alfredo Amato) 37:52.34*
7. Team SW1 Capital (Daniel Cramphorn /Kim Collins) RETIRED
*Team disqualified
EVOLUTION CLASS
1. Lucas Oil Outerlimits (Joe Sgro /Nigel Hook/Mike Fiore) 33:17.97
2. Furnibo (Frank Hemelaer /Pierre Colpin) 33:41.16
3. Cigarette Smash Poker (Luca Formilli Fendi /Matteo Nicolini) 34:03.77
4. Silverline (Jan Falkowski /Drew Langdon) 34:05.57
5. Cranefield Wines (Siegfried Greve /Gino Passchier) 34:42.07
6. Metamarine Pignolo 53 (Marco Pennesi /Max Ferrari) DID NOT START
7. SNAV OSG (Hannes Bohinc /Giovanni Carpitella) RETIRED
