Austrian owner Hannes Bohinc, British driver Miles Jennings and navigator Ed Williams-Hawkes are the 2005 UIM Powerboat P1 Evolution Class World Champions.
Austrian owner Hannes Bohinc, British driver Miles Jennings and navigator Ed Williams-Hawkes are the 2005 UIM Powerboat P1 Evolution Class World Champions. Driving Wettpunkt.com their second place in Sunday’s final round in the Bay of Naples was enough to ensure the title went to the Anglo-Austrian challenger after a season long duel with Italian teams Sony and OSG.
An emphatic double victory to clinch this European Grand Prix was not quite enough for the Sony team to secure the World Championship they have dominated throughout the early stages of the season.
It came as no surprise that the most consistent team of the season, Naples-based OSG, should finish third on the day and third in the World Championship standings.
In the race, Sony dominated from the start and always looked set to win extending their lead lap-by-lap. Behind her the Wettpunkt.com crew were happy to consolidate their second place while the real battle was in third place, initially held by Cantieri del Mediterranean, then Thuraya and finally by OSG.
The SuperSport Class World Championship went to the Italian Jolly Drive that followed up Saturday’s second place with a win, just three seconds ahead of their British rivals, Buzzi Bullet driven by Drew Langdon and Jan Falkowski. If taking a one point lead into the final round was not dramatic enough, Buzzi Bullet blew an engine in morning practice and had a race against time to fit a replacement just two hours before the start.
This was bad luck for a team that had prepared so thoroughly for the event, had taken a win in the first race, and looked set for more success in the final. The British team did however make the start but could not quite match the performance of the Italians; Maurizio Bulleri, Riccardo Fatarella and Andrea Bergamini aboard Jolly Drive whose reliability and excellent late season challenge has now been rewarded with a world title. A second place finish was enough to secure British pair Drew Langdon and Jan Falkowski with the European title Oba Oba Racing finishing third. Chaudron finished fourth to complete a highly satisfactory weekend for the Maltese brother and sister team, who fill third slot in the European Grand Prix and third in the World Championship.
It was fitting that the final round of the Championship should take place with the Bay of Naples as its backdrop. Much of the credit for putting on the event at short notice goes to three teams – Cantieri del Mediterraneo, Oba Oba Racing and OSG – who collectively hosted and promoted the final Grand Prix.
On Sunday night the Island of Capri hosted the Powerboat P1 World Championship Awards Dinner marking the end of a spectacular championship season.
The new World Champion Miles Jennings, driver of Wettpunkt.com said at the presentation,
“It’s an amazing feeling after a season that was not looking good following the first two events. But Wettpunkt.com is a professional team, we kept going, preparing well for each event and knowing that with a slice of good luck and thorough preparation we were capable of mounting a strong challenge – and we did. Our aim at the final was to stay ahead of OSG and take as few risks as possible. We achieved this and can now celebrate. Ed (Williams-Hawkes) and myself are the only British crew in the Evolution Class and against the might of the Italians we have done it! It feels very satisfying.”
