Team SW1 Capital made a triumphant start to its Key West World Championship campaign by upsetting the odds to win the Manufacturer Production 2 Class in the Florida Keys on the opening day of the Florida powerboating festival.
 
Stepping up to race in the 105 mph speed-restricted class against several X-Cats and a wealth of America’s finest closed-canopy crafts, Britain’s best, Dan Cramphorn and Kim Collins beat both the weather and mechanical problems to show the Super Boat International festival’s A-listers how it’s done.
 
The remnants of Hurricane Ida forced the race to be delayed but this allowed a frantic Team SW1 Capital crew to anxiously fit together its missing drive shaft, which had to be flown in at the last minute.
 
“It really didn’t look like it was going to happen,” conceded Cramphorn. “Had it not been for the awful weather and the generous amount of help from the people here, the boat would’ve stayed on the truck.”
 
Still in their first season of offshore racing, Dan and Kim have now clocked up five wins on the bounce, making it seven in total for 2009. Throttleman, Collins, attributed this latest victory to Powerboat P1’s fiercely competitive arena. “It’s great to be representing Powerboat P1 and showing all the US teams that we are equally as professional in Europe.
 
“We are still in our first full racing season, so to win here is a huge achievement. We are capable of overcoming most hurdles and racing in all conditions. The strength of the competition in Powerboat P1 has certainly showed us the right way to do things.”
 
The dominant Donzi duo edged out two chasing Fountains, including Global Warmer, piloted by P1 Radio commentator, Martin Sanborn, and owner, Dan Davies, to claim the spoils on day one.
 
Sanborn, who took the chequered flag in third place, said the reception given to all of the Powerboat P1 pilots has been “magnificent.” The voice of the Powerboat P1 World Championship series said: “All of the Powerboat P1 fraternity has been hanging out together and it’s been extremely rewarding for everyone involved. The reception from the Americans has been awesome!”
 
Elsewhere, Powerboat P1’s latest recruit, Michael Silfverberg, enjoyed his first taste of offshore powerboat racing, finishing fourth in the opening day’s Manufacturer Production 1 Class race. Silfverberg, “a natural driver and the new James Sheppard,” according to teammate and American Powerboat Association hall-of-famer, Nigel Hook, will be competing in next year’s Powerboat P1 World Championship Evolution Class as part of the Lucas Oil Scandinavian Offshore Challenge team.