#99 Fountain Worldwide 1st4boats.com team boss and throttleman Craig Wilson and pilot James Sheppard attended last weekend’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards show at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, as they continued their celebration of their back-to-back Evolution class championships.

Wilson and Sheppard were making their second appearance at the event, having attended the awards ceremony for Britain’s top sporting stars after their rookie title success in 2007.

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year  – which attracted the attention of 6.6-million viewers with its live broadcast – is a major draw for Britain’s sporting elite. This year the likes of Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton and Team GB’s Olympic stars, including champion swimmer Rebecca Adlington and triple gold-winning cyclist Chris Hoy, attended the event to commemorate their success.

“The atmosphere inside the arena was amazing,” Wilson said. “As you can imagine with so much British sporting success this year, there was an incredibly upbeat atmosphere.

“Being in a room with champions and winners from well-known sports all around the world reminds you how important the status ‘world championship’ is for Powerboat P1. And being at an event like this adds even more prestige, especially having won Evolution-class titles back-to-back and won the World Championship event in Key West in Florida.

“All-in-all, it was a great night, and well worth the trip over from Florida. Doing things like this is something that James and I both enjoy, and it was an absolute pleasure and honour to be there this year.”