There was no surprise at the top of the PowerPole results with #44 Conam Yachts recording a nine-second advantage in the SuperSport class to make them firm favourites in their home waters for this weekend’s Malta Grand Prix of the Sea.
It was very much a case of a successful ‘Italian Job’, with the top three positions being filled by boats flying the Italian flag. #38 Baia High Performance took second place , two seconds ahead of #59 Saho.
Local sports star Aaron Ciantar, piloting for reigning world champion team Conam Yachts, said: ”It was a good afternoon’s work. We didn’t push over the 80 mark and could have gone faster, so I’m delighted with our convincing win. Barring bad luck tomorrow, I’m confident we can repeat the performance.”
In the Evolution class, #60 GFN Gibellato did it again, securing their third consecutive PowerPole victory. Just tenths of a second separated the experienced Italian duo Marco Pennesi and Giampaolo Montavoci from reigning world champions #99 Fountain Worldwide 1st4boats.com, who came home in second place.
#69 HoneyParty.com, who are hoping to add reliability to their undoubted speed this weekend, finished third.
Tomorrow’s Malta Grand Prix of the Sea, the third of this season’s seven Powerboat P1 World Championship events, starts at 11.30am local time (10:30 GMT) with the SuperSport Endurance race, with the Evolution boats setting off at 16:00 local time (15:00 GMT).