#28 Blue Shaft throttleman Federico Montanari has declared himself satisfied with the progress of his team's boat in 2009.

Alongside team-mates Gianbattista Gabriele and Alfredo Zanardo, Montanari has helped his team secure 302 points in their maiden Powerboat P1 season - registering points in all but one of the races.

"At the start we knew that this season would be very hard as it is our first Powerboat P1 season," says Montanari. "We knew that racing alongside Stefano Acanfora, Renato Guidi, Aaron Ciantar, Angelo Tedeschi would not make it simple for us.

"But I sincerely believe that we have run better than we initially anticipated considering that the boat is slower than the others. Our boat is heavier and has less acceleration in comparison to our rivals."

The Neapolitan-born Montanari admitted he is slightly surprised his Blue Shaft hull is ahead of its Team Al and Al rival #22 Big Sergio in the SuperSport standings.

"They have run faster than us and they have more experience than us. I have to say that we are not in front of them on merit but because they have had some problems.

"Our ambition is to improve our speed and acceleration so perhaps, with a bit of luck, we can compete for a third place. We are really excited and optimistic for the Grand Prix of the Sea in Gothenburg and are anxious to test our boat with its improvements."

Blue Shaft sit 31 points behind #26 Team SW1 Capital in the SuperSport standings after three rounds of the 2009 Powerboat P1 World Championship.