King of Shaves, the Fountain-built boat of Briton's James Sheppard and Craig Wilson made a dream start to its life in Powerboat P1 with a debut win in the Evolution class of the Italian Grand Prix of the Sea. Taking the lead on the second lap from the Italian OSG boat of Giancarlo Cangiano and Giovanni Carpitella, the experienced pairing skimmed across the surface of the Bay of Naples, leaving the Italian boats Fainplast and OSG battling for the runners-up places with Austrian Wettpunkt and Lucas Oil-Outerlimits.

By the halfway stage King of Shaves had built a commanding lead of over half a minute but that comfort zone was not to last as Wettpunkt.com of Hannes Bohinc, Miles Jennings and Ed Williams- Hawkes, found its rhythm after a relatively slow start. At the chequered flag the lead had been whittled down to less than ten seconds.

Nineteen boats started the race, providing a dramatic spectacle for the large crowds packed along the shoreline who were treated to further drama with overtaking, retirements — including the third placed Metamarine craft of Fainplast — and a flip! This happened on lap five as OSG, battling for position with Wettpunkt, hooked 360 degrees before flipping onto its side. It was a heart-stopping moment followed by a huge act of sportsmanship as both Wettpunkt and the American Lucas Oil-Outerlimits team stopped to monitor the situation and respond to any emergency that might unfold. Thankfully, both pilots emerged unscathed although wet and shaken and both Wettpunkt and Outerlimits were able to continue racing. Wettpunkt finished second and Outerlimits finished third.

SuperSport, the highly competitive production class, once again proved to be intensely competitive and full of surprises. The dominant boat was Roscoli Hotels Roma with Neapolitan Angelo Tedeschi using his local knowledge to good effect, ably supported by Fabio Magnani and Ugo Pellegrino. The win has put Team Racing Project at the top of the World Championship standings. Behind them pre-event favourites ExtremeBoat suffered engine sensor problems and the FPT-powered Sunseeker with steering difficulties.

It was a fast, tough race that took its toll on many of the boats although accomplished performances from Buzzi Bullet, Chaudron and the Hustler of Team VoomVoom saw them amass valuable championship points, finishing in second, third and fourth place respectively.

Tomorrows shorter "Sprint" race will take place on the same course, starting at 12:30pm local time, its outcome will determine final positions in the Powerboat P1 Italian Grand Prix of the Sea.