F1 Powerboat World Championship

By Robert • Sept. 20, 2005

I was at the Powerboat Races last Sunday (3rd Round of the U.I.M. F1 World Championship) as a freelance photographer for FHM Magazine. I might better title this post – “A Muddy Mess and a Crash”. Morning rain turn the event site at Marina Bay into a swamp. Exhibitor’s tents seemed to scattered about with no rhyme or reason. The FHM tent was accessible either by cutting through the Fiat tent or by walking around the side of the encampment through the mud.

Still, it turned out to be quite an exciting day. After a restart caused by a boat with a faulty motor, Scott Gillman (Boat No. 1) and Guido Cappellini (Boat No. 43) were in the lead almost side-by-side for the next seven laps when Gillman finally took Cappellini by a nose as they approached the turn. Then suddenly with neither driver giving ground, the 8-time World Champion had no where to go except over the top of Gillman’s boat that went barrel-rolling violently to a stop upside down, while Cappellini ended his day with a violent barrel-roll in front of a horrified audience of thousands of spectators. Benefiting from the mishap was Italian Francesco Cantando (Boat No. 15) who won his first victory of the season. The native of Milan, Italy took home his 11th career win.

Note: For more photos click on the thumbnail or here. The crash sequence is here.

FHM MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER 2003 – TARA REID