Fresh from his team's victory at the Naples Powerboat P1 Grand Prix, Fountain Worldwide/King of Shaves Team Manager Chris Witty chatted to Crash.net about his foray into the world of Powerboat P1 racing.
Q:
Knowing your motor sport pedigree, why P1 and not F1?
Chris Witty:
I did my stint in
F1 back in the early 80s with Toleman. It was great starting from the bottom and working our way forward. Okay, so we didn't quite win a Grand Prix, but when you had people in the team like Rory Byrne, Pat Symonds and
Ayrton Senna, to name but three, it had pretty good pedigree. Much of that much is down to the team's creator, Alex Hawkridge.
Q:
What got you started in powerboat racing?
CW:
It was in 1979 when I just started working at Toleman after I left Autosport. The Toleman Group bought Cougar Marine - one of the pioneers in offshore race boat design - and my first event was the World Championships in Venice that year, which was won by a Cougar hull. After that I used to spend one week at a Grand Prix and the next at a powerboat event, looking after the PR and sponsorship programmes. Talk about life in the fast lane! It was around this time that I got to know Steve Curtis, the eight-time UIM Class 1 World Offshore champion and son of the owner of Cougar Marine, and we've become good friends.
Q:
How does it compare to the other forms of motor sport you've been involved in?
CW:
It has a different appeal insofar as some people prefer going fast on water, some om tarmac or gravel. But the thrill is the same: it's all about winning with an engine behind you. Powerboat racing is what F1 racing was like 25 years ago. Maybe that's why I like it!
Q:
How does it feel to be at the sharp end of the championship having taken victory in your first race of the season?
CW:
It's a feeling of inner contentment. You look at the rules, assess what you think will be a winning combination and then you start putting it all together. The right engines, the right hull, the right drive system, the right mechanics, the right race crew. For me, the most important facet to this whole programme was persuading Paul Ray, CEO of Ilmor Engineering Inc in the USA, to support my idea to broaden awareness of their new Marine division throughout Europe by competing, rather than advertising to a market that speaks 23 different languages!
Q:
How much testing time did you have before entering the series?
CW:
The race boat first ran at the Fountain factory in Washington, North Carolina on Friday, April 20. I think it had about an hour's running before being loaded and sent off to the docks. It arrived in Naples still shrink-wrapped!
