NEWSLETTER © Paolo Maggi
From left to right: Dr. Raffaele Chiulli, UIM President, Engineer Marco Casiraghi and Gerard van de Schaar, driver of the wiining boat and speed record owner.
UIM Newsletter July 2015
THE UIM BACKS SOLAR1 MONTE-CARLO CUP
For its second edition, the Solar1 SUMMARY –Monte-Carlo Cup, placed under • The UIM backs the Solar1 the UIM green • Monte-Carlo Cup patronage, saw • 8th Edition of the Venezia the participation • Monte-Carlo, UIM Special Event of 16th boats which have been • UIM Photo competition designed and • 2015-Edition built by enginee• New category of entry created ring students from six countries across Europe and Russia, keen to promote solar power and demonstrate its viability and performance. Powered only by the sun, some of these solar dragonflies can reach speeds up to 25 knots and have unlimited autonomy in the sunshine. The event, organized by the Yacht Club de Monaco, comprised three challenges: an endurance race of 30 laps around a one nautical mile circuit on the open sea in the bay of Monaco, a test of maneuverability on a slalom course round buoys set in the Marina of the Yacht Club de Monaco, and one-on-one speed duels. These challenges, based on those organized in the early 20th century at powerboat meetings, offered excellent opportunities to showcase innovation and to test these
boats of the future, divided into the two categories “A Class” and “Open Class”. The 2015 Solar1 – Monte-Carlo Cup, saw a double success of the “Dutch Solar Boat Team”, already winner of the 2014 edition, retaining their title in the two categories. A highlight of this year’s edition was the introduction of the International Yacht Club de Monaco Speed record for Solar Boats, in collaboration with the UIM, the goal being to establish a “benchmark” record which can then be challenged on other race areas throughout the world. It’s a speed record set over a distance of 1/8 of a nautical mile, and Gerard van der Schaar, driving for Clafis Private Energy Solar Team, is the man who set the first record in a time of 18.753 seconds, a speed of 23.996 knots. To top off this exquisite event, the Solar1 – Monte-Carlo Cup received the surprise visit from HSH the Sovereign Prince Albert II of Monaco, President of the Yacht Club de Monaco, who was out on the water to encourage the competitors, confirming his commitment to promoting renewable energy sources. UIM President Dr. Raffaele Chiulli attended the event alongside Marco Casiraghi, who is leading the Solar1 Monte-Carlo Cup initiative. “The UIM is aware of the progress that still has to be made in terms of environment and this Solar1 Monte-Carlo Cup is an excellent testing ground for this.” stated Dr. Chiulli.
About the Union Internationale Motonautique The UIM is the world governing body for all Powerboating activities. It is fully recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is a member of the Association of the IOC Recognized International Sports Federations (ARISF) and of SportAccord for whom the UIM President serves respectively as President and Vice President. The UIM has almost 60 affiliated National Federations. Circuit, Offshore, Pleasure Navigation and Aquabike are among the main disciplines. The UIM has signed a Cooperation Agreement with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to further its range of environmental initiatives, share expertise and work together for “greening” the Sport. UIM - 1, avenue des Castelans - Stade Louis II - MC 98000 Monaco - Tél. +377 92 05 25 22 - www.uimpowerboating.com
UIM NEWS JULY 2015
8th Edition of the UIM special event Venezia Monte-Carlo
The 8th edition of the Venezia – MonteCarlo long distance Endurance Race concluded this week-end in the Principality of Monaco and saw the triumph of the Team formed by Gabbiani-Nicholson-Lhurmann, after 1415 miles and 12 days of competition. The race itself, a UIM Special Event, virtually concluded in Civitavecchia, and the remaining distance to Monte-Carlo was covered as a transfer over two legs from Civitavecchia to Viareggio and from there to Monte-Carlo, respecting thus the international agreement for the protection of the cetaceans of the Pelagos Sanctuary and their habitat. "We are very proud of this Tour of Italy in blue along our coast line" declared Raffaele Chiulli, President of the UIM. The overall winners, Team Flotta Italia, were even more satisfied: "We are happy. When we have concluded the first leg in Rimini, we were at first very surprised; our boat has not given any
problems and it ran smoothly, but the other ones were faster than us. Reliability has done the difference against stronger boats." The competition has been long and demanding. "From the physical point of view it has also been a great challenge, not least due to the duration of every leg. From Viareggio to Monte-Carlo 135 miles had to be covered. It's a very challenging competition. For example from Formia to Civitavecchia the sea was very unstable and it was very difficult to find the right balance between speed and stability." The Venezia - Monte-Carlo Event also offered the stage for organizing the first two races of the 2015 Class1 /V1 World Powerboat Championship which saw the victory of Team Abu Dhabi who had wrapped up a near-perfect start to their 2015 title challenge with Gary Ballough and John Tomlinson taking their second win in race 2 in Salerno. “This has been a fantastic few days for Team Abu Dhabi and a perfect way to start the season,” said team spokesman Salem Al-Remeithi. “The team is very focused and we really feel we can win the Championship this year.” The American duo took full advantage of the pole position and crossed the finish line ahead of Victory’s resurgent
Arif Al Zaffain and Nadir bin Hendi who had qualified in fourth position. Miles Jennings and Giovanni Carpitella brought “T-Bone Station” home in third, after a second place in qualifying, ahead of the second Abu Dhabi Team, while rookie Niclas Johansson and Christian Zaborowski in “Energima Zabo R” ended up fifth. This result puts Team Abu Dhabi’s Gary Ballough and John Tomlinson at the top of the Championship standings on a maximum 40 points, with Abu Dhabi 5 and T-Bone station tied in second spot with 24 points. In the V1 Category, Chaudron’s Aaron Ciantar and Dominique Martini turned the tables on pole-sitters and race 1 winners “RG87 Karelpiu” to take their first win, with Vandyshev-Bertels’ “Bernico New Star” finishing third. The renewed international vocation of this competition has been a great success: "At the arrival of every leg we have been welcomed with enthusiasm and curiosity. This is a winning combination that has involved lots of undertakings that operate in the nautical industry. And not only: Street Art, debates, enogastronomy, which is very significant in this important Expo2015 year." explained Fiorella de Septis, President of the Organizing Committee.
UIM PHOTO COMPETITION 2015 EDITION - NEW CATEGORY OF ENTRY CREATED In view of the next edition of the UIM Photo Competition, which will open for entry at the beginning of December 2015, we have created a new category besides the existing ones in order to allow wider participation and to also offer an UIM Award to photographs taken at racing activities not listed on the UIM Calendar. The usual existing categories (Circuit racing - Aquabike Class Pro - Offshore racing - Endurance racing Racing atmosphere composition - Retouched category - Pleasure navigation) will remain as they are and stay restricted to events listed on the UIM Calendar. The new category “Open” will assemble photographs from any Powerboating activity outside the UIM Calendar, in particular from national events. The 2015 Powerboating season is in full swing and we look forward to receiving fantastic pictures in December, reflecting a passionate 2015 season! UIM - 1, avenue des Castelans - Stade Louis II - MC 98000 Monaco - Tél. +377 92 05 25 22 - www.uimpowerboating.com