Victory for Conam Yachts

Aaron Ciantar has finally fulfilled his career ambition of winning on 'home waters' when yesterday he steered the Conam Yachts boat to an emphatic victory in the opening leg of the Malta Grand Prix of the Sea.

It was a great show of force from Ciantar and team owner and throttleman Angelo Tedeschi.

Despite the difficult weather conditions, they were still fast enough to outclass all opposition and win the 13-lap Endurance Race to consolidate their leadership in the Supersport class.

Due to the strong winds that hit the Sliema coastline yesterday, only four boats managed to complete the race.

Tedeschi's Mercury-powered Chaudron 41 was home over two minutes ahead of VoomVoom.com who snatched second place from Baia High Performance in the final lap of the race. Silverline Buzzi Bullet was fourth.

Spirit of Portomaso, the other Chaudron boat in competition, failed to make it to the starting line due to gearbox failure. The same fate fell to Phoenix TV who struggled with engine problems while Offshore Rana team and Big Sergio retired half-way through the distance.

"It was a very difficult race," a jubilant Ciantar told reporters at the Valletta Waterfront.

"The sea conditions were very rough. We were racing in high winds that at times were blowing at Force 7. In those conditions you need to be cautious and adopt a good strategy to survive the whole distance.

"Our plan was to complete the first two laps at a very strong pace and then try to administer our advantage to save the boat for Sunday's Sprint. Everything went according to plan even though in the last couple of laps the boat was almost submerged in high waves. In the end, we only had to preserve our lead till the finish line.

"I have been trying to win in Malta for the past five years. So, it's a great feeling to win in front of your family and friends. Hopefully, we can make it two in a row here."

Ciantar's excellent showing for Conam Yachts have certainly caught the eye of many, particularly Tedeschi who revealed plans to start talks with the Maltese pilot and offer him a new contract.

"Aaron has again been brilliant today," Tedeschi said.

"I think that he is the best driver on the circuit at present. The way he tackles the curves in difficult conditions like we had today is awesome. We form a very strong team together. I don't want to risk losing him to a rival team and in the coming weeks we'll be discussing a new contract.

"We are also planning to build a new Chaudron boat and switch to Evolution in the next couple of years.

Charlie Ciantar has already started working on this project. It sounds ambitious but we should do it by 2010."

In the Evolution Class, the honours went to Kiton Outerlimits. GFN Gibellato were second.

Today, the Supersport Sprint gets underway at 11.30 a.m with the Evolution Sprint scheduled for 4 in the afternoon.