Ukrainian Spirit and Seagull, two boats of Ukrainian ownership and Malta-built origin, took the 31st Key West World Championship by storm last weekend, winning both their respective categories on their first outing in powerboat racing in the United States.

The Key West Challenge was the seventh and last of the Super Boat International 2011 championship.

Sixty boats took part in Florida, spread in 12 different classes and the competitive programme was made up of nine outings over three days.

Ukrainian Spirit (P1-55), a 13-metre Chaudron Canopy 41 with twin inboard 800hp engines, featured in the Manufacturer Production 1 Class.

Following an excellent start on Day One of racing, where it won second place and 225 points, P1-55 suffered a dip on Day Two and had to retire after only one lap with engine trouble, securing only 164.50 points.

However on Day Three, ex-P1 world champions Ukrainian owner-throttleman Viktor Shemchuk and Maltese driver Aaron Ciantar, dominated all seven laps and added up another 500 points to their tally – winning their class with an accumulated total of 889.50.

Seagull (P3-43), another Chaudron-built 13-metre boat with twin 600hp inboard engines, featured in the Manufacturer Production 3 Class in Florida.

It had an all-Ukrainian crew made up of Oleksiy Chendekov (pilot), Andriy Lysenko (throttleman) and Dmytro Gerasymenko (navigator).

Starting with a second placing on Day One and earning 225 points, P3-43 went on to dominate the rest of the programme, gaining a first place on both Day Two and Day Three of racing and adding 250 and 500 points respectively to their favour.

In the end, they won their class with a total of 975 points.

Ciantar and his Chaudron entourage are expected back in Malta tomorrow.

Super Boat racing in the US is sanctioned by the Super Boat International Productions, Inc.