8:00 AM Mon 28 Sep 2009 GMT
'The main reason for our appearance was because of the commitment Asif has shown to the sport, a commitment which I have seldom seen.'
Those are the words of Nigel Hook, speaking of Powerboat P1 CEO Asif Rangoonwala, when questioned whether the thought of not competing in the final Grand Prix of the Sea in Sicily had crossed his mind.
Hook's SV-43 Outerlimits hull barrel-rolled in a 100mph-plus accident in Gothenburg at the start of August which wrote off the boat, an incident which thankfully saw both the British-born driver and co-pilot Joe Sgro emerge relatively unscathed.
Despite the loss of the boat, Hook went to great lengths to prepare the Outerlimits SV-40 boat that served him so well during the 2008 season.
'I am so glad we went to Sicily. We had a reciprocating commitment to Asif as well as our sponsors Lucas Oil. Furthermore, we found one of the best race course I have competed on, definitely the best we have had in Powerboat P1 this year.
'As well as the racing, we were very impressed with the hospitality shown to us by the local Sicilians who were so welcoming to us - from the restaurants, to the hotels, to the man on the street.'
It was perhaps unsurprising that the #77 Lucas Oil Outerlimits never mounted a serious challenge for podium positions in Syracuse given the tribulations encountered by the team the month previous, a fact Hook bemoans.
'We used the boat from last year but did not really have the right set-up for Sicily. We did not have the drive ratio so we had a very fast boat which was performing poorly, which was a real shame.
'The conditions in Sunday's race would have actually suited it but we did not have the correct gear ratio. To be honest, just finishing the Sprint race was a huge accomplishment - we went to Sicily hoping to perform and that's exactly what we did.'
Lucas Oil Outerlimits ended the Evolution championship in fourth place overall following #33 Furnibo's win and the retirement of Hook's boat in the final race of the 2009 season.
Joe Sgro has spoken about the #77 Lucas Oil Outerlimits life-threatening crash in Gothenburg for the first time.
The 55-year-old from Bellmore, New York, told New York Newsday that he was 'in God's hand's' following the horror accident on the tenth lap of Sunday's Endurance race in Sweden.
'The #33 Furnibo boat was in clean water,' Sgro recalls, 'and I didn't see these three waves. The boat skipped sideways and did a little hop. The wave popped it in the air, and third wave grabbed the boat and rolled it over.'
Sgro, who was taken to hospital as a precaution following the accident, added: 'Once the boat went off axis, I was in God's hands. I was a little dazed and confused.'
Sgro has since competed in the Battle of the Bay race in Patchogue on 23 August and reported 'no residual fears' - subsequently winning the P3 class race in a 32-foot Activator made by Outerlimits.
www.powerboatp1.com/
by P1 media
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