Garda Powerboat Race Highlights from the Seventh International Meeting

Golfo di Maderno, 12 p.m. Sun at the zenith colors the waters of Garda with silver. The thermometer shows 23 degrees Celsius. Suddenly, the deafening roar of watercraft tears through the Sunday quiet.

Gathered along the natural grandstand of the lakeside promenade, thousands of spectators watch the start of the Formula 1000, which opens the challenge of the seventh Garda International Powerboat Meeting. The outboard motors literally fly over the water at 140 km/h.

The categories and speeds in competition

Throughout the afternoon, increasingly powerful categories take to the water, including Formula 3, T 3000, and Formula 2. These behemoths are equipped with experimental engines of 2000 cc, capable of reaching 200 km/h – a crazy speed over water.

To cover the scheduled 32 kilometers, the F2 boats consume approximately 50 liters of unleaded gasoline. The organization runs smoothly, with a team of 60 people including race judges, technicians, and medical personnel.

The competition and the trophy

The sporting significance of the event is top-tier: at Maderno, Italian titles across various categories were awarded. But the anticipation was all for the Coppa dell’Oltranza, the grand finale that featured the trophy designed by d’Annunzio. It was meant for «those who place and will place beyond life the marks of their lightning-fast fire».

The “perpetual challenge” race took place from 4 p.m. on a 3-kilometer oval. The novelty was that this year, the race reset previous records, starting anew. No speed record was to be broken, then.

«Cappellini’s record, with an average of 176.231 km/h – explains Remigio Telasio, the event’s mastermind – was finally unreachable». Nevertheless, the d’Annunzian formula remained «evergreen», capable of capturing lively public interest.