THE JULY 1^st Powerboat P1 German Grand Prix of the Sea saw another victory for British Chinese Martin Lai.

Lai was delighted with his team's third placed podium victory on the special day which coincided with the 10^th Anniversary of Hong Kong's Return to China. The throttleman and owner of Sun Lik Beer said: “This double celebration is great for the Chinese community and makes me very proud to be Chinese.”

Large crowds watched the Roscioli Hotels Roma boat win in the Powerboat P1 SuperSport class after time penalties demoted Britain's Buzzi Bullet and the Chinese entry, Sun Lik Beer, from initial first and second positions.

Until the penalties were confirmed for breaking safety speed limits, the second place battle between the two front-running teams, Martin Lai and Andreas Chalkiopoulos in Sun Lik Beer and Angelo Tedeschi and Fabio Magnani in Roscioli Hotels Roma, had kept the crowds gripped throughout the rally.

Earlier, the event was halted after a fatal collision in the start-lap of Saturday's first round race. The second round went ahead as a mark of respect for the much-loved deceased pilot, Sergio Carpentieri, on Sunday after a vote by the P1 teams.

Lai agreed with the P1 teams’ decision to race after the fatal accident. “It was right to cancel the race when the accident happened but Sergio was a keen racer and he would have not wanted us to stop the race completely,” he said.

Lai, an experienced racer and successful businessman from Exeter, made his P1 debut last year taking third place in the Supersport class and awarded the pilot's Pilot of the Year.

Currently ranked 6th in the championship with 110 points, Lai and Chalkiopoulos have a challenge ahead at the next Grand Prix of the Sea in August 25 - 26 at Cowes, United Kingdom.

"We used a lot of tactics in the way the boat cornered and had a great result today," said Lai. "I am confident Sun Lik Beer will make the podium again in Cowes."

The UIM Powerboat P1 World Championship is an offshore endurance racing series for both petrol and diesel-powered crafts, with categories in Evolution class (prototype) and Supersport (standard production).

The high-speed sport has attracted a television audience of up to 100 million viewers over the past four years, with an estimated 300,000 people at a Powerboat P1 event in 2006.

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