The first of the five stages planned for the 2024 Italian Watercraft Championship will take place in the waters of Naples next May 3-5. The Naples Grand Prix will be held under the auspices of the Italian Powerboat Federation, and is organized by Salvatore Babo’s A.S.D. Jet Ski Family Racing Team. The Neapolitan stage will have as its stage one of the most characteristic views of the Parthenopean city: the Lungomare Caracciolo, with the stretch of water in front of the Rotonda Diaz beach.
The race weekend will begin on Friday, May 3, with race course set-up, registration and all scrutineering for the various classes and categories. As many as 23 classes will compete: Runabout F1, Runabout F1 Veteran, Runabout F2, Runabout F4, Runabout F4 Veteran, Runabout F4 Female, Runabout F4 Female Veteran, Runabout Novice. Youth Spark 12-14, Youth Spark 15-18. Ski F1, Ski F1 Veteran, Ski F2, Ski F4, Ski Open, Ski Superjet , Youth Ski 12-14, Youth Ski 15-18. Freestyle Pro, Freestyle Rookie. Endurance F1, Endurance F2, Endurance F3.
The competition program
On the afternoon of Friday, May 3, at 4 p.m., the weekend will begin with Mototherapy, which will give children with autism the opportunity to experience a circuit ride on jet skis. The activity is carried out in collaboration with the association “We Can APS” under the moral patronage of the Childhood and Adolescence Authority of the Campania Region.
On Saturday, May 4 in the morning – 9:15 a.m. – free practice will begin, while from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. there will be the first heats of the race. On Saturday afternoon – at 3 p.m. – there will instead be the second part of the races.
On Sunday, May 5, the second day of competition will start early with free practice at 9 a.m., while the second heats will be held between 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. and between 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. At the end of all races, awards will be given to the stage winners.
Italian Powerboat Federation President Vincenzo Iaconianni commented on the stage as follows, “The Italian Watercraft Championship opens for the second year in a row with the Naples stage in the most prestigious and highly usable venue for the public in front of Via Caracciolo. This year the Italian Watercraft Championship will consist of five stages, after the prestigious start in Naples, it will touch other important locations in Italy: Chioggia, Ancona, Santa Cesarea and then conclude in Fiumicino with the last round. To consider the continuous qualitative increase of pilots, especially in youth categories, and those that the Federation considers and manages as preparatory, I believe that the race in Naples and then the continuation of the other stages of the Championship, will be a great success, far greater than the previous year, in a project that every year brings our sport and our Federation and watercraft to a better quality.”
FIM Watercraft Commission President Giorgio Viscione added: “Championship 2024 more interesting than ever, finally the Italian Powerboat Federation has deliberated a calendar of 5 races that will certainly bring Watercraft back to the center of all powerboat sports. It starts with this first race in the heart of Naples where there will be lots of drivers and an audience of thousands. Also in May, we then finally return to racing in Chioggia, a place where for years the most important and the most spectacular race of Watercraft the King of Diga, which has not been run for a few years. It was contested in Sottomarina di Chioggia in the province of Venice, which is one of the most important hamlets in the Venetian lagoon. In June, the championship will stop in Ancona. After a long stop in which two World Championship competitions will be held one in Olbia and the other in Albania, in September the C.I. returns to Santa Cesarea in Salento, a beautiful place, we end then, also this year in the city of Fiumicino, which in 2023 also saw the presence of Andrea Abodi, the Minister for Sports and Youth. Registrations for this 2024 edition have also skyrocketed, with more than 150 riders registered. The youth is becoming more and more solid and confirmed, so much so that we are also filling the senior classes of riders coming out of our nursery.”
The next stages of the 2024 Italian Watercraft Championship.
- Chioggia (VE) | May 18-19
- Ancona | June 8-9
- Santa Cesarea (LE) | September 7-8.
- Fiumicino (RM) | Sept. 21-22
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