Raymarine ambassador Shelley Jory made her mark in the first of the 2008 P1 Powerboat series by leading the first race, and coming second overall in the Italian Grand Prix of the Sea standings. Jory was racing for the first time in the Evolution class in her new boat, #77 Lucas Oil, competing with team owner and throttleman Nigel Hook at the new venue of San Benedetto del Tronto in Italy. Having led the first race, they were pipped to the post in the Endurance event by the reigning champions, and scored third place in the Sprint race.

Jory announced in 2007 that she was moving up from her award winning success in Honda 225 racing in Team Raymarine, and has now become the first woman to race in the prestigious P1 series. Supporting her move to P1, Jory continues as a product ambassador for marine electronics manufacturer Raymarine, with her new boat #77 Lucas Oil fully equipped with the latest integrated navigation and communications products. Raymarine has also been announced as the Official Technical Supplier for Navigation Technical Control and Marine Communications Equipment for the P1 Powerboats 2008 world championship season.

The 2008 championships sees a record number of competitions embarking on 14 rounds of racing held across three continents. This year also welcomes a number of new destinations for the races, with France, Tunisia, Spain and Bahrain joining the popular locations of Valetta in Malta and Portimao in Portugal.

Fiona Pankhurst, International Marketing Communications Manager at Raymarine said; “It’s a great result for Shelley in her first race in P1 and Raymarine is delighted to have supported her move into the exciting world of P1 Powerboats. P1 runs an exhilarating, action-packed series of world class events, taking us into the heartland of some of our major international markets, and for the first time, into the Middle East in Bahrain. The nature of the Powerboat P1 World Championship means it is sure to appeal to audiences all over the world, and it is great to have the Raymarine family onboard.”

Powerboat P1 2008 calendar
May 9-11 Italy, San Benedetto del Tronto
May 23-25 France, Marseille
June 6-8 Malta, Valletta
July 11-13 Tunisia, Hammamet
August 23-24 UK, Cowes-Torquay-Cowes
*September 12-14 Spain, Vigo
September 26-28 Portugal, Portimao
October 23-25 Bahrain
* non-championship race