The impressive Chaudron powerboat was unveiled yesterday afternoon at the Portomaso Hilton.
The all-Maltese boat will be manned by the brother and sister team of Aaron and Audrien Ciantar who will be the driver and navigator respectively.
The inauguration was made by Mr George Fenech of the Hilton and Tourism Minister Dr Francis Zammit Dimech.
The boat, painted in an impressive yellow, took five months to construct. The Ciantar family, owners of Chaudron, started building the boat in January.
They are expecting to fare much better than last year, when they finished third overall.
The powerboat championship gets underway with the Malta Grand Prix next weekend.
Team Portomaso Chaudron
Fact Sheet
The crew
Name: Aaron Ciantar
Date of Birth: 03-03-1980
Role in team – Pilot
Profession – Boat Builder
Boats are his babies, and he has been associated with them since childhood for Chaudron Boats is the family business in Malta for Aaron Ciantar.
He recalls being only eight the first time he took to the water at the helm of a 16-footer 30HP boat. Yet, he had his initial taste the P1 ecstasy in the first Grand Prix of Malta in May 2004.
Since then Aaron raced eight Grand Prix in two seasons where Team Chaudron was aware of their limitations with regard to the rest of the fleet both in experience and equipment.
“It was just like comparing a speedboat to a racing powerboat”. Yet, in 2005 at Cowes the team got its first placing while at the end of season 2005 they secured a third place overall in the Supersport Class.
Aaron, who excels also in Car Drag Racing, is enthusiastically looking forward to this year’s championship where, with a new and better equipped boat, he is simply aiming for the number one spot on the podium.
Name: Audrien Ciantar
Date of birth: 08-12-1978
Role in team – Navigator
Profession – Boat Builder
Audrien’s involvement in powerboat racing came as a natural continuation of her life in the family boating business administered by her father Charlie, who is also team manager.
Like her brother Aaron, boats have always been her profession and passion too. Being the only female crew on the circuit gave her no inferiority complex whatsoever.
On the contrary she looks at her baptism of fire, in 2004 at the Grand Prix of Sardinia, with great pride. Audrien and Aaron make an excellent team both in racing and at work.
“Well, even as youngsters we used to make up a good partnership playing football with the other kids in our street”.
While powerboat racing is her favourite pastime, Audrien finds time for music and cinema where she finds the voice of Madonna and charms of Spanish actor Antonio Banderas simply adorable.
When it comes to P1 venues she is undoubtedly a patriot as her preference is her native Malta but her next pick is Travenünde in Germany.
Team Manager: Charles Ciantar
UIM Powerboat P1
World Championship 2006
Grand Prix of MALTA (Valletta) 13th and 14th May
Grand Prix of ITALY (Anzio) 3rd and 4th June
GERMAN Grand Prix (Travemünde) 1st and 2nd July
BRITISH Grand Prix (Cowes) 26th and 27th August
MEDITERRANEAN Grand Prix (Gallipoli) 16th and 17th September
SPANISH Grand Prix (TBA) 30th September and 1st October