Latest: 12:30 BST, May 31
Tomas Čermák (511) has posted the fastest T3 of the entire race: 14:56 at 192.9 km/h over 48km. The reason for his earlier timing silence is now clear – he was held in the Isola Serafini lock for 1 hour 44 minutes before the timed section began. Once released, the DAC F2 did exactly what it was built to do. He is now into T4, having left Torricella at 13:10 CET, and was 56th overall at that point – rising fast. His Coppa Montelera split is the one to watch. To put 192.9 km/h in context: Guido Cappellini averaged 207.26 km/h across the full 414km course when he set the outright race record in the 72nd Raid in 2025 – in an F1H2O-specification DAC. Čermák is in a Formula 2 DAC. Sala leads overall with 15/76 classified.
Update: 11:57 BST, May 31
Antonello Sala (15, Focchi/Mercury) leads the 73rd Raid Pavia-Venezia with a time of 2:03:23 at 127.89 km/h. His co-driver is Laura Manfredini. The race is not yet finished – 15 of 76 boats have been officially classified and faster times are still possible. Umberto Nordio (34) is second at +6:24. Robert McCarthy (90, GB) is 10th.
Update: 10:47 BST, May 31
Tomas Čermák (511) confirmed on the SportTraxx GPS tracker near Isola Pescaroli, well into T4 and closing on race organiser Giampaolo Montavoci (6). His FICR timing transponder is not registering at checkpoints. Robert Lockyer (25, RYA/GB) and American co-driver Christian McCauley are also racing, having entered the lock at 10:11 BST. Charlie Williams reports the last wave of boats at the Torricella fuel stop.
Update: 10:32 BST, May 31
Davide Borrini (124, Focchi/Mercury) records the fastest T4 of the day at 2:03:40. The Coppa Montelera lead changes: Tulliomaria Abbate (5, Tullio Abbate/Mercury) posts 27:31, the fastest Revere-Pontelagoscuro time so far, ahead of Andrea Gelmetti (38) at 27:42. Tomas Čermák entered the Isola Serafini lock at 10:00 BST, 13 seconds after his scheduled start.
Update: 10:15 BST, May 31
Mohamed Amin Zawali (64, Focchi/Suzuki) is the first boat through Revere, leading the course all morning. Robert McCarthy (90, OCRDA, GB) and co-driver Mark Power post the fastest Coppa Montelera time at that point: 29:49, equivalent to 110 km/h average over the 55km Revere-Pontelagoscuro section. Jason Briggs (73, Phantom 19 G) is through the timed sections with a T3 of 27:21.
What Is the Raid Pavia-Venezia?
The Raid Pavia-Venezia is the world’s longest inland powerboat race, run on the Po river. It is 97 years old. The 73rd edition covers 361 timed kilometres from San Nazzaro d’Ongina to the finish at Brondolo near Chioggia, with the prize-giving at the Arsenale di Venezia.
It is a staggered-start race: each class departs at a different time, slowest first and fastest last. The winner is the boat with the lowest total elapsed time across the three timed sections – not the first to cross the finish line. A slower boat that left at dawn can lead the classification, only to be overtaken by a faster boat that started hours later.
The Three Timed Sections
T3: Isola Serafini to Torricella di Sissa – 48km. T4: Torricella to Voltagrimana – 215km. Within T4, the Coppa Montelera is a special prize for the fastest average speed on the 55km Revere-Pontelagoscuro stretch. The finish is at Brondolo after a 20km non-timed transfer from Voltagrimana.
The 2026 Course Change
This year’s race started from San Nazzaro d’Ongina in the Piacenza province rather than from Pavia. The Ticino was 91 per cent below its historical April snowmelt average, making the traditional first sector unnavigable. San Nazzaro sits immediately upstream of the Isola Serafini lock, so the effective timed racing distance is unchanged.
The Isola Serafini Lock
Every boat in the race passes through the Isola Serafini lock before the timed section begins. The lock can only process a limited number of boats at once, so the fleet went through in groups – a first batch of 17 and a second of 22.
The Race
Starts ran from 06:30 BST for the slowest classes through to 10:00 BST for the fastest. Boats pass through the lock, then race the 263 timed kilometres to the finish.
Antonello Sala (15, Focchi/Mercury, FOLLIA RIB & POWERBOATS RACING TEAM ASD) leads with a total of 2:03:23. His T4 of 1:41:43 – covering 215km at an average of 127 km/h – is the fastest T4 of the race so far. His co-driver Laura Manfredini makes this a mixed-crew lead. Team-mate Umberto Nordio (34, Scanner/Mercury) is second, 6 minutes 24 seconds behind.
The Coppa Montelera
Named after Count Theo Rossi di Montelera, of the Martini & Rossi family, this prize goes to the fastest average speed over the 55km Revere-Pontelagoscuro section. Among classified boats, Sala leads with 28:01. Antonello Abbate (5) has posted 27:31 and Andrea Gelmetti (38) 27:42, but neither has yet been officially classified at the finish.
The British Contingent
Robert McCarthy (90, Bernico/Yamaha, OCRDA) and co-driver Mark Power are classified 10th overall with a time of 3:09:32. Their Coppa Montelera time of 29:49 is among the fastest recorded. Jason Briggs (73, Phantom 19 G / Mercury 115 Pro XS, BRPA) and Alex Goode are still racing, having posted a T3 of 27:21. Benjamin Holehouse (195, Phantom/Mercury, BPRC) is also on the water with a T3 of 24:18. Robert Lockyer (25, Skater/Mercury, RYA) entered the lock at 11:11 BST alongside American co-driver Christian McCauley and is racing in the later stages. Gordon McMath (717, Revenger/Mercury, OCRDA) is also on the water.
Tomas Čermák: The Formula 2 Wildcard
The most-watched boat of the day is number 511, a DAC F2 circuit racing hull entered by Slovak two-time F2 Endurance World Champion Tomas Čermák – the only circuit Formula 2 boat in the 73rd Raid. His test runs at San Nazzaro on Tuesday produced speeds above 200 km/h.
Čermák is racing. The SportTraxx GPS tracker confirmed him near Isola Pescaroli, well into T4, closing on race organiser Giampaolo Montavoci (6, Offshore Classe 3) who started 45 minutes ahead of him. The problem is his FICR timing transponder has not registered at any checkpoint beyond the lock. Unless the organisers record his times manually from the tracker data, he cannot be officially classified.
Current Classification: 15/76 Classified
Provisional. Race still in progress. Official results published at Brondolo at 18:00 CEST / 17:00 BST.
| Pos. | No. | Driver / Co-driver | Hull/Engine | T3 | T4 | Coppa Montelera | Total | Gap | Avg km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | Antonello Sala / Laura Manfredini | Focchi/Mercury | 21:40 | 1:41:43 | 28:01 | 2:03:23 | – | 127.89 |
| 2 | 34 | Umberto Nordio / Damiano Boscolo | Scanner/Mercury | 23:15 | 1:46:32 | 29:39 | 2:09:47 | +06:24 | 121.59 |
| 3 | 124 | Davide Borrini / Aldo Winkler | Focchi/Mercury | 28:24 | 2:03:40 | 32:37 | 2:32:04 | +28:41 | 103.77 |
| 4 | 666 | Wolfram Kittl / Ernst Zischin / Ernst Ortlieb | Cyclone/Mercury | 27:08 | 2:12:02 | 39:41 | 2:39:10 | +35:47 | 99.14 |
| 5 | 64 | Mohamed Amin Zawali | Focchi/Suzuki | 22:00 | 2:17:15 | 34:48 | 2:39:15 | +35:52 | 99.09 |
| 6 | 7 | Luca Tovaglieri / Claudio Andrea Tovaglieri | Carrera/Mercury | 31:52 | 2:17:22 | 35:06 | 2:49:14 | +45:51 | 93.24 |
| 7 | 27 | Mattia Dall’Oglio / Lucio Gilioli | Zaniboni/Mercury | 31:16 | 2:24:16 | 37:58 | 2:55:32 | +52:09 | 89.90 |
| 8 | 121 | Amedeo Lepre / Gregory Biancuzzi | Zaniboni/Mercury | 30:26 | 2:27:46 | 37:15 | 2:58:12 | +54:49 | 88.55 |
| 9 | 66 | Silvano Coatto / Claudio Spairani | Estilo/Selva | 32:14 | 2:35:08 | 43:34 | 3:07:22 | +1:03:59 | 84.22 |
| 10 | 90 | Robert McCarthy / Mark Power (GB) | Bernico/Yamaha | 24:25 | 2:45:07 | 29:49 | 3:09:32 | +1:06:09 | 83.26 |
| 11 | F6 | Tommaso Soncin | Focchi/Honda | 33:45 | 2:37:23 | 41:08 | 3:11:08 | +1:07:45 | 82.56 |
| 12 | 65 | Bernard Nash / Denis Scarpi / Christof Wondracek | Cantiere San Pietro/Mercury | 24:28 | 2:47:06 | 43:58 | 3:11:34 | +1:08:11 | 82.37 |
| 13 | F8 | Tommaso Pia | Focchi/Honda | 33:37 | 2:38:04 | 41:16 | 3:11:41 | +1:08:18 | 82.32 |
| 14 | 123 | Luca Caretto / Leonardo Marchiori | Tullio Abbate/Mercury | 27:01 | 2:50:02 | 33:32 | 3:17:03 | +1:13:40 | 80.08 |
| 15 | 444 | Pietro Scarpa / Alex Berni | Fletcher Arrowbeau/Mercury | 42:08 | 2:36:38 | 38:08 | 3:18:46 | +1:15:23 | 79.39 |
Full Raid Pavia-Venezia Coverage
All our reporting from the 73rd edition – entry list, previews and results.
Raid Pavia-Venezia on PBN
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
