Giacomo Sacchi Continues Abbate Legacy

Monégasque powerboat racer Giacomo Sacchi made his UIM E1 World Championship debut in Lagos, Nigeria, stepping in as reserve pilot for Team Miami alongside Patricia Pita Gago. The appointment came as regular Team Miami pilot Erik Stark competed for Team Abu Dhabi in the UIM F1H2O World Championship.

The event marked Sacchi’s first competitive outing in electric powerboat racing, a significant departure from his established UIM F2 career where he has accumulated podium finishes and pole positions since his World Endurance Championship debut in 2015.

Adapting to Electric Racing

The transition from combustion-powered F2 boats to the all-electric RaceBird presented unique challenges. It differed substantially from what Sacchi had encountered throughout his circuit racing career, particularly the shared boat arrangement with a teammate.

It is a different format to what I am used to, especially having a teammate with which you share the boat but it was quite straightforward once you get in the race weekend.

His preparation included testing with Proto2 on Lake Maggiore and the London show run, providing valuable seat time before the competitive Lagos weekend. On the water, Sacchi demonstrated the smooth, controlled approach that has characterised his F2 racing, adapting quickly to the RaceBird’s handling characteristics.

The Lagos weather conditions, whilst warm and humid, proved manageable.

The weather wasn’t that bad; it was warm but nothing too extreme. Especially as you have the fan in the boat which I am not used to, a fan that brings in air from the outside.

Lagos Results and Future Plans

In the Place Race Final, Sacchi finished ahead of fellow F2 racer Andre Solvang by over a minute, though he failed to progress through the main final race. The result left him reflecting on the competitive nature of the series rather than dwelling on disappointment.

Yes for sure when you don’t achieve good results you are not happy. But I think it is more the competitive side rather than the disappointment.

Whether he will compete at the final round in Biscayne Bay, Miami, remains uncertain. With the racing season concluded, his focus has shifted to preparation for 2026.

The F2 Foundation

Sacchi’s credentials in UIM F2 speak for themselves. Italian F2 Champion in 2022, he took victory at the Portuguese Grand Prix that same year from pole position. His world championship results demonstrate consistent competitiveness: fourth in 2020 and 2023, fifth in 2022 and 2025, seventh in 2024.

His World Endurance Championship record began strongly with second place in the F4/S3 category in 2015, followed by third the following year. In 2021, he secured third in the F2 World Endurance Championship before focusing primarily on the sprint format.

The 2023 season brought another pole position at the Lithuanian Grand Prix, whilst 2024 saw him claim second at the Portuguese Grand Prix II. These results have established him as a consistent front-runner in the UIM F2 World Championship, though the ultimate goal remains clear.

Yes of course the objective is to first win more F2 races and then try to move on to F1.

Legacy and Innovation

The name Sacchi carries significant weight in powerboat racing and nautical construction. As grandson of Tullio Abbate, the legendary Italian boat builder and offshore racer, he represents the third generation of a family deeply embedded in maritime performance.

Tullio Abbate’s reputation extended beyond construction. His collaboration with Ayrton Senna in 1993 produced the Senna Off-Shore 42, a boat that combined extreme performance with purpose. The project, conceived when Abbate and Senna met at the Monaco Grand Prix, aimed to create what Senna described as “the most beautiful and fastest of all.” The boat achieved 80 knots top speed, intentionally limited for safety and reliability, with 10 per cent of proceeds supporting the Ayrton Senna Foundation.

Abbate’s client list reads like a who’s who of 1980s and 1990s celebrity: Gilles Villeneuve, Bernie Ecclestone, Björn Borg, Matteo de Nora, Jacky Ickx, and Gianni Versace all became customers and friends. His shipyards in Schignano, Lenno, and Tremezzo produced boats ranging from four to 15 metres, distributed across Europe and beyond.

Champion Marine

In 1986, Champion Marine SAM was founded through the partnership between Jacky Ickx and Tullio Abbate, establishing a Monégasque company dedicated to distributing Tullio Abbate boats for Monaco and the Côte d’Azur. The headquarters at 9 Avenue JF Kennedy in Monaco became the centre of operations.

Cristina Abbate, Tullio’s daughter, and her husband Alberto Sacchi took over Champion Marine in 1995. In 2022, Giacomo Sacchi joined the family business, bringing his competitive racing experience to the company’s development strategy.

Champion Marine has been the exclusive Tullio Abbate dealer for Monaco since its founding. The company expanded its portfolio to include Saxdor, the Nordic motorboat manufacturer, becoming official distributor for Monaco in 2024. Since 1995, Champion Marine has represented Italian brand Ranieri International across France, Monaco, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

I work with my parents in Monaco where we sell pleasure boats.

The company remains focused on performance-oriented craft that reflect the racing heritage embedded in the Sacchi-Abbate family.

Monaco’s Electric Future

Team Monaco was revealed in the Principality with HSH Prince Albert in attendance, set to debut in the 2026 UIM E1 World Championship season. The team aligns with the values of both the Prince Albert II Foundation’s mission to regenerate the oceans and the Princess Charlene Foundation’s aim to improve education through sport and reduce drownings.

Founded and co-owned by Monaco-based entrepreneur Chris Taylor and French 10-time kite-ski world champion Maxime Nocher, who works at Yacht Club De Monaco, the team builds on Monaco’s established position as a pivotal race on the E1 calendar. The Principality hosts one of the most prestigious stops of the season on the waters of Port Hercule.

Monaco is also home to La Belle Classe Academy, a training and development hub supported by the Yacht Club de Monaco, where aspiring E1 pilots receive advanced instruction in sustainable racing and marine technology.

When asked about the Monaco team, Sacchi acknowledged awareness of the project but suggested they already have a strong driver line-up.

Looking Ahead

The appeal of E1 for Sacchi-Abbate centres on technological advancement and the sport’s future direction:

Yes E1 is for sure the new technology and the future so we need to work on it.

Offshore racing, the discipline in which his grandfather excelled, remains an ambition.

For sure one day I would love to try it but there aren’t many places left for proper offshore racing apart from the US.

The immediate focus remains on UIM F2, where additional race victories would strengthen his credentials for an eventual move to UIM F1H2O.

His Lagos outing demonstrated adaptability and competitiveness in a new format, qualities that will serve him well as electric powerboat racing continues its expansion.

As for assumptions about his social connections with Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc in Monaco, he is pragmatic:

I am not best friend with him, I only know him because Monaco is not that big, it is the second smallest sovereign state in the world.