Tomas Čermák arrived at the Isola Serafini lock in 56th place on Sunday morning. He sat in it for one hour and 44 minutes. When the gates opened, the Slovak two-time F2 Endurance World Champion drove a DAC Formula 2 circuit hull 263 timed kilometres down the Po at an average of 181.41 km/h — faster than every other boat in every timed section — and won the 73rd Raid Pavia-Venezia outright.
The final margin was 23 minutes 48 seconds over Elia Pellegatti (83, Tullio Abbate/Mercury, Nimbus Racing Team) in second, with Paolo Romagnoli (77, Lucini/Alfa Romeo, Ass. Mot. Pavia) third. Romagnoli’s Alfa Romeo inboard engine, competing in the Racer under 2500cc class, made him the most unlikely podium finisher of the day.
The official results were stamped by the A.S.D. Cronometristi della Provincia di Venezia at 19:05 on race day. They confirmed 55 boats classified, 20 retired and one disqualification: Tim Van Bruyssel (94, Belgium) was excluded for failing post-race technical inspection.
The Race
The 73rd Raid started from San Nazzaro d’Ongina rather than Pavia, after the Ticino recorded a snow-water equivalent 91 per cent below its historical April average. The first timed section — T3, from Isola Serafini to Torricella di Sissa — covers 48km. T4 runs 215km from Torricella to Voltagrimana. The Coppa Montelera is awarded for the fastest average over the 55km Revere-Pontelagoscuro section within T4.
Because the Raid uses a staggered start, the official winner is not the first boat to cross the finish but the boat with the lowest total elapsed time. Čermák started last among the fastest class, and every second he spent in the lock worked against him before T3 had even begun. His transponder failed to register at checkpoints during the lock transit, which is why the timing sheet showed nothing for hours during live coverage.
When the data finally came through, it showed T3 in 14:56 at 192.9 km/h — the fastest T3 of the entire field. His Coppa Montelera split was 19:13 at 171.73 km/h, also the fastest. His T4 of 1:12:03 was the fastest T4. Every split, fastest. Total time: 1:26:59.
Guido Cappellini, who did not defend his title this year, set the outright Raid record in 2025 at 207.26 km/h average across the full 414km course in an F1H2O-specification DAC. Čermák was in a Formula 2 DAC on a shorter course. The comparison is not direct, but it places his performance in context.
The Podium
1. Tomas Čermák (511) — DAC/Mercury — 1:26:59 — 181.41 km/h
2. Elia Pellegatti / Daniele Bonfatti (83) — Tullio Abbate/Mercury — 1:50:47 — +23:48
3. Paolo Romagnoli (77) — Lucini/Alfa Romeo — 1:52:51 — +25:52
The Coppa Montelera
The Coppa Montelera — named after Count Theo Rossi di Montelera of the Martini & Rossi family and first awarded in the 1930s — goes to the fastest average over the 55km Revere-Pontelagoscuro section. Čermák took it with 19:13 at 171.73 km/h. Pellegatti was second at 23:57, Simone Cesati (92, Albatro/Mercury, Cesati Racing ASD) third at 24:26.
The Disqualification
Tim Van Bruyssel (94, Albatro/Mercury, Belgium) was disqualified for failing to present his boat for post-race technical inspection at the finish. He had been running in the provisional top ten. His exclusion moved everyone from 10th position downward up one place in the final standings.
The British Contingent
Benjamin Holehouse (195, Phantom/Mercury, BPRC) and Charles Holehouse finished 30th overall, 8th in Diporto 5:1, with a total of 2:42:30 at 97.11 km/h. Robert McCarthy (90, Bernico/Yamaha, OCRDA) and Mark Power finished 43rd overall, 8th in Diporto 3:1, with 3:09:32 at 83.26 km/h. Jason Briggs (73, Phantom/Mercury, BRPA) and Alex Goode retired. Gordon McMath (717, Revenger/Mercury, OCRDA) and Philip Morris retired — McMath recorded a Coppa Montelera time of 29:38, 18th fastest on that section. Robert Lockyer (25, Skater/Mercury, RYA) and Christian McCauley retired.
Official Results: 55 Classified
Official results issued by A.S.D. Cronometristi della Provincia di Venezia / F.I.Cr., 31 May 2026.
| Pos. | No. | Driver / Co-driver | Category | Hull/Engine | Total | Avg km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 511 | Tomas Čermák | Circuito Formula 2 | DAC/Mercury | 1:26:59 | 181.41 |
| 2 | 83 | Elia Pellegatti / Daniele Bonfatti | Diporto 4:1 | Tullio Abbate/Mercury | 1:50:47 | 142.44 |
| 3 | 77 | Paolo Romagnoli | Racer under 2500cc | Lucini/Alfa Romeo | 1:52:51 | 139.83 |
| 4 | 115 | Jan Korteland / Paul Korteland | Diporto 3:1 | Bernico/Mercury | 1:55:08 | 137.06 |
| 5 | 92 | Simone Cesati / Giampaolo Valsecchi / Leonardo Boscarino | Diporto Performance | Albatro/Mercury | 1:55:20 | 136.82 |
| 6 | 307 | Alessandro Andreotti / Claudio Davì | Diporto 3:1 | Mostes/Mercury | 1:56:12 | 135.80 |
| 7 | 173 | Matteo Gallet / Francesco Cecchetto | Diporto 4:1 | Tullio Abbate/Mercury | 1:56:26 | 135.53 |
| 8 | 15 | Antonello Sala / Laura Manfredini | Diporto 4:1 | Focchi/Mercury | 2:03:23 | 127.89 |
| 9 | 39 | Roberto Salvi | Diporto 3:1 | Focchi/Honda | 2:04:50 | 126.41 |
| 10 | 21 | Francesco Busetto / Davide Conti | Diporto 5:1 | Tullio Abbate/Mercury | 2:06:16 | 124.97 |
| 11 | 34 | Umberto Nordio / Damiano Boscolo | Diporto 3:1 | Scanner/Mercury | 2:09:47 | 121.59 |
| 12 | 117 | Antonio Cambieri / Achille Cambieri | Diporto 3:1 | Nitra Boats/Mercury | 2:09:52 | 121.51 |
| 13 | 118 | Federico Faggi / Giacomo Panzeri | Diporto 5:1 | Abbate/Suzuki | 2:15:15 | 116.67 |
| 14 | 35 | Mattia Volpi / Matteo Antonelli | Diporto 5:1 | Ring/Mercury | 2:15:35 | 116.39 |
| 15 | 79 | Mattia Turati / Roberto Benucci | Diporto 4:1 | Ananciana Boutique/Mercury | 2:16:10 | 115.89 |
| 16 | 999 | Marco Rasia Dal Polo / Emanuele Messina | Cat D | Angelo Molinari/Evinrude | 2:21:38 | 111.41 |
| 17 | 18 | Ivan Zanocchi / Cristian Maffini | Diporto 3:1 | Mostes/Mercury | 2:24:48 | 108.98 |
| 18 | 86 | Juri Tiozzo / Davide Baldini | Diporto 5:1 | Mostes/Mercury | 2:25:56 | 108.13 |
| 19 | 68 | Mattia Assanelli / Massimo Assanelli | Diporto 4:1 | Mostes/Mercruiser | 2:26:28 | 107.74 |
| 20 | 38 | Andrea Gelmetti / Guglielmo Martinelli | Diporto 5:1 | Mostes/Mercury | 2:28:35 | 106.20 |
| 21 | 124 | Davide Borrini / Aldo Winkler | Diporto 5:1 | Focchi/Mercury | 2:32:04 | 103.77 |
| 22 | 197 | Piero Gregorio / Andrea Vitali / Alberto Todeschini / Mike Avila | Sciatore Naut. F2 | Mostes/Mercury | 2:33:18 | 102.94 |
| 23 | 46 | Alessandro Pavanelli / Filippo Luppi | Diporto 5:1 | Zaniboni/Mercury | 2:34:13 | 102.32 |
| 24 | 238 | Gabriele Guffanti / Carlo Vaccani | Diporto 6:1 | Focchi/Honda | 2:35:17 | 101.62 |
| 25 | 53 | Pier Paolo Onidi / Fatima Ait Ladham | Moto d’Acqua Diporto | Bombardier/Rotax | 2:37:40 | 100.08 |
| 26 | 666 | Wolfram Kittl / Ernst Zischin / Ernst Ortlieb | Sciatore Naut. F3 | Cyclone/Mercury | 2:39:10 | 99.14 |
| 27 | 64 | Mohamed Amin Zawali | Diporto 3:1 | Focchi/Suzuki | 2:39:15 | 99.09 |
| 28 | 76 | Guglielmo Dilda / Andrea Nebbia | Diporto 6:1 | Siewinder/Mercury | 2:39:23 | 99.01 |
| 29 | 70 | Pierluigi Nordio | Diporto 6:1 | Mostes/Parsun | 2:42:18 | 97.23 |
| 30 | 195 | Benjamin Holehouse / Charles Holehouse (GB) | Diporto 5:1 | Phantom/Mercury | 2:42:30 | 97.11 |
| 31 | 97 | Luciano Pesenti / Bernhard Pesenti | Diporto 4:1 | Albatro/Mercury | 2:43:51 | 96.31 |
| 32 | 120 | Achille Mazzucotelli / Mara Mazzucotelli | Diporto 4:1 | Linetti/Mercruiser | 2:45:42 | 95.23 |
| 33 | 17 | Matteo Bodini / Timothi Faccin | Diporto 4:1 | Chaudron/Mercury | 2:46:48 | 94.60 |
| 34 | 7 | Luca Tovaglieri / Claudio Andrea Tovaglieri | Diporto 4:1 | Carrera/Mercury | 2:49:14 | 93.24 |
| 35 | 36 | Filippo Giorgio Colnaghi / Leopoldo Michele Assi | Diporto 4:1 | Tullio Abbate/Mercury | 2:49:30 | 93.10 |
| 36 | 27 | Mattia Dall’Oglio / Lucio Gilioli | Diporto 8:1 | Zaniboni/Mercury | 2:55:32 | 89.90 |
| 37 | 121 | Amedeo Lepre / Gregory Biancuzzi | Diporto 5:1 | Zaniboni/Mercury | 2:58:12 | 88.55 |
| 38 | 88 | Danilo Dall’Asta / Christian Speciale | Diporto 5:1 | Molinari/Alfa Romeo | 2:58:42 | 88.30 |
| 39 | 22 | Giuseppe Corazza | Diporto 4:1 | Albatro/Mercury | 3:06:41 | 84.53 |
| 40 | 66 | Silvano Coatto / Claudio Spairani | Diporto 7:1 | Estilo/Selva | 3:07:22 | 84.22 |
| 41 | 13 | Daniela Covati / Laura Varesi / Giulia Nordio | Diporto 7:1 | Nuovajolly Marine/Honda | 3:07:52 | 84.00 |
| 42 | 231 | Paolo Martinelli / Irene Sederini | Diporto 6:1 | Tullio Abbate/Suzuki | 3:08:51 | 83.56 |
| 43 | 90 | Robert McCarthy / Mark Power (GB) | Diporto 3:1 | Bernico/Yamaha | 3:09:32 | 83.26 |
| 44 | 125 | Giulio Bizzozero / Giampaolo Bizzozzero | Diporto 5:1 | Tullio Abbate/Mercury | 3:10:41 | 82.76 |
| 45 | 888 | Tommaso Soncin | Honda Offshore | Focchi/Honda | 3:11:08 | 82.56 |
| 46 | 65 | Bernard Nash / Denis Scarpi / Christof Wondracek | Sciatore Naut. F1 | Cantiere San Pietro/Mercury | 3:11:34 | 82.37 |
| 47 | 889 | Tommaso Pia | Honda Offshore | Focchi/Honda | 3:11:41 | 82.32 |
| 48 | 151 | Luca Capisani | Moto d’Acqua Diporto | Seadoo/Rotax | 3:12:18 | 82.06 |
| 49 | 123 | Luca Caretto / Leonardo Marchiori | Diporto 6:1 | Tullio Abbate/Mercury | 3:17:03 | 80.08 |
| 50 | 444 | Pietro Scarpa / Alex Berni | Diporto 7:1 | Fletcher Arrowbeau/Mercury | 3:18:46 | 79.39 |
| 51 | 5 | Tulliomaria Abbate / Marco Massazza | Diporto 3:1 | Tullio Abbate/Mercury | 3:26:13 | 76.52 |
| 52 | 887 | Andrea Carosso | Honda Offshore | Focchi/Honda | 3:29:05 | 75.47 |
| 53 | 126 | Simone Calza / Erik Sparesato | Diporto 7:1 | Ghibli/Mariner | 3:41:13 | 71.33 |
| 54 | 72 | Cristian Caponnetto / Cinzia Vergani | Airboat Elica Aerea | Diamond Back/GM | 3:49:33 | 68.74 |
| 55 | 12 | Alberto Scuro / Pietro Silva | Diporto 4:1 | Abbate/Suzuki | 3:55:34 | 66.99 |
Coppa Montelera — Top 10
| Pos. | No. | Driver / Co-driver | Hull/Engine | Time | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 511 | Tomas Čermák | DAC/Mercury | 19:13 | 171.73 |
| 2 | 83 | Elia Pellegatti / Daniele Bonfatti | Tullio Abbate/Mercury | 23:57 | 137.79 |
| 3 | 92 | Simone Cesati / Giampaolo Valsecchi / Leonardo Boscarino | Albatro/Mercury | 24:26 | 135.06 |
| 4 | 115 | Jan Korteland / Paul Korteland | Bernico/Mercury | 24:50 | 132.89 |
| 5 | 307 | Alessandro Andreotti / Claudio Davì | Mostes/Mercury | 25:11 | 131.04 |
| 6 | 173 | Matteo Gallet / Francesco Cecchetto | Tullio Abbate/Mercury | 25:22 | 130.09 |
| 7 | 77 | Paolo Romagnoli | Lucini/Alfa Romeo | 25:38 | 128.74 |
| 8 | 79 | Mattia Turati / Roberto Benucci | Ananciana Boutique/Mercury | 25:41 | 128.49 |
| 9 | 39 | Roberto Salvi | Focchi/Honda | 26:59 | 122.30 |
| 10 | 21 | Francesco Busetto / Davide Conti | Tullio Abbate/Mercury | 27:27 | 120.22 |
Full Raid Pavia-Venezia Coverage
Live updates, entry list, previews and results from the 73rd edition.
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.
