There appears to be no stopping Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Botti in his drive towards world domination. Last October, Botti pushed back many of the world’s finest to earn the coveted Pro Runabout Open IJSBA World Championship. Only two months ago, Botti – together with Jean Bruno Pastorello – took the checkered flag at the 11th annual Mark Hahn Memorial Havasu 300. Now, as it to hammer in the final nail into the coffin, Botti has just claimed the championship in the 18th running of the Karujet in Guadeloupe.
Considered the toughest offshore race in the world, the Porto Vecchio native finally stood atop the podium after his fifth attempt at the Karujet. Botti’s overall score only came after a hotly contested win Stage V and a fourth place finish in the final stage. “After winning stage 5 and seeing that Alex had a problem I just took it easy the whole way,” Botti told the UIM in an interview, “I knew I just needed to finish the final stage with a decent time, so I didn’t risk any trouble out there. Happy, very happy.”
Although disappointed with his 13th overall placing, last year’s winner Ugo Fidelin rounded out a frustrating event winning the final stage. “It’s been a fun event. It didn’t really start well for me but I had a lot of fun. It’s great to end the event with a win here, I’m happy with that.” As the UIM interview states, “Alex Barret who had topped the points table until Stage 5, his hopes ending with mechanical problems, dropping 10 minutes and losing the lead to Botti. He faced more issues in the final stage and unable to finish, ending the event in seventh in the final standings.”
In the end, four of the final Top 5 racers all hailed from France, with Guadalupe’s own Vincent Karam rounding out the pack. American Craig Warner returned for another bout with the grueling seastate aboard a turbo-powered Ultra of his own design, as did Canadian Mike Klippenstein who 17th overall behind Warner’s 15th ranking – despite a strong finish in Stage VI.
Overall:
1. JB Botti (fra) 5:49:52.899; 2. F Medori (fra) + 11:47.436s; 3. A Tarzia (fra) + 16:07.285s; 4. K Carlini (fra) + 17:10.433s; 5. V Karam (gua) + 24:57.928s
