The winners of the 2014 Motor Boat Awards were announced last night at a Gala Dinner and Award Ceremony hosted by IPC Marine Media at The Landmark Hotel in London. In presence of 250 international guests, total of 55 boats were selected as finalists for the 2014 awards and the winners came from Austria, England, Italy and the US. The prominent Italian shipyard, Azimut Yachts won two prizes – the award in the ‘Flybridge over 55 feet’ category, while Azimut Atlantis 34 yacht won in the ‘Sportcruiser up to 45 feet’ category. The Awards represent a contest organised by authoritative British magazines Motor Boat & Yachting and Motor Boats Monthly. The finalists in each of the nine categories were required to undergo rigorous, thorough testing procedures before the judges made their final decisions.
The first of two Italian winners from Azimut-Benetti was the Azimut Atlantis 34 in the ‘Sportscruiser up to 45ft’ category with Rob Peake praising the way clever cost savings had given “ordinary motorboaters a chance to buy into one of boating’s most exclusive marques”.
The Azimut 80 superyacht made it two wins from two for the Italian yard Azimut-Benetti when it was announced as the winner of the ‘Flybridge over 55ft’ category because “it delivers on every level, matching designer looks with sophisticated finishes, fabulous entertaining spaces and a driving experience which exceeded all expectations”.
These awards boost the importance of these two yachts, already recognised unique in their category in the previous months” underlines Francesco Ansalone, Marketing Director of Azimut|Benetti Group. “Azimut fans have already demonstrated their appreciation for both vessels, each of which presents decidedly innovative content and sophisticated solutions adopted to respond to the tastes and demands of an increasingly well-informed, evolving clientele. Receiving further confirmation of the success of these decisions from top experts in the field brings us all great satisfaction and encouragement to continue producing vessels which are the product of Italian creativity and skill but also, and above all, of on-going research and application of the best technologies.”
