Cowes Torquay Cowes

It was the impressive team Cinzano that took the top honours in the Cowes Torquay Cowes Race after being the first boat to reach the half way mark at Torquay. The return leg saw Cinzano driven by Simon Wood-Power with Markus Hendricks on the throttles and Eric Smillie in control of navigation put under pressure by Powerboat Asia with Martin Lai, Chun Kit Siu and the races youngest finisher Tom Williams-Hawkes (29)on board.

 Cinzano held their rivals at bay completing the race in 2hours 53 minutes and 44 secs beating Powerboat Asia by a mere 9 seconds to make them the only boat to have won the Cowes Torquay Cowes race four times in the races 51 year history.

 Twenty-six minutes later it was the 40ft Buzzi RIB, Pippa, crewed by the experienced team of Rob Gray, Mike Bontoft, John Caulcutt and Stephen Hemsley who crossed the line to take 3rd place.

 Hazel Smith navigator for My Pleasure II with Driver Gordon Compton was the only female to complete the race after a gruelling 4hours and 51 minutes, powering home to take the finish in 9th position and see Hazel awarded with the Ladies Prize.

 Cowes Poole Cowes

In the shorter Cowes Poole Cowes race the Peters and May Race teams took both first and second places’ in the overall race results.

 Peters and May Racing in the 38ft Donzi driven by Daniel Cramphorn, Kim Collins and Miles Jennings took the overall win and the first in class in the over 300hp category, completing the 34nm race in 42 minutes.

 Taking second overall and first in the P1 Panther Class was the SuperStock Team Peters and May of Darren Hook and Dave Harwood completing the race in 43 minutes and 18 seconds.

 Experienced endurance racer Darren Hook commented: “Through the first two buoys it was rough but the rest was alright it’s all about driving to the conditions”, said Hook. “It’s our first race in this boat and we haven’t had much time in it so we’re pleased. Being a bigger race, navigation played a much bigger part than on short courses and we have a lot of experience in that – so that was a good advantage. It was great being invited to be in the Peters & May boat this weekend, it’s been a great weekend.”

 Completing the overall Cowes Poole Cowes podium and second in class was Team Helvetia Wealth piloted by Shelley Jory-Leigh with navigator Dan Smith taking their first podium finish of the SuperStock season.

 In the under 300hp category Me Too driven by Clive Prestidge and Michael Spinks were the only finishers taking 6th overall with Technohull 888 forced to retire from the race.

 P1 SuperStock 150 Class

Top honours in the SuperStock 150 Class went to Hampshire based Team Purple, with husband and wife team, Stuart and Sara Cureton, extending their lead in the SuperStock Championship. Team Purple had originally finished the race third in class but navigational errors from Team Eclipse’s Rose Lores and Lucci Levi and Team Fox Martin Colligan and Liam McDermott saw them awarded time penalties for missing a buoy and demoted to second and third respectively and saw Team Purple promoted to the top spot.

 “The first bit was rough but it wasn’t too bad, I’ve had worse conditions!” reflected Sara Cureton. “The Sat Nav kept disappearing, it has an anti-shock thing so it keeps cutting out navigation is vital in a race like this. The start was difficult, some people were just steaming past then we’d pass them when they broke down.

 “I’m tired and my neck hurts from the jarring – I think it must be two inches shorter than before! We didn’t go out to win this one because we knew we only have two weeks before the next race, we wanted to be competitive but keep it all in one piece but we will be going for it In Liverpool.”

 Congratulations

The RYA Powerboat Racing Department would like to offer their thanks and congratulations to all involved with the event for their hard work and commitment in creating a successful and safe race.

 An event of this magnitude takes a lot of preparation and these events wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of officials, support crews, racers and safety boats. We would also like to thank the Harbour Masters, Coast Guard and Lifeboat Crews in the areas covered by the race for their support, assistance and co-operation.

View full race results for the Cowes Torquay Cowes and Cowes Poole Cowes races at http://edit.rya.org.uk/newsevents/news/Pages/RacewithCinzanoandracewiththebest.aspx

Making the most of his pole position Matt managed to hold on to the race lead. On the second lap Team Qatar and Team Abu Dhabi drivers collided when Qatar’s Al Shamlan spun out in front of Al Tayler leaving him no room to manoeuvre and forcing both to retire with boat damage. On clearing the incident Matt continued to lead the race right to the finish line, ahead of China’s Ziwei and Sweden’s Sjoholm. Saturday’s qualifying saw the Team Atlantic driver caught in dirty water and unable to catch the Bimba Sjoholm’s qualifying time. In just six laps he was 0.0:21 of a second behind the Swede in second on the grid.

From second on the grid Matt got a fantastic start to almost make it look easy as he swept to a convincing win, lapping the two tail-enders, Tobias Munthe-Kaas and Valts Silis. With his second win of the weekend Matt clinched the winners title at the Kiev Grand Prix and with the absence of the two Arab boats, Abu Dhabi and Qatar following their earlier collision, Palfreyman was now leading the overall 2011 F4-s Championship. On his win Palfreyman commented “I’m still on a high from winning in Russia and to now have won both races here in the Ukraine is just fantastic especially as Mum and Dad were here watching.” He continued: “Again I couldn’t have done it without the rest of Team Atlantic, I’ve kind of got the easy job I just have to drive, it’s a real team effort and to take the lead in the championship albeit a narrow one is great it feels like our hard work is really beginning to pay off hopefully now we can keep the momentum and up and extend the lead in China.” The next round of the Championship sees the teams head to Grand Prix of China: Liuzhou, on the 1 – 2 October. Meanwhile Matt will compete for the 2011 F4 British National Sprint Championship this coming weekend (6 – 7 August) at Stewartby in Bedford.

British powerboat racer Scott Curtis from Norwich has claimed his third win in the 2011 F4 World Championship campaign, taking a win on home waters at the British round of the championship held at Stewartby Watersports Club in Bedford (18-19 June).

 Ten of the world’s top competitors battled it out for the all-important points in the campaign, with seven British competitors being joined by entries from France, Portugal and Hungary.

 As the competition got underway Hungarian Richard Bodrogvolgyi flipped on the way to the first turn buoy crashing him out of the 3^rd Round of the World Championship and seeing him relegating from 2^nd in the championship overall down to 4^th.

 At the 31st lap restart Britain’s Scott Curtis got a sensational start taking the best line from his pole position on the grid to the turn buoy. Reigning World Champion Mark Williams sat in second with Matthew Palfreyman in third. The top three held their positions for the first 17 laps until Mark Williams clipped the top turn mark and got the rope caught around his propeller cutting it loose and causing another restart.

 At the second restart Curtis again got the best start but this time current British National Champion Steve Batch was in 2^nd but on rounding buoy four his engine stalled and four times European F4 champion Pedro Fortuna overtook along with the rest of the fleet as he tried to get his engine to restart. Matthew Palfreyman again sat in third.

 The three front runners held their positions until Matt Palfreyman submarined his boat on the 4^th turn boat but recovered quickly and managed to retain his position. Stephen Batch who had found himself at the back of the fleet worked his way back up through the pack to take 4^th.

 But all credit had to go to Scott Curtis who dominated the whole weekend now putting a comfortable 20 point lead between himself and Portugal’s Pedro Fortuna in second before they head to Portugal for the final two rounds of the competition.

 Round four of the Championship takes place at Caldas de Aregos / Resende in Portugal on 16-17 July.

 The F4 World Championship table now stands at:

Boats number 22 and 25 received 0 points as they did not complete 90% of the number of laps of the winner

For more information and to find out how you can get involved in powerboat racing visit www.rya.org.uk

Two of the south west’s top jet-ski racers are preparing to face their biggest ever challenge in just two weeks from now, 16/17 July, when the stars of the new-for-2011 P1 AquaX Championship arrive in Plymouth for the third round of the season.

Plymouth’s own Tim Cope and Cornwall’s Dale Flood (Downderry), both Yamaha riders, are relishing the opportunity to take on the might of the AquaX contingent – led by Kawasaki ace Russell Marmon (Christchurch, Dorset).Over the course of the first two events in Southampton and Jersey, AquaX has more than lived up to its billing as one of the most thrilling and exciting watercraft sports in existence along with the added individuality of being the only jet-ski series which competes on the sea.Clearly, this provides immense challenges for AquaX riders with constantly changing coastal conditions serving up highly unpredictable and massively entertaining racing. With that in mind, there are three distinct classes – Elite 300, Amateur 300 and Amateur 200 – although Cope and Flood will run in an invitation class to keep the championship points situation unambiguous.

Cope and Flood are keen to promote AquaX locally and entice as many spectators as possible to this month’s event which will be contested in The Sound – a prime location offering unrivalled views of all of the racing.

Anyone attending the event on 16/17 July will be able to watch free-of-charge from Plymouth Hoe and the Mount Batten Watersports and Activities Centre, so there really is no excuse not to go along and soak up the incredible atmosphere of AquaX while supporting the two local ‘wildcard’ entries.

“We really can’t wait to have a crack at this”, said Cope, “As the event gets closer we’re quietly getting more and more confident that we’ll be able to do a good job and give the AquaX regulars a closed race. Originally we said we just wanted to go out there and enjoy it but we’re determined to give it our best and fight as hard as we can – the big thing in our favour is racing hard and giving it some beans on the sea!

“Plymouth is a perfect venue for AquaX, it’s a natural auditorium with great views from the Hoe and loads of cafes and bars around. We’re hoping it can be a real success so we can develop this as a regular event over the next few years. It should be a lot of fun, I’m really looking forward to it.”

In the headline Elite 300 class, Kawasaki rider Marmon leads the way from Sea-Doo challenger James Bushell after taking victory in Southampton and Jersey. The vastly experienced Marmon hasn’t had things all his own way though, having been pushed hard by AM300 ace Dave Huddleston (Milton Keynes) and both are hoping for choppy conditions in Plymouth.

“In terms of my personal performance I’m happy with everything so far”, said Marmon, “I’m not bothered about the other competitors, I don’t focus on them at all. I just ride the fastest I can all the time but that does mean I’m very hard on the machinery, break-downs can be a problem for me.

“As far as the conditions go, I like it when it’s choppy on the water as that involves a lot more rider input and skill and that’s my forte really. It makes things much harder physically and that’s what I enjoy the most so hopefully the conditions in Plymouth will be more like that.”

Huddleston adds: “Everything has gone better than expected really so far to be honest, I’ve felt pretty comfortable. Russell has a 50hp power advantage and extra gadgets on his ski which means he’s well ahead when the water is flat but when the conditions get up and the sea gets a bit choppy, that’s when I’m able to run with him more. They’re the kind of conditions I’m hoping for in Plymouth.

Yamaha FX160 rider Duncan Johnstone (Fareham, Hampshire) heads the Amateur 200 Class by a clear margin having won both previous rounds, a sensational start for the rookie who had never raced prior to the first AquaX event. He really has been a revelation over the course of the first two meetings of 2011 and should be a sure-fire bet to continue his fantastic run of success in Plymouth.

“When the conditions have been rougher that’s helped me keep with the elite guys, riding the sea and reading the waves is where I’m happiest but the courses you race on in AquaX are a totally different challenge”, Duncan commented, adding: “There’ll be a bit more competition in Plymouth, some of the two-strokes will be quicker off the mark and that’ll make it difficult for me on my FX160.”

Along with the AquaX action, race-goers will be able to enjoy the awesome spectacle of Britain’s premier Powerboat racing series, the P1 SuperStock Championship. The Plymouth Grand Prix of the Sea will be the second round of the season which got underway in terrific style in Jersey last month.

And if you don’t think a jet-ski can loop the loop then just watch the stunning AquaX freestyle display by British Champion Jack Moule.

In both AquaX and P1 SuperStock, the first day of action in Plymouth on Saturday, 16 July, will mean ‘Match’ racing, a series of one-on-one timed contests in which the quickest rider will progress to the next round. On Sunday, 17 July, the headline races for AquaX will take place on the SuperStock powerboat course, providing a huge test of both stamina and skill.

AquaX timetable:

Saturday

12.00 AquaX Freestyle Display by Jack Moule

16.30 AquaX Match Races

Sunday

11.00 AquaX Freestyle Display by Jack Moule

13.15 AquaX Moto 1

15.45 AquaX Moto 2

17.00 AquaX and SuperStock podium presentations, Mount Batten Watersports Centre

For further information visit www.p1aquaX.com

Widely regarded as one of the very best venues in the world for powerboat racing, Plymouth has delivered some fantastic action in years gone by and the second round of the five-event P1 SuperStock Championship is expected to produce some truly outstanding motorsport.With free-of-charge vantage points from Plymouth Hoe and the Mount Batten Watersports and Activities Centre, spectators are in for an absolute treat with every bit of racing visible from dry land.

If the opening round, the Peters & May Jersey Grand Prix of the Sea, was anything to go by, the racing in both classes – P1 Panther 250 and P1 150 – will be electric.Jersey saw a strong debut for the brand new 250hp Panther 28SS boat and reigning P1 150 Champion John Wilson (Coleshill, West Midlands) – along with navigator Neil Scarborough (Monks Risborough, Bucks) – made history and the perfect start with two wins to take an early points lead.

Starting with the Plymouth race the duo compete with a new livery and team name, Pertemps, after securing sponsorship from the leading recruitment agency – one of the Sunday Times ‘Top 100 best companies to work for’. “Now SuperStock is a one design category, winning races is focussed on driver and navigator skills plus teamwork, this make it a very good fit for Pertemps as its business is all about people skills and developing teams in the work place“, said Wilson.

Plymouth has also been a successful place for John in the past and he is relishing returning, commenting, “Plymouth has a natural amphitheatre for racing and therefore is fantastic for spectators, particularly as the course this year goes very close to shore. Personally, it has been a very good place for me as I had my first win in Plymouth back in 2009.

Consistently strong second and third places in Jersey enabled the Typhoo boat of Andy Wilby (Fleet, Hampshire) and Johnny Allbut (Southampton) to end the opening round in second place in the championship while lying third in the P1 250 standings is the Team 88 duo of powerboat racing rookie Simon Bayles (Battersea, London) and navigator Philippa Baker (Kensington, London). Former semi-professional rugby player Bayles and fellow newcomer Baker produced a truly exceptional performance on their debut, stunning the experienced regulars by improving on fifth in race one with a fantastic second place in race two.

“I absolutely loved Jersey”, said Bayles. “I was relatively nervous to begin with but the first race was fantastic. We got behind Shelley Jory-Leigh and knowing her pedigree we just stuck to her like glue! That set us up well for the next race as we knew the course by then and had a good run.“In Plymouth a lot will depend on the conditions. If it’s rough it could split everyone up as those with experience of tougher conditions will have the edge. We’re learning all the time but if the water is fairly flat, as it was in Jersey, we know what we can do.”

Husband and wife pairing Stuart and Sara Cureton (Lindford, Hampshire) absolutely dominated the P1 150 class during round one and, while confident they would make a strong start to the season, the Team Purple crew admits surprise at just how clear their winning margins were in the two points-scoring races.“We were more than happy with Jersey if a little surprised at just how far ahead we were”, said Stuart, “The boat went really well but it’s been through an amazing amount of preparation. I think in Plymouth we’ll be able to maintain the same level of performance but I’m sure everyone else will be pushing harder. Jersey will have been a wake-up call. I’m sure it’s all going to be much closer for the next round.”

Second in the P1 150 championship is the Eclipse entry of Rose Lores (Stubbington, Hampshire) and Tom Hunter thanks to a pair of second places. With Plymouth being Lores’ favourite venue, she’s looking forward to round two and going into the event with high hopes. “My first race was in Plymouth back in 2006 and I’ve had great success there too so I certainly have a soft spot for the City”, said Lores, “The Sound is quite sheltered so I’m hopeful of fairly calm conditions again. The boat is better on calm water and I much prefer that. I got second place twice in Jersey but I am confident we have a good chance of victory in Plymouth.”

With three weeks remaining until the Plymouth Grand Prix of the Sea, one racer unsure he’ll be on the startline is reigning SuperStock Champion Rupert Pugh (Matlock, Derbyshire). After taking third place in race one in Jersey, bitter disappointment followed in the second encounter when steering pump failure on the sixth lap robbed Pugh and Devon-based navigator Anthony Crossley (Sidmouth) of the win.

“Jersey was our first time in the Edox boat. It took us one race to get up to speed and get used to it – it’s very different to last year’s boat – and then we held the lead convincingly in the second race, led by quite a way, but the steering failed”, explained Pugh.“The big excitement for me was to be so competitive as soon as we’d sussed it out, the handling characteristics are very different to last year and the boat is much more stable. Something that’s more important than ever this year with the new boat is the navigator’s role, it’s very much like rallying in cars – the driver and navigator combination that gels the best will be the most successful.”“I’m still not confirmed for Plymouth but hopefully we’ll have an opportunity to be there. It’s a fantastic venue for Powerboat racing, spectators can see the whole course from the Hoe so you get to see all the action.”

The current timetable for the Plymouth Grand Prix of the Sea starts with the exciting one-on-one ‘match’ racing format taking place at 14.15 on Saturday, 16 July, with the two main points-scoring races being held at 12.00 and 14.00 on Sunday, 17 July. As ever, supporting action will come courtesy of the fabulous AquaX series, the only jet-ski class currently competing on the sea.

The double win sees also RED FPT awarded the Beaverbrook and the Harmsworth trophies, the most famous and the oldest prize for powerboat established in 1903.

After conquering the highest podium in the “Cowes 100″ (100 miles on the route between the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Portland), RED FPT, powered by four diesel engines FPT N67 600 horsepower, has demonstrated its great reliability even winning the most difficult race, the Cowes – Torquay – Cowes, 178 miles long, beating 30 boats coming from 8 different Countries.

The race was completed in 3 hours and 26 minutes at an average speed of 52 knots on very rough seas (force 3-5). The success must be attributed to the experience and the skills of the pilots which were able to choose the best route and the best trim of the boat in difficult marine conditions, but also to the quality of the boat, built by FB Design, and to the reliability and performance of the Fiat Powertrain Technologies diesel engines which have proven once again their winning attitude.

The success of FPT team has been completed by the victory of Kerakoll of Mario Invernizzi and Peter Dredge, first in its class (class B) and second overall (behind RED FPT) in the Cowes – Torquay – Cowes. The boat was powered by the new FPT C90 650 horsepower engines that have immediately demonstrated their formidable performance since their debut.

The double victory obtained with the N67 Evolution engine (Nef family) and the new C90 – 650 engine (Cursor series), confirms the reliability and the sportive performance of the all FPT engines.

RED FPT

Length 12,50 mt

Width 2,85 mt

Weight 8.200 Kg

Engines N. 4 FPT N67 Evolution

Power 600 hp

KERAKOLL

Length 13,60 mt

Width 3,00 mt

SO UNIQUE

From September 21st, Solenzara city will host the elite drivers of the UIM world championship offshore class 3C. Organised under the aegis of the UIM and the French Federation PowerBoating, this international competition is governed by the Association Offshore Passion, chaired by Laurent Plasse.

The advantage for the Blues

At the beginning of this final round contested in three World rounds, the pressure is palpable and the drivers pushed for the development of their catamaran or monohull, for very many months. Engaged in their respective national championship, all the teams are testing new materials, refine their control and take the opportunity to race against their competitors and colleagues. No doubt everyone will highlight the potential of their equipment to win the laurels and give to their opponents a cold swear..

The French have a real advantage at this Corsican circuit because it is well known by most of them. The French final championship has been held for several years on the Mediterranean Sea, in Solenzara. But the races have always offered their share of suspense and intrigue, and the 2010 edition will not be any different.

The double title on the straight line

2009 world champion in Italy, the Finnish team Venepalvelu Johnsson preparing to take a hard struggle to claim a second title. Aboard a 2010 Twister, special prepared for this race, they test and develop their offshore on the Finnish and Nordic Cup, to enhance their chances of victory. In a few weeks, the first European meeting of Class 3C will take place in the UK and many pilots will measure their performance on this event. Marcus Johnsonn and Lauri Lampe’n chose to run with a catamaran equiped with a Mercury 200 XS engine that develops around 150 Km/h.

Their C101 hull will be equipped with a Mercury, Rolla or Hydromotive propeller depending on the water and weather conditions. “We like to refine the various adjustments to our boat and it’s a real victory when we win a place. We don’t put pressure for 2010. All teams want to win and we know that these three races will be very difficult against the French pilots. We love this sport and all the emotions it generates. The atmosphere with foreign pilots is very nice, and it is a definite plus in this championship. ”

Intense show

Because, it isn’t miracle or magic in competition, to understand the exploit, it is necessary to search among the brightest engineers, famous mechanics, motivated pilots and team of enthusiasts, able to federate around this event an enthusiast crowd.

On the circuit, drivers will run their race do not take unnecessary risks without forgetting to press the accelerator. Beautiful attacks, performance boats, chrono implacable – quick lap times and the magic of ruthless competition will sparkle eyes of spectators.

 

“Part of the F1 team met in Doha to finalise some pre-season testing on various new technical components,” said Khalid Bin Arhama Al-Kuwari, Head of Formula Racing at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation, which is run under the presidency of His Excellency Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani.

“The testing and preparation allowed us to refine a lot of the systems we would not normally have time to work on during a race weekend. Whilst the component testing was not a complete success, we learned a lot and we will all take that knowledge and experience with us to Portugal so that we can get the campaign to win back the world title off to a perfect start.

“The day also allowed Jay to spend some time in the boat and allowed part of the team to ensure that we had all the necessary equipment on hand ready for Portugal. It was a shame that the test took place in windy conditions and we couldn’t do much on the water. We wanted to make sure that there was no damage on the boat.”

Price will team up with British racer Andy Elliott in Team Qatar this season, in what looks on paper to be one of the strongest team line-ups in the entire championship. Team Qatar will also be hoping to win the UIM F1 Teams’ Championship and the UIM F1 Pole Position Championship, when competitive action gets underway in Portugal on May 8-9^th.

Welmax Offshore Racing has confirmed that the team will run a two-boat entry in their bid for title honours in 2010, with Strømøy joining her fellow Norwegians Jorn Tandberg and Kolbjorn Selmer and the second newcomer to the team, Italian, Giorgio Manuzzi.

Born in Sandefjord, Norway and now living in Oslo, thirty-three-year-old Strømøy made her racing debut in 1989 at the age of twelve.  In 1993 she started racing in S-550, winning the European Championship three times (1996, 1998, 1999) and the Nordic Championship twice (1996, 1999).  In 2000 she moved up to race in F-2000, and was voted ‘rookie of the year’, finishing second in the UAE Presidents Cup in 2002, second in the Nordic Championship in 2005 and third in the European Championship in 2007. She became the first woman to compete in the F1 World Powerboat Championship in 2007, taking third overall in the Team Cup in 2009.  She has also competed in the legendary Rouen 24-hour race, finishing on the podium three times (second in 2009 and third in 2006/7).