Lowestoft GP – The story so far…

I don’t think there’s any way to start this other than by echoing what I heard from so many people in the pits after the day’s racing was finished. What a day! The weather couldn’t have been better for day 1 of the Lowestoft GP, and for the first couple of hours after I arrived in the pits I did as I always do and made a point of saying hi to anyone I had not yet seen. I love this time in the pits. People are busy, but normally not too busy to talk, and also they are generally quite relaxed. It gives some great opportunities for photographs that show a side to racing that a lot of people don’t often see: the sometimes qute delicate work that goes into preparing the boats, the bustling within the garages when the scrutineers turn up, and the routines that different people have and go through when preparing to race.

When the boats then hit the water for their qualifying session I had joined them on one of the safety boats stationed out around the course.  The course here is brilliant for photographers in a lot of ways, allowing plenty of access very close to the water.  The probelm is, from a photographers point of view, I always want to get the shot that no-one else got, and that means getting where no-one else is. Having gained permission from the Officer of the Day, Rescue Officer and Jetty Marshall, I donned my life jacket and we headed out to sit off the exit of the Wherry Turn.

Qualifying was great to watch, with drivers in all the classes giving it their all to try to claim pole position. Then when race time came around everybody was well and truly ready, and the calibre of racing was very high. The F4’s were the first class out and Ben Morse dominated the day, claiming pole by over a second from Rob Veares in qualifying and leading the race from lights to flag. George Elmore was equally dominant in the GT15 sessions, again taking both pole position and the win. GT30 qualifying was the most disrupted session of the day with two stappages, but at the end of it Tiegen Goodfellow came out on top with a cracking lap that put her first by 0.11s. Unfortunately for Tiegen she wasn’t able to maintain her position and she finished third behind Thomas Mantripp and Jonny Brewer.

The T850 class were the next on the water, and in qualifying it soon became clear that Jason Brewer’s boat was not the happiest it has ever been. The remaining three drivers fought hard amongst themselves for pole but it was Nigel Edwards who ultimately came out on top. Sadly when their race came, Nigel was unable to get away from the start pontoon and it was Bill Owen who crossed the line first, leading Steve Cash and Nigel. Nationally, LOBMBC is the home of the OSY class and it was great to see seven on these fantastic little boats on the water. Returning to the form set by the first two classes, the pole-sitter went on to take the victory, with a lead of over half a second in qualifying and a convincing win. The final boats in each session were the F2’s. Due to international commitments for some drivers the field was slightly depleted today, but the five drivers who were here put on a brilliant display of driving and in qualifying the boats in second to fourth were covered by a little over a third of a second. But it was Colin Jelf who claimed the top spot and later went on to convert this to a heat 1 win, I believe setting a lap record in the process.

So now we look to today, which for me will consist of pretty much the same again, only with possibly more frequent applications of sun cream. For the drivers, some are aiming to go out there and do it all again, repeating today’s performances. Others will have taken the evening to gather their thoughts, regroup, and will be going out there tomorrow to aim to improve on their points haul today.

The action on the water starts with free practice at 12pm at Nicholas Everitt Park, with Heats 2 and 3 following throughout the afternoon.

Newcomers Join The Party

For me, the Lancashire GP was a brilliant way to kick off the season. The racing was great, it was fantastic to see OSY’s racing round Carr Mill again, and the overall atmosphere of the event was exactly what you want for the first race of the year. The biggest and nicest surprise for me though, came in the form of the number of new or returning drivers that were taking part.

The GT15 fleet was boosted by the arrival of Jessica Haylock and Caleb Jelf, both of whom certainly proved their worth over the course of the weekend, and the GT30 field was increased even more as Ralph White, Jayme Speller and Andy Cousins entered the mix. Newcomer to the series, Brad Holman complimented the OSY field, and the F4 field was the largest we’ve seen in recent years thanks to the arrivals of Martin Wood, John Donnelly, Ray Read, and the return of Mike Pillow.

One thing that was obvious during the races was that everyone, regardless of their experience competing at national level, gave their all out on the water. The action was fast, sometimes frantic and occasionally frenzied, and the spectators on the banks and up at the clubhouse were treated to a brilliant display by all six classes.

From a personal perspective, I took the opportunity to try out some new equipment, with varying results, but sometimes you have no alternative but to try things out “in the field” as it were. As I’m sure all the drivers will agree, you can test all you like but there’s no real substitute for getting out there in the thick of it to put your equipment through it’s paces.

So our attention turns now to the Lowestoft GP which will be wrapping up a week from now. Lowestoft & Oulton Broad Motor Boat Club (or LOBMBC, the world’s oldest motorboat racing venue) has seen bumper fields this season for their regular Thursday night race meetings, and with their large spectator area and great location this coming weekend has everything set to provide two great days of racing and family entertainment.

The action takes place on Sunday and Monday at LOBMBC, Nicholas Everitt Park in Lowestoft. If you haven’t done so before, come down and see what we’re all about – and feel free to say hello if you see me about!

Bryan

Powerboat GP Photographer

PowerboatGP update.

Hi all,

Just a quick update for you.The uk has been allocated 2 more European championship rounds this season ,the F-125  and the F-250 classes and PowerboatGP are pleased to announce that they will be run on the same weekend as the World F4 Championship round and the GT30 European Championship.These will take place on 1st and 2nd July at Stewartby Watersports club near Bedford.Please go to PowerboatGP website for more details.

For those of you you who have not seen racing hydroplanes this is an opportunity to see a completely different style of racing. Be there.,or you will be sorry you missed it.

See you all soon with another piece .

Bob ,Powerboatgp Photographer.

The first round of the National Championship.

Carr Mill dam,near St Helens,Lancashire hosted the first round of the RYA/PowerboatGP British Championship last weekend.

This is not going to be a report as such just my impressions of the meeting.

The first boats on the water for qualifying were the OSY400 class,these boats were competing at Carr Mill for the first time in a few years and for most of the drivers it was a new experience.Almost as soon as qualifying had started the red flags were flying as Jamie Marr in his Estonian Mosquito boat was caught out by a gust of wind and flipped over,fortunately he was not hurt and the boat only had minor damage.

Most of Saturday was taken up with Qualifying ,each class had at least one race each also,with the rest to come on Sunday.

In all classes there were some close times in the qualifying sessions and the races were sure to be very close.Although the weather looked quite good drivers reported a gusty wind on the course and they certainly had to wary .

Starting at the begining in the GT15 Class,in the first heat Harvey Smith,no.9,had a bad start but soon worked his way to the front and stayed there till the end,holding off Caleb Jelf,Aiden Fleet and George Elmore who was having engine problems.George`s pit crew changed engines overnight and this seemed to make all the difference as he won the other two heats,however as the engine was changed he had to lose the points gained with the first one.Overall winner and very well deserved was Harvey Smith,who had the customary dunking on his first national win.

Gt 30 Class was well attended ,and for the first time on this course they had to race on the full L shaped course including the right hand turn ,not a usual thing for this class.In the first heat 2 boats were docked a lap for missing a turn marker  and when the chequered flag fell Thomas Mantripp was the winner.One driver who was competitive in all three heats was Jack Pickles and he finished just behind Thomas in second place after 3 heats.

F4 had the most entries and some of the best racing in all 3 heats Ben Morse and Rob Veares were neck and neck ,in fact in heats 2 and 3 Rob held the lead until Ben managed to find a way past with some great driving.Ben Jelf had a good meeting in 3rd place.

OSY400 Class may not have had the most entries but still gave us some good racing .Last years champion Jason Mantripp in the Slovakian Bazinsky hull won overall with a dried out Jamie Marr in second.

The T850`s were also here to entertain the crowds and Mark Williams was racing in this class as well as F2,Mark who is a multi times T850 champion and has lost none of his skill,won the meeting from Local Lancashire driver Bill Owen.

In the F2 Class Colin Jelf had his boat and engine set up perfectly and took all 3 heats from Paul Balfour.

So what can we get from the first round,I think in all classes the racing is going to be close this season and trying to predict who will end up as the champion yet is impossible.If I have learnt anything in 40 years of spectating it is that it`s not over till the final flag.It was also good to see so many spectators watching around the lake especially on Sunday.After all these events are free entry and always exciting to watch.

So as I always say at the end of these blogs,why not go along to meeting and see for yourself.You may even fancy a go and all clubs have training packages available.

The next Championship round is at Oulton Broad on the Bank holiday weekend at the end of May.

See you there adreneline junkies.

Bob,Powerboat GP.