CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP 2009
The one event championship was held at the Fujairah International Marine Club. Qualifying saw a trouble free run for Colin and Owen who started from 4th and 6th on the grid. Alex Carella was on pole with Youssef and Uvis filling the top 3.
Racing conditions where much better than those seen over the first two days and the race proved very exciting with Owen leading for over 20 laps before being overtaken during a yellow flag restart. Colin was also racing hard and was moving up the field all the time.
At the finish line Owen was 2nd and Colin 4th. Owen filed a protest with regard to the offence against him during the yellow flag period. However the protest wasn't upheld. Bad luck for Owen who deserves a title in recognition of all the effort and skill he las put into the last few seasons.
The race did prove that the boats as they are currently should be fine for the weekends final round.
Final Race Classification can be found on Championship 2009.
Matt
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JELF TEAM PALGUED WITH PROBLEMS IN FUJAIRAH
Round 3 of the F2 World Championships has seen team mates Colin and Owen Jelf plagued with problems in their bid to retain the World Championship title for a 4th consecutive year. Going into Round 3 at Fujairah in the UAE reigning champion Colin Jelf was tied on 20 points in the lead of the championship with Italy’s Alex Carella with team mate and Brother Owen Jelf sat in a comfortable 7th in the championship and everything was still to play for. Sunday 13th December saw free practice in the morning cancelled after just 30 mins due to bad weather conditions.
A break in the weather saw qualifying 1 underway at 12:30 (local time) but further problems for Team Jelf as Colin’s engine seized on his first lap and was left in the middle of the course for the whole session in an unrecoverable position. Further bad news for Team Jelf saw them with a lot of hard work ahead of them when Owen’s engine also seized at the end of the session.
Weather had improved for Monday’s free practice session but Colin & Owen’s engine’s both seized again and with less than an hour to the second qualifying session the pressure was on. The second qualifying session saw reigning Champion Colin Jelf’s engine seize for the 4th time giving him a 10th starting place on the race grid with several other members of the fleet facing engine problems as well. Better luck for Owen Jelf saw him qualify in 3rd for the days race and the battle ahead of them. As the race got underway Owen pushed and held 3rd whilst Colin powered his way up the fleet into 6th until further bad luck saw him do a double barrel role and with it sent him out of the race. The restart saw problems for Owen as he dropped back into 8th position and managed to pull his way back to 5th in a formidable race.
Italy’s Alex Carella also pulled out of the race after a coming together with a back marker leaving, the Italian driver Ivan Brigada, to clinch the Fujairah Grand Prix 2009 round of the UIM F2 World Championship
The Italian driver Ivan Brigada, clinched the Fujairah Grand Prix 2009 round title of the UIM F2 World Championship at the Fujairah International Marine Club. The race that was held under the patronage of H.H Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, and was attended by H.H Sheikh His Highness Sheikh Safe Bin Hamad Bin Safe Al Sharqi Chairman of Fujairah International Marine Club.
Ivan Brigada, driving a DAC came in the first place recording a time speed of 00:36:39:88 securing 20 points, the Latvian driver Uvis Slakteris driving Mer recorded a time speed of 00:36:41:44 securing another 15 points putting him in the pole position for the race to the world title. The third place went to Youssef Al Robayaan, driving DAC recording 00:36:43:47 and securing 12 points before the final round.
For current standing go to Championship 2009 page
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F2 World Championship chequered flag in sight 5 days of racing over the 13th to 18th December will see the Jelf Racing team head to Fujairah in the UAE for the final 2 rounds of the F2 World Championship and the F2 Continental Cup.
Reigning World Champion Colin Jelf is tying for first in the championship with Italy’s Alex Carella heading into the 3rd round of contest which will be held over the 13th & 14th December. Confident that he is in a good position to retain his title for a fourth year, Colin’s experience in racing will not allow him to get complacent as he knows there is still a great deal of work to do with Carella, Johan Coenradi (NED) and Brother Owen Jelf all in good positions to steal his crown from him.
Colin commented “I’m looking forward to the events in Fujairah, and feel a lot more positive about the championship campaign now that I go into the last rounds tying with Alex for the lead.” He continues “The Championship is very close and is still an open competition. Having 5 races over 6 days will put a lot of pressure on everyone as we can’t afford any mistakes or problems in any round as there’s little time for repairs and recovery.”
Colin will also be looking to retain his Continental Cup Championship title in the separate competition run on the 15th December as a stand alone event. “We have raced in Fujairah a couple of times before. The circuit has a tendency to get quite rough, which can make racing very interesting as you have to be on the ball. As well as the other racers you have the conditions to contend with.” Colin explained what Team Jelf were expecting at the next rounds “We have excellent facilities available to us at the Fujairah International Marine Club and they always give us a warm welcome. Our boats were stored there for most of the year so we have already been there a couple of times this year. “The championship is there for the taking, as a team we need to remain focused and prepared for the task ahead and hopefully with a bit of luck we can achieve our goal and take the title.”
To find out how Team Jelf Racing get on at the final rounds of the World Championship visit www.F2WC.com or www.jelfracing.com
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| Friday 6th and Saturday 7th November 2009
Jelf Team back on top in Egypt
After a disappointing start to the F2 World Championship campaign in Bahrain last month, Team Jelf headed to the Second round in Egypt 2 weeks ago determined to get their campaign back on track
The second round of the 5 event World Championship took place on the 6th & 7th of November at Port Ghalib’s International Marina in Egypt.
As the 20 teams took to free practice on Friday afternoon Team Jelf had shaken off any disappointment following the opening rounds unlucky results and were back on top form and back to business. Showing that being a true champion is all about mindset as well as skill in driving.
In free practice reigning World Champion Colin Jelf set the fastest lap speed at 133.9 km/h on his last lap of the day the 26th. Pulling an extra km/h out of his boat ahead of his closest rival Alex Carella of Italy who’s fastest lap was his 20th out of 23 setting a time of 00:54:16. Colin’s older brother and team mate in the Jelf Racing Team Owen Jelf set the third fastest lap time in free practice just hundredths of a second behind Italy’s Alex Carella with a lap time of 00:54:94 with a top speed of 131.1km/h. Putting both brothers in good positions for the qualifying races.
During the first qualifying race Davide Padovan of Italy took the gold medal spot with the Jelf Racing team brothers Colin and Owen Jelf following him in, in second and third respectively. Second Qualifying saw Colin narrowly beaten into second by Sweden’s Erik Stark and Owen plagued by problems finishing in 18th.
16 Pilots qualified for the Main event Italy’s Davide Padovan took pole followed by Sweden’s Erik Stark who preceded the two Brits With Colin Jelf in third and Owen Jelf 4th before current championship leader Italy’s Alex Carella in 5th.
Colin Jelf came in the first place with a race time of 00:47:59:17, Erik Stark, from the Swedish Getel Racing team driving the boat Molgaard came in second place with a time of 00:48:00:49 and third place went to Sven Jansson, from the Swedish Jansson Formula Racing team driving the boat Clerici, with a time of 00:48:02:64.
With these results Colin secured 20 points to take him into joint 1st position with Alex Carella in the Overall Championship who collided with a race buoy on the 18th lap of the race seeing him receive a penalty lap and putting him out of the points.
Owen fought back from problems during the second qualifying race to secure 4th in the Race just seconds behind the top 3 leaving his position on the leader board a strong 7th in the Championship campaign.
On taking the win and boosting himself back up the leaderboard Colin Jelf said: “I am happy to clinch the title of this round. We have worked hard and the competition was fierce. We are looking forward to the next rounds in the UAE and hope we achieve the title this year.
The Formula 2 World Championship now heads to the UAE for the 3rd round of the Championship where Colin and Owen will both come out fighting to boost their campaign chances.
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| BAD STARTS FOR JELF RACING IN BAHRAIN SATURDAY 17th OCTOBER
After setting the quickest time in qualifying 1 on Friday afternoon. Colin entered qualifying 2 on Saturday knowing that he was in the box seat for pole position for the grand prix. He had also set the fastest lap of the weekend which would end up being nearly 2 seconds quicker than anyone else. So as the 45 minute session began confidence was high with Owen placed provisionally fourth on the grid.
Colin went straight out and set a time of 49.75 and then parked on the back straight to wait for another attempt. Owen was finally running problem free and was gradually knocking lap times down and was 3rd after the first ten minutes. Colin then decided to attempt another ‘flying lap’, he approached the last turn on what was a maximum attack lap and extremely quick, Paul Shepard was approaching the same turn on a wider line but suddenly turned across straight in front of Colin this resulted in Colin barrel rolling over Shepard’s boat luckily landing the right way up, frustratingly this accident should not even have happened as Shepard should have been looking for anyone around him and his radioman should have been in the radio tent thus ensuring he was told Colin was catching him. Colin and the boat were fine and thanks to hard work from the team the boat was patched up and back on the water by the end of the session. However during this time Carella claimed pole with Colin finishing up in 2nd with Uvis Slakteris 3rd, Owen dropped into 4th with Johan Coenradi 5th.
As the parade lap began anticipation was high with a good result still possible. However this was short lived as neither Colin or Owen fired first time when the lights went out. Infact, as the boats passed timing for the first time they were last and 2nd last and nearly half a lap behind the leading boat. Progress was difficult and the brothers raced each other for 5 laps with Colin finally edging ahead on lap 8. He then reported that he was struggling to accelerate out of the turns and was quickly re-passed by Owen. Colin by now was being caught by the leaders and on then on lap 14 the UIM commissioner instructed Colin’s radioman for Colin to move over and let the leading boats through. Amazingly 2 laps later Malek form The UAE destroyed both turn buoys at turn 1 and the race was yellow flagged. The leading 3 boats were 1st Slakteris, 2nd Coenradi and 3rd Carella. The yellow helped Owen a lot who was nicely tucked in behind the 10th placed boat but this caution also ruined any chance Colin had of salvaging any points for the weekend. At the re-start Carella took both 2nd and 1st in one lap and then extended his lead to 3 seconds, with Slakteris now 2nd and Johan dropping back to 3rd. Ironically Colin was right behind the 3 leaders and consistently lapped quicker than 2nd and 3rd place. Owen meanwhile was in 10th after finally getting past Johan Osterberg but was too far behind 9th place to catch and pass before the end of the race. Congratulations to Alex, Uvis and especially Johan who deserved to finish 2nd after a brilliant drive in a boat that before the weekend he had only driven for 12 laps.
Our next race is in Egypt in the resort of Port Ghalib on the 7th and 8th of November
Matt
matt@jelfracing.com
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| Thursday 15th October 2009
Jelf Team one-two in Match Race
Jelf Team one-two in Match Race 2nd and 3rd in free practice. After finally receiving the boats the Jelf Racing team had an extremely good day at the Amwaj Marina in Bahrain ahead of the opening round of the 2009 F2 World Championship.
Free practice saw Colin dominate for the 1st 20 minutes nearly 2 seconds ahead of the next boat. Then on his 2nd prop change the Latvian Uvis Slakteris posted a lap 0f 48.09 to head the timing boards. Owen was comfortably third ahead of Alex Carella and Davide Padovan both from Italy. Colin then posted a lap of 48.12 in the final ten minutes with a high fuel load to finish just 0.03 behing the Latvian with Owen a further 0.42 back in third. Carella stayed 4th, Padovan 5th and Philippe Toure from France was 6th ahead of rookie driver Malek Almalek from the UAE 7th.
More to follow after todays events
1pm - 2pm (Local time) - Free Practice 3pm - 3.45pm (Local time) - 1st Qualifying
Matt
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Jelf Racing prepare to defend World Championship
This week sees the opening round of the 2009 UIM Formula 2 World Championship at Amwaj Islands, Bahrain on the 15th & 16th October.
This week sees the opening round of the 2009 UIM Formula 2 World Championship at Amwaj Islands, Bahrain on the 15th & 16th October.
2008 saw Great Britain’s Colin Jelf enter the history books on his return from the final round of the F2 World Championship In Malaysia– The reigning World Champion, Formula 2 Continental Champion & F2 British Sprint Champion Colin Jelf brought home a hat trick of World Championship Titles as he was crowned F2 World Champion for the third successive year - Making UIM History, as the only driver ever to win the F2 World title 3 times !
This week the Jelf Racing team will head to Bahrain were Colin will aim to begin the battle to defend his title with one of his closest adversaries for the crown being old brother and fellow Jelf Racing Team member; Owen Jelf who finished 6th in the championship last year.
The brothers will battle it out with racers from 14 other nationalities in their bid to keep the World Championship crown in the UK, and with 20 teams vying for the glory this will be no mean feat.
The competition takes place over 5 rounds of racing during the next two months and will see the Jelf Racing Team head to Bahrain on the 15 - 16 October for the first round before heading to Egypt then Saudi Arabia in November for rounds 2 & 3. December 11th & 12th will his round 4 at Ras Al Khaimah, UAE before the finals on December 17 - 18 Fujairah, UAE where the World Champion will be crowned.
Both Colin and Owen will be looking to get the campaign off to a strong start as the championship gets underway. Colin will be keeping close eye on his brother’s progress as well as Italy’s Alex Carella, the 24 year old who has recently been crowned UIM F1000 World Champion, stole the final grand prix of the F2 World Championship from Colin last year securing second in the championship overall and will be a formidable contender for the crown this year.
When asked what he thought of his chances for 2009 Colin replied “Obviously, there are 20 drivers who all want to win the title that’s why we all race. Last year Alex, (Carella from Italy), beat me in the last two rounds. But as he hadn’t finished in the first two. I just needed solid points finishes to guarantee the the title. I had plenty more in reserve if I needed it.”
So who does he think will be his rivals during this years title push? “There are six or seven drivers who can win races but there are maybe two or three who can consistently win and push me all the way. Alex (Carella) will no doubt have improved his consistency since we last raced. There is Paul Sheppard (who is multiple South African F1 Champion) who has bought very quick equipment and has dominated racing in South Africa for the last 5 years.
Of course, I know my brother Owen will be close too. He has been very quick at home and in Europe this year. But, fundamentally it is down to me and the team to ensure we get 100% out of the boat at every race. If we do that I have no doubt that we can win a 4th title.”
To keep up to date with Colin and Owen’s World Championship push. Please log onto www.jelfracing.com To leave messages search ‘Jelf Racing Team’ on Facebook
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| British Championship Final Round Sat 26th and Sun 27th September 2009
The final round of the National Championship was held at Stewartby Lake in Bedfordshire. It saw Owen competing looking for a positive result to build confidence before heading off to the World Championships in October. BEn meanwhile was lloking to finish off the season postively after a good first racing season.
Qualifying saw Owen take pole position by over half a second. He was completely untroubled in all three heats and won all comfortably from the championship leader.
In the Juniors Ben qualified 5th and finished 5th. He drove well again and continued to mature into a good young driver. He will be in a new boat for next year and is looking forward to getting to grips with that.
Formula 4 saw both Palfreyman brothers comepteing. With Graham contesting his first National in the class. Brother Matt was suffering from a bug and wasn't his usual self. Graham however qualified 5th, finsihed a superb third in heat one after holding off both the 2007 World Champion and the 2009 Vice World Champion. He suffered a loose earth in heat 2 which ended his challenge and then drove brillaintly from the back of the grid to finsih 2nd in the last heat. To finish 4th overall, a great result!!
2009 National Champions
F2To be confirmed F4 Stephen Batch T850 Tom Gilderdale JT250 Ben Morse Outboards Wayne Turner
Well done to all from Jelf Racing
Matt
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World Championship start is fast approaching
It's only 29 days to go to the first World Championship race of 2009 in Bahrain. The teams preparations are going well. Again the format will be match racing, speed records and the GP itself. Colin will be looking to make it 4 World titles in a row and Owen is hoping to win his first in F2.
Colin and Owen have raced alot both intenationally and at home this year. With Colin coming 2nd in Class 2 (F2) at the 24 hour race in Rouen, while at home he has been busy developing the Hellcat F2 rig. 2009 has seen Owen winning the 2nd British Championship round in the UK and the last round of the Scandinavian Series in Holland two weeks ago.
You can stay up to date on all racing abroad via our facebook fanpage and our website - www.jelfracing.com
Good luck messages can be left on our fanpage or on our website guestbook.
See you all soon
Jelf Racing
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| Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd August 2009
British Sprint Championships
The biggest field of powerboats assembled at Stewartby Lake for the 2009 British Sprint Championships. With Colin defending his F2 Sprint Title with Owen also racing and Ben competing in his first National it was going to be a busy weekend for the team.
Ben was running his J250 rig with a recently purchased engine replacing the 25 year old engine he was using before. With his confidence still returning following his crash at the UK Masters, he was determined to enjoy his racing. Heat one passed without an incident with Ben easing his way round the long course to come in last position. Heat 2 saw Ben return to his fast starts and a much improved race saw him finish much closer to the other four juniors at the chequered flag. Heat 3 saw Ben fly off the line and turn the first turn in 3rd place although he eventually got eased back to 5th. He drove very well and finished off his Sprint Championships in a very happy mood and most importantly smiling alot.
In F2, Colin and Owen lined up 3rd and 4th on the grid for the first heat. At the first turn it was Balfour and Owen turning first followed by Whittle and Colin. After 4 laps Malcolm Goodman destroyed buoy 4 and caused a re-start. At the end of the re started race Owen finished behind Balfour in 2nd with Colin 5th. Heat 2 saw another good start for Owen with him narrowly failing to get past Paul at the first turn. Lap 5 saw a big accident involving Alan Marshall (F2) and Keith Whittle (SL250). Nobody was hurt and the race re-started with Keith racing under protest. At the chequered flag Owen again came home 2nd with Colin 4th. Special mention to Malc Goodman for coming from last to 3rd with some awesome driving. Heat 3 started with both Colin and Owen trying different propellers. For Owen it didn’t work but for Colin it did, with him being able to push for the first time all weekend coming home 5th behind his brother with the top 5 all being on the same straight for the whole race. Team Manager and Colin’s Chief Mechanic in the World Championship races Billy Nairn, raced for the first time in a year. He had niggling problems all weekend with his Jelf F2 powerboat. With his power trim being the main annoyance. On a positive note it was great to have Billy back racing.
In F4 Matt Palfreyman again showed increased maturity. Finishing a creditable 7th in his first Sprints. Graham Palfreyman had a weekend to forget in T850, finishing last with an engine breakdown. He will be concentrating on F4 for the rest of this season. Good luck Gray.
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| Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th July
Cholmondley Castle Pageant of Power
The now annual Pageant of Power held at Cholmondley Castle near Nantwich in Cheshire is a chance for the UK Powerboat family to showcase our sport to people who would otherwise not have the opportunity to see what it is all about.
It was young Ben’s first chance to start to regain his confidence after his flip at Stewartby’s UK Masters. With the boat repaired the team arrived on Friday night to be greeted horrible weather. However this soon cleared to leave a beautiful sunny day on Saturday. With 2 heats to be raced the Junior class were first on the water, with 8 Juniors it was decided to start them in groups of four. In the first heat Ben was clearly finding his feet again which was to be expected and with the final national signature being the main motivation he dove well and finished. Heat 2 saw slightly blustery conditions but again Ben drove very well and finished.
After a team meeting on Saturday night. Ben started Sundays heats much more positively and made an excellent start against much more experienced racers. Although he lost a place during the heat it was easy to see his confidence flooding back. Heat 4 saw an even better start and he drove at full throttle for the whole race. With the signature gained and the smile back the team left on Sunday night with thoughts of the National Sprint Championships in their mind.
In the main F4 event Matt Palfreyman drove extremely well to finish 4th overall. Matt’s brother Graham also demonstrated his T850 monohull for the crowds on Sunday, although his mind is now full of anticipation of beginning his F4 racing career next season.
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| Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th July 2009 UK Masters – Stewartby, Bedford
The UK Masters is fast becoming a very important event on the UK’s circuit powerboat racing calendar. It is held as a club race which attracts both the National drivers and drivers that only choose to club race at their respective clubs around the UK. Traditionally it sees the Formula 4 class and the J/JT 250 class compete form the UK Masters and the Hydroplanes compete for the prestigious Christobel Green Memorial Trophy. Ben was competing for his first major trophy and Colin was racing in the supporting Catamaran SuperClubman handicapped race.
Saturday morning brought a wonderfully sunny start to the day after the forecast had promised rain. The juniors were first on the water with 6 boats entering it was better contested than the previous 3 national rounds. After practice and the handicaps set Ben started first in the first heat with the quicker boats following. However as previous races had shown, Ben drives completely different in a race and was never caught in the 6 lap race. Although James Bowman did close the gap down to around 2 seconds at the finish. Heat 2 on Sunday brought about a different race format with all the Juniors starting together on the lights. Ben made a flyer from 4thth on the grid but couldn’t make any impression on the leading 3 drivers. He drove a great race with all his racing laps being within half a second of each other. Heat 3 was held in the worst conditions of the weekend. Ben’s pit crew trimmed the engine in and he lined up on the start. Again he made the best start but as heat 2 he couldn’t make an impression on the leaders. At the start of lap 3 whilst turning the pit buoy, the wind got underneath his boat and flipped him over backwards. He was quickly recovered by the rescue divers and brought back to the Ambulance. On removal of his helmet Mum and Dad were greeted by a grinning Ben who apart from a little bang was no worse for the incident. The boat however did a minor crack which stopped Ben going out to practice at the end of the day.
In the SuperClubman race only 5 F 2’s and the SL250 entered. Which was disappointing as it was hoped the club race aspect would encourage some of the countries club drivers to make the trip. Colin, running the Hellcat F2 (NS2000) boat, was hoping to gain more time in the boat which he will use at the British Sprint Championships that he has won for the last two years. Heat one went well after starting from 4th Colin eventually finished 3rd. He felt that the propeller choice wasn’t right so the team went a different way for Heat 2. Which saw us fail to start after the starter motor solenoid failed before the hot lap. With Heat 2 gone Heat 3 was Colin’s last chance to try a different prop. He made a good start and was having a great battle with Bill Owen for 3rd when an earth lead from the replacement solenoid came loose leading to it shorting out across the ignition system. Which led to his retirement from the heat.
In Formula 4 Matt Palfreyman proved consistency is best as he took a good 3rd after his 3 heats were completed. He and two other boats were the only ones to finish all three heats. More miles on the clock and confirmation that he is driving better and better.
In the Christobel Green Memorial Trophy, for 'real' hydroplanes (lay downs only). Nigel Edwards continued his winning form by taking the trophy. Out of 5 entries he was the only driver to complete all 4 heats. His pit crew of Graham Viney and Sam Whittle got him off the line brilliantly in all the races and he drove impeccably around his home circuit.
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| Thursday 25th June 2009
LOBMBC Club Race, Oulton Broad
With the importance of gaining five Club racing signatures before a National Licence is granted paramount for the team. Ben and Colin made their third trip in 12 days to a Club Race. This time it was Oulton Borad, who race every Thursday throughout the summer. It was a wonderfully warm evening and Ben yet again completed three heats with no incidents. He finished third, but this was mainly due to some confusion between the timekeepers and the pit crew. Most importantly Ben did 27 more racing laps and is one step closer to the goal of racing the Sprints.
(Photos courtesy of M White and T Chatters)
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| Sunday 21st June 2009
Lancashire Powerboat Racing Club Club Race
For the 2nd time in 2 weeks Ben won a handicapped club race taking a 2nd and two 1st places in the 3 heats. A fantastic effort for a young lad who has has only just turned nine years old, showing a growing maturity each time he gets into his boat. His next race will be the J250 UK Masters at Stewartby Lake on the first weekend in July.
In the club's Superclubman Race, Matt Palfreyman raced his Formula 4 rig. With the boat feeling alot better around his home course since the modifications were made the weekend before. Although, he had one uncertain moment when the boat decided to go sideways down the main straight.
See pictures opposite.
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| SATURDAY 13TH & SUNDAY 14TH JUNE 2009
BRITISH NATIONAL ROUND 3 - BODYMOOR HYDROPLANE CLUB
What a weekends National Racing at the Bodymoor Club lake at The Kingsbury Water Park, Tamworth. With all classes represented apart from the Formula 2 boats, which aren't allowed to race on the lake, a good racing weekend was promised for teams and spectators.
Primarily the team attended for Ben's first club race and hopefully National Licence signature. Which was scheduled for Sunday afternoon. We also helped Matt Palfreyman (Formula 4) and his brother Graham (T850) with the set up and engines on there boats. Matt was extremely happy by the end of the weekend because of the progress the team made, although he did hook and roll the boat in the final heat of the National races, when set for a good 5th overall. But he will learn and we hope to make more progress this weekend and at the upcoming UK Masters event at our home club. He did take 3rd in the mixed Sportsboat Club Race. With older brother Graham finishing 5th in the T850 National.
Well done to Natalie Craddock on her first National win in JT250 and an extra special well done to Stewartby Club members; Ben Viney for acheiving his first podium in OSY400 in his first National race, and to our F350 Driver - Nigel Edwards who after a bad start to the year powered his way to an overall win in the outboard/Hydro class - Well Done boys ! Keep it up !
So on to Sunday afternoon and Ben's first club race. After 4 practice laps so the handicaps could be decided. The four competing Juniors started their first heat. Ben started first followed by Charlotte Gilbert, Charlotte Newton and Natalie. After 4 laps Ben hadn't been caught by anybody and won his first ever race at his first attempt. Race 2 with the handicaps slightly adjusted saw Ben start first again but with less of a time advantage. Although he was never caught, Natalie overtook both Charlottes and finished less than 5 seconds behind.
Please see pictures opposite from the weekend. More will be added so check back often.
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| Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st May 2009
Stewartby Practice and Club Meeting
This weekend saw glorious condtitions at Stewartby lake for Ben's second weekend of testing in his Jelf Evo 1 Junior boat. After some hull modifications and a change to the driving position. Ben took to the water, there were still some interesting moments but he again drove very well. After his first session the pit crew set about raising the engine height, which was the only change made, Ben then again tested the changes and an improvement was clear but also led to a near flip on the front straight. The engine was trimmed in for his last two sessions and the boat improved massively and so did Ben's confidence in the boat. He produced laps consistently of around 58 sec. With the finishing touches still needing to be applied to the boat before its next outing the signs are looking positive for more improvement during the summer season. See video opposite for Ben's 'air' moment.
The weekend also saw Owen arrive on Sunday morning to test some newly supplied propellers with some good results learnt for the forthcoming World Championship races later in the year. In F4, Jelf Racing Team's Matt Palfreyman, finally discovered the cause of his bad weekend at Oulton Broad, with some malfunctioning ignition coils identified as the problem. With that fixed he managed to test some propellers ahead of the 3rd round of the British Championships. Matt's brother Graham also had a good testing weekend despite his trim being broken on his T850 monohull. He tried several propellers and also won the first heat of the mixed sportsboat club race.
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| Sunday 24th and Monday 25th of May 2009
British Championship Round 2 - Oulton Broad
The May Bank Holiday weekend saw the 2nd round of the National Championships at Oulton Broad in Suffolk. Formula 2 saw an entry of 7 boats, which was down on what was expected. After timed practice, Keith Whittle in the 3.4 litre Evinrude SL250 boat had qualified on pole position 0.6 secs ahead of Owen in 2nd. The current National Formula 2 Champion Paul Balfour was 0.16secs back in third followed by Malc Goodman, Bill Owen and Alan Marshall. Ian Wright suffered power steering failure in practice and did not start any of the heats.
Heat One saw Owen blitz the start and at the first turn he was first, ahead of Balfour, Goodman and the slow starting Whittle taking a tight top buoy in 4th. He was followed by another fast starter in the form of Alan Marshall with Bill Owen last into the turn. Owen pushed early to get a gap and after 5 laps he had gained a quarter of a lap on Balfour, with Malc pushing hard in the battle for 2nd. Whittle seemed to be struggling to find the right lines to make any meaningful gains on the front 3. While Bill and Alan were having a good battle for the lower positions. After 15 laps the finishing positions were 1st Owen Jelf 2nd Balfour 3rd Malc Goodman 4th Keith Whittle 5th Bill Owen 6th Alan Marshall.
Heat 2 saw another good start from Owen with Balfour reacting alot quicker and they left the pontoon together. But again Owen claimed the advantage with Goodman and Whittle in 3rd and 4th. With Balfour chasing Owen down it left the crowd watching a great battle between Goodman and Whittle, with Goodman holding onto his advantage by turning brilliantly at both buoys and Whittle attempting to use his power to force by on the straights. There was a near disaster at the Wherry when Whittle misjudged his line and narrowly avoided hitting the back of Malcolm who had already turned in. The results after 15 laps were as the first heat.
The final heat saw a good start by all boats apart from the number 90 of Goodman who trailed behind Whittle as they turned for the first time. Owen quickly built a lead while Whittle and Balfour had a fantastic battle for 2nd with Keith eventually using his power advantage to ease past going into the bottom turn. He then set off to catch Owen. He made good progress and with 4 laps to go was just 2 seconds behind. Then just in front of the crowd he misjudged the wind and went airborne narrowly avoiding flipping, this left him trailing by a quarter of a lap. While the 3rd place boat of Balfour was over half a lap behind Owen who was consistently lapping within half a second of the outright F2 lap record after he beat it the record in practice.
In F4 Jelf Racing Team member Matt Palfreyman, had a diffcult weekend after his excellent 3rd at his home race at the first round. With a blown number one engine and misbehaving spare causing him to finish no heats and score no points for the weekend.
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| Saturday May 2nd and Sunday May 3rd 2009
24 hours of Rouen 2009
After 24 hours of endurance racing on the busy river running through the town. Owen was placed 7th overall and in Class 3, while Colin came 11th overall and 2nd in Class 2 gaining the silver medal with the IXE Team. The only drama they suffered was losing the cockpit canopy during the 2nd stint after their first driver change and refuel. Meanwhile, Team Performance for who Owen was one of the drivers, had several gremlins with the electrics which hurt there chances of a top 3 after leading the race after 5 hours.
There several accidents overnight which saw the race stopped 3 times and rescue refusing to go back on the water after a Class 3 entry who obviously didn't see the yellow flags or lights of the rescue boats, hit two rescue boats who were recovering a sinking boat.
There was also drama for the UK entry in Class 1, were a battery change caused a spark and ignited the fuel present in the back of the boat after refuelling. 4 of the team suffered burns with Sven Hamer and mechanic Peter from Holland the worst affected. We are glad to report they are all doing well now and are at home!
Next action for us is the May Bank Holiday British National Championship race at Oulton Broad on the 24th and 25th of May. Where Owen will be racing his recently upgraded Molgaard in the Formula 2 races.
In the photos opposite you can see a selection of photos taken at Rouen by Jerome Lenfant. Colin's Team raced in the number 33 DAC and Owen's in the number 6 DAC with crash boxes.
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| Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th April 2009
Stewartby Watersports Club Testing Weekend
Last weekend at Stewartby saw the Jelf Racing Team test two boats.
Colin was testing his Hellcat F2 after sponson repairs due to damage caused at the 2005 British Sprint Championships. With over 40 laps completed, 7 propellers tested and several practice starts the boat was extremely fast and should prove very competitive as our British Championship boat.
The 2nd boat tested was the Barnard/Yamaha 9.9 JT250 of our youngest driver, and son of Colin, Ben Jelf. This was Ben's first big test ahead of earning his National licence. He completed 60+laps of the Junior course, most of which were when the course was at its roughest. He gained valuable experience and impressed everybody with his maturity and bravery. Once the boat is set up exactly for Ben's needs he should be very quick!!
This weekend - May 2nd and 3rd - Both Colin and Owen will be taking part in the 24 hour race in Rouen, France. Colin will be one of the four drivers competing for the IXE Team in Class 2. While Owen will driving for Team Dynamic Performance in Class 3. The race report will be posted here.
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Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd March 2009
Stewartby Water Sports Club First Testing Weekend (report from www.stewartbypowerboat.com)
Well the 2009 season got off to a great start! The weather was terrific, sunny with a light breeze, lets hope its the start of a great season.
There were a number of drivers testing new equipment for the first time.
Young Ben Viney has gone up to OSY from the junior class and is showing great improvement with every lap he drives, Nigel Edwards spent all weekend helping him get it set up at the expense of his own racing, maybe we have a new OSY Club Racing Manager? James Bowman came from Oulton Broad to try his new OSY rig out, running OK until he had a spill Sunday, luckily driver and boat are fine. Jason Mantripp only did Saturday but all seems to be running OK
Juniors saw Ben Morse with a new Hull "The Freesian" which looked to be going well, not long now untill the 2009 European championship. Charlotte Gilbert also took her new boat out for a spin on Saturday.
The Formula 4's were the best represented class with 8 boats, most of the guys experiencing some sort of trouble. Ben Shepard did 2 powerheads & an impeller before getting some laps in late on Sunday. Stuart King also did 2 powerheads on Saturday before calling it a day, Sunday was just to much of a risk and he opted to take the dog for a walk, it was cheaper! Tim Lewis had his own share of trouble and wins the award of most engine changes of the weekend. Scott Curtis had a steering failure and finished the weekend off with an engine seizure. John Masters brought his new Hellcat for a trial and all seemed OK. Matt Palfreyman only did testing Saturday but was also one to attract gremlins. Brian Shulver & Mark Williams were in and out of the water, all weekend busy trying different ideas, Mark Williams was also trying out Dave Elliot's Boat.
Keith Whittle took his SL250 out or its first Official run of the season and development goes well.
The only Hydro was Julian Codling with the the ex James Aderholt Pugh Boat ( looking very smart with a new paint job) powered by a 250 Rossi which was not going too well and ran out of sparks Unable to fix it he called it a day. Back to Mr Rossi for a new box of sparks!
Sunday saw the Three Brett brothers out in the mono and Josh Brett jnr in his new junior boat.
The star of the weekend has to be Colin Jelf current F2 World Champion but happy to be in a patrol boat, seems like we may have found a hidden talent? He was ably assisted by Matt Watts.
Although Sunday was a little windier I think most people managed to get some good testing results.
Only three weeks now until Easter when we have our first races of the season, lets hope for as good weather as this weekend.
Thanks again go to all of the support staff not just from Stewartby but other clubs and Rapid, your help is very much appreciated guys, sorry the gas ran out on the showers!
Heres to a great Racing 2009 !
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| Saturday 7th March 2009
Stewartby Water Sports Club Awards Dinner
The annual club dinner dance was held at The Mercure Parkside Hotel, just outside Milton Keynes. With all the trophies being won by club members it was a great night which was enjoyed by all. Colin collected his British Sprint Championship Trophy and an Outstanding Acheivements Trophy that was awarded specially from the club.
Billy also received the Hard Luck Award Trophy, in recognition for his efforts with his own boat, after a difficullt years racing.
Thanks to Sue, John and all the committee at the club for a great night.
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| Sunday 8th February 2008
ROYAL YACHTING ASSOCIATION AWARDS DINNER
The ceremony was held in the DeVere Suite at The Royal Bath Hotel in Bournemouth. Colin received his 2008 World Championship Trophy, the 2008 Continental Championship Trophy and the British Sprint Championship Trophy. They were presented by Dr Raphale Chiuli the UIM President. Who was the RYA's guest of honour for the evening.
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| Wednesday 7th January 2009
COLIN JELF SECURES HISTORIC THIRD CONSECUTIVE TITLE AFTER TAKING 2ND PLACE IN THE SABAH F2 WORLD CUP RACE
Britain's Colin Jelf was crowned World Champion for the third successive year when he finished 2nd in the UIM F2000 Sabah World Cup at Kota Kinabalu Water Front yesterday, Sunday 14th December 2008.
The 38 year old from the Jelf Racing Team earned 15 points for his runners-up positions for a season high of 60 to win the overall title by 20 points from Alex Carella (Italy).
Carella capped a perfect weekend when he took the chequered flag after crossing the finish line in 33 minutes 31.77 seconds. It was a dominating performance from the Italian, who despite, starting from pole got a bad start. He slowly worked his way past his rivals and after several failed attempts, finally managed to overtake Colin on the sixth lap on the 35 lap event. Colin finished 10 seconds behind in 2nd with Jean Baptiste Thomas (France) 3rd a further 10 seconds behind.
After the race Colin conceded that Carella could be the man to beat next seazson "It was a diffucult race for me as I usually start from pole position but I got off to a good start as we found the near perfect set-up during Saturday's free practice."
" I thought I would be able to control the race after taking the lead but I saw Alex coming up from behind and after a few laps he went past. Today he was the better man but I only needed a good finish to win the world title... I didn't push it and settled for second as I knew it was enough to win my third world crown and that has been the aim for the whole season."
When asked about next year, Colin said "Carella had a good second half to the season and came on strongly and he may be the man to beat next year. We have alot of work to do to catch up with Alex. He has obviously found the right set-up for his boat now and we will go back to do some testing and hopefully we can find some more speed to counter him. However, I hope to maintain my position as World Champion and go for the fourth title."
Words taken from The Borneo Post, Sabahs biggest English paper.
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