Powerboat GP Championship kicks off in style in Lancashire 

Thirty teams battling it out over five classes

The 2015 RYA Powerboat GP British Championship got underway in style this weekend (02-03 May) as it kicked off at the Lancashire GP at Carr Mill Dam in St Helen’s. Thirty powerboat teams from all over the UK headed to the Lancashire Powerboat Racing Club for the start of the British campaign battling it out over five classes.  

In the T850 class it looked to be Manchester’s Matt Wood that look set to take first honours when on the first day of racing he secured pole position and stormed the first heat from start to finish.

The second heat once  more saw Matt take an early lead and set to clinch the victory when two laps from the end engine problems forced his to retire and Lancashire’s very own Dave James secured the win. Despite every effort from Matt in the third heat Dave got the best start and held the youngster off to take the Lancashire title.  

Meanwhile in the F4 Class reigning champion Ben Morse was plagued with problems which saw fierce rival Mike Pillow only to happy to capitalise on the champions misfortune. Pillow secured pole position and went on to secure a clean sweep of heat wins to take the Grand Prix title and the all important first championship points.

Talking after the race Mike had this to say on the win: “I’m very happy to win this weekend. The boat was handling well at testing at easter but so was everyone else, so I wasn’t sure what would happen this weekend.”

He continued: “it’s a long way until the end of the season and there’s some strong competition in the fleet but I’ve taken that all important step towards the championship.  Its been 31 years since I last won a British title so that will be my focus from now on but we’ll see what happens at the next round in a few weeks time.”  

The GT30 Class saw the reigning GT30 champion Ben Jelf once more carving the way around the course as he secured pole position and like the F4 winner stormed his way through the heats to take three out of three wins and his first trophy of the season.

With the two new racers in the class Bexley Nunn and Jamie Norris-Still taking 2nd and 3rd  respectively and gaining confidence and experience with every lap.  

One of the fieriest battles of the weekend came from the junior racers in the GT15 Class with Thomas Mantripp and Jonathan Brewer throwing down the gauntlet to each other.  

Jonathan secured pole position but in the first heat as they rounded the first turn it was Mantripp that took the lead holding Jonathan off until the chequered flag. But as the youngsters headed in two heat two the action was set to hot up. Jonathan sat on the reigning champions wake the whole race waiting for an opportunity to pass when two laps from the finish he ceased the moment and sailed home to take his first ever win.

So the battle was really on and with the Lancashire GP result depending on the final race all eyes turned to the water. Thomas took the lead but once again Jonathan bore down on him not giving him an inch managing to squeeze past him to take the lead for a couple of laps before the determined champion took his opportunity to reclaim the lead and pull away to the chequered flag and with it the Lancashire GP title. This is certainly a contest which promises to have us all on the edge of our seats as the championship unfolds.  

Powering ahead in the F2 championship was Lancashire’s Matt Palfreyman the youngest racer in the F2 fleet, with something to prove. The young gun secured pole position and didn’t put a turn wrong all weekend to secure three straight wins and his first National Grand Prix win in a flawless performance.

The F2 podium was completed by Steve Hoult and Paul Balfour making it a Lancashire podium to be proud of. Talking after the customary ‘early bath’ for his first championship win in F2 Palfreyman commented: “I’m so happy with how the boat has handled this weekend and couldn’t be more pleased to have taken the home win!  

“We’ve put a lot of work in over the winter to test the limits of the boat to get the best setups  and that works really paid off this weekend. Now to focus on the next round and the rest of the season.”  

All attention now turns to the Lowestoft Grand Prix on the 24-25 May as the RYA Powerboat GP Championship heads to Oulton Broad and a whole new set of racing conditions for the competitors to compete with.  

To find out more and stay up to date with all the action visit www.powerboatgp.co.uk