This weekend (10/11 July) the 2015 RYA Powerboat GP Championship campaign heads to Kingsbury Water Park in Warwickshire for the third round in what’s already proving to be a very exciting season.
2015 sees the Powerboat GP Championship back, bigger and better with a 6 round British Championship series in addition the annual RYA Sprint Championships that will be held in Bedford on the 1st & 2nd of August. The Championship also welcomes back Tiff Needell to host the Powerboat GP series that will again be broadcast on Sky Sports.
With a third of the championship campaign already decided competitors will be looking to kick it up a gear as they search for the British Championship titles with just four rounds remaining. Five of the seven championship classes will be in action as competitors from all over Britain battle it out for the Kingsbury honours.
One of the biggest battles set for the weekend will be amongst the junior racers in the GT15 class as reigning champion Thomas Mantripp looks to reclaim the top spot from championship leader Jonathan Brewer. Hot on their heels will be local racers Harvey Smith and Tiegen Goodfellow (the only female Junior racer) who will be looking to use the home waters to their advantage to upset the front runners.
Meanwhile in GT30 the battle will continue between reigning European GT30 champion Ben Jelf and newcomers Jamie Norris and Bexley Nunn as they battle hard to knock the tenacious teenager off the podium top spot.
The T850 Championship will see young gun Matt Wood aiming to give his fellow veteran competitors a run for their money, as he aims to take the championship lead from Lancashire’s David James in a fierce battle of the ages.
The OSY400 competitors will be back in action for their second round of the championship.With all the class competitors based at Lowestoft the battle of suffolk continues to see who will remain dominant as they skim across the water faces inches from the surface at speeds in excess of 60mph. Luke Hugman will look to maintain his lead on his fierce adversaries and be looking to take a clean set of heat wins again to secure the Kingsbury GP Title which of his club mates will be the first to unsettle the waters for him?
The final class to line up for the weekend will be the F4 Catamarans which will see Mike Pillow aim to extend his championship lead on Sam Whittle, Rob Vears and the rest of the F4 fleet as they head to the half way point in the season.
Kinsgbury Water Park creates interesting conditions for the competitors in every class making it a firm favourite venue for many competitors Powerboat GP promoter Jason Brewer explains why “Kingsbury Water Park’s a fantastic venue for powerbaot racing all of the action can be captured from every vantage point around the lake making it brilliant for spectators.
Meanwhile for the racers the small island in the middle of the lake makes for some interesting conditions as you never know what the winds doing on the opposite side of the island until you round it.”
He continued “The championships really hotting-up and there’s been some awesome battles happening throughout the fleets so far this season and I’m sure the Kingsbury GP won’t be any different”
Whatever the weather the action promises to be fast and furious as each of the classes battle through qualification and then over three heats each to secure the Kingsbury Crown.
Racing will take place on both Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th July with the action getting away on the water from 10.30 both days.
To get up close and personal with the action, there is a small park entry charge applicable. Everybody is welcome to come along and enjoy the show and you will be able to see the racing from anywhere around the banks or you can join the racers, their skilled mechanics, crew and teams in the club pit area where you can also listen to the live commentary.