Saturday, 14 July 2007

Round Five of the 2007 Zapcat National Championship was the highlight of the first day of the Glasgow River Festival as Zapcats powered around the course on the River Clyde in this season’s only Grand Prix north of the border.

Mick Pritchard and Baz Minns, pilot and co-pilot of Zapcat 8 Pegasus Vortex Racing, were in pole position going into this round of the world’s biggest one-design powerboat series and a stunning drive in the Division One final saw them consolidate their lead, finishing Round Five with a 64-point lead over their nearest rivals.

Mick and Baz decided to take their compulsory pit lap during the first circuit of the five-lap race and closed the gap on the leading pack of three racers, 18 Anger Management Racing, 98 Team Suffolk and 3 Energy 69 Vortex Racing, all of whom left their pit lap til late in the race. On the thrilling final lap the leading two teams had to take their pit lap allowing 8 Pegasus to move from fourth to second place, just a nose-cone behind the overall winners of the round, 18 Anger Management.

The win means Nathan Williams and Victoria Harris, who’ve been threatening to shake up the leader board all season, take their position to within a whisker of the top three, just three points behind third placed 98 Team Suffolk who recovered from their less-than-satisfying performance at Southsea last month.

The Division Two final was no less thrilling as 17 Glasgow: Scotland with style, cheered on by the home crowd lining the banks of the Clyde, looked to be heading for a podium place. But some classy tactics by Stephen and Kevin Watts in 78 Island Racing, who took a perfectly timed pit lap, meant the season debut for 17 Glasgow: Scotland with style finished without any silverware.

“It was a really good decision to pit when he did,” said pilot Tony Jones. “If he’d left it any later, I’d have had him.”

Better luck tomorrow (Sunday 15 July) for Tony and the rest of the Zapcatters when they take to the water on the second day of the Zapcat National Championship Glasgow River Festival Grand Prix.

Timings for the racing have been slightly revised, with practice starting at 10am and the first of the day’s 20 heats getting underway at 11am.

Thirty Zapcats are battling it out in the Glasgow River Festival Grand Prix, racing in small packs of six, around the course between Bells Bridge and the Clyde Arc Bridge. Spectators can get up close to the action and a great view from all angles on the course to see the boats hit speeds of around 50mph. With a power-to-weight ratio of 340bhp per tonne the Zapcats can outmanoeuvre any boat of a similar size and the pilots and co-pilots are subjected to up to twice the force of gravity in the tightest of turns.

For the crowds gathered on the banks of the Clyde it is thrilling to watch. The tight corners on the flat water course, combined with the wind tunnel created by the high banks of the river, make for unpredictable and exhilarating race conditions.