We’re now just a day away from the final event of the Zapcat National Championship 2009, and I know it gets said every year but this years looks set to be the closest run contest yet.
Ok, so it looks like but Bluesheets Racing 1 Zapcat 03, Craig Davis and Rob Martin have closed the door on the rest of the teams catching them but as last year taught us, at Watergate anything can happen and usually does and with 200 points still up for grabs they could still be caught.
The real battle will be for 2nd & 3rd positions with less than 100 points separating current positions 2nd – 6th in the championship these two positions will be a tightly fought contest with each team still having everything to play for.
Other titles still up for grabs are; Zapcat King of the Surf, with only 50 points separating the top 5 teams in this championship, with two rounds still to go and every team showing their skill as racers in the surf this year, it’s not one you’d like to place any serious money on.
In the Zapcat Team Championship less than 30 points stands between the top two teams both Bluesheets Racing Team and Team Lost Buoys will be vying for ultimate points to take the title.
Certain Death, Zapcat 21, Luke Wills and Kevin Lott lead the Rookie championship with almost a 200 points buffer in the table above their closest rivals Mail Agent, Zapcat 100 but with them only completing a couple of races at the previous event this year in Watergate and surf notoriously bigger at the latter event will they have the bottle to hold on to their title?
The Zapcat National Championship finals will take place on Friday 25th & Saturday 26th September with 16 heats of the Surf action Zapcat Racing is famous for each day before the 2 divisions finals for the now vital championship points.
Racing will take place from noon on the Friday and Saturday to enable the Champions to be crowned at the Gala Zapcat Awards Ceremony at Watergate Bay hotel on the Saturday night.
Reigning Champion Mick Pritchard saw his season end early at this event last year when a rogue wave left him with a broken back in one of the first heats of the day, now training as a RYA Official he understands completely the respect the racers will have to show this venue in their championship bids. “Watergate Bay is a favourite venue for all the racers, for most it’s the reason we race, the awesome surf conditions you’re faced with mean you have to completely rethink your racing tactics. You can’t just go flat out and hang on for dear life, you have to read the waves to make sure both you and your co-pilot make it round the course safely.” He continued “The racers got a taste of the conditions earlier in the year when we visited Watergate in June. Next weekend promises to be even bigger as the seasons change, the surf usually gets bigger. Even the more experienced teams will be tested. In the conditions they’ll be faced with Trust and team work will be essential.”
For Zapcat Racing fans who can’t attend the event all the action will once again be streamed live on the Zapcat Racing website and on Tiger24.com. So you can catch all the action wherever you are in the world.