A posse of Powerboat P1 racers moved from offshore racing to record breaking last week as they established new benchmarks in the Coniston Speed Week . New speed records were set for both the Evolution class and SuperSport class by the #66 Cranfields Wine Searex Racing and #07 Microlink PC VoomVoom.com crews.

Coniston – the third-largest body of water in the UK’s Lake District – is synonymous with speed, and the Coniston Speed Week has quickly become a popular haunt for powerboat racers eager to set new straightline benchmarks.

#66 Cranefields Wine throttleman and team boss Grieve and regular pilot Gino Passchier claimed the Evolution National and World speed records in his Mercury V8-powered Searex 40 hull with an average speed of 121.48 mph, before bettering it on his second run with a higher speed of 122.21mph. “It was quite difficult on that very flat water,” Grieve said. “For an offshore boat you need air under the boat and a little choppy water.”

#07 Microlink PC VoomVoom.com throttleman and team boss Vee Ganjavian and pilot Gareth Williams set a new SuperSport National and World benchmark of 86.97mph in their Yanmar diesel-powered Hustler hull, and also then went on to better it on their second run with a faster speed of 89.69mph. Ganjavian also got a taste of 100mph+ Evolution-class speeds in the #66 Cranefields Wine boat.

“I love Coniston and all it stands for,” Ganjavian said. “I cannot wait to come back with bigger and faster boats! I have a fantastic team behind me, and without them none of this would have been possible! I was warded the K7 Gold Star, which I shall wear with honour. All and all, the best four days of 2008 season for me. Also a big thanks to Michael Roberts of Powerboat P1’s TCC for attending and making sure everything was in order.”