The world’s largest one design powerboat series flies into Bournemouth next weekend (Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 August) for the penultimate Grand Prix of the 2008 Zapcat National Championship season. While aircraft perform overhead the Zapcat racers will be showing off their skills as they race these powerful boats around a specially designed course in their bid for Championship glory.
This season’s championship looks like it will go down to the wire, with reigning champions Mick Pritchard and Christchurch-based Baz Minns in 01 Pegasus Vortex Racing just 50 points ahead of their closest rivals, Bligh Julius and Simon Butters in 03 Commandos Predator.
The introduction of a Team Championship this season has added another tactical element to the competition. The seemingly unstoppable Vortex stable leads the field, with the Royal Marine Commandos in hot pursuit. During the last Grand Prix at Littlehampton the Commandos were dogged by bad luck – engine trouble for two of their boats and a popped hull for Boat 36 made it a less than satisfactory weekend for them.
Bournemouth’s Jeremy Nazarin, will be piloting 36 Go Commando (RMR Bristol), which he’s confident will be repaired in time for the National Championship rounds on 30 and 31 August.
“I really like the conditions in Bournemouth so I’m looking forward to it,” he says. “It’s quite small chop which gives good, hard racing – lots of action and lots of fun.”
Peter Bonham-Christie from Blandford, Dorset, pilots boat 59 Team 59 Bladerun. This is his first, or rookie, season and he’s currently lying eighth overall in the 2008 National Championship and third in the Team Championship with their stable mates 88 Team Bladerun.
“I’m looking forward to racing at Bournemouth again,” says Peter. “The Grand Prix in June was my first time racing there and the diverse swells and chop make for some really interesting and tight racing. It’s quite scary at times!”
As ever, spectators will have a spectacular view of the racing from Bournemouth Pier and from the beach to the west of the pier as the highly manoeuvrable Zapcats race in packs around the course, reaching speeds of up to 50 miles an hour and subjecting their pilots and co-pilots to up to three times the force of gravity. The Zapcats have a power-to-weight ratio of 340 bhp per tonne – that’s about the same as a Ferrari Testarossa.
Practise starts at 11am on both days, with racing getting underway at midday. There will be 16 heats, with the top flight racers competing in the Division 1 and 2 finals at the end of each day’s racing.
“The Bournemouth Zapcat events always draw great crowds,” says Peter Bonham-Christie. “With the pier and the beach for people to get a great view of the course it’s just a fantastic location.”