It couldn’t get much closer in the race for the 2008 Zapcat National Championship title after the high octane action at the Bournemouth Grand Prix. Going into the final meeting of the season, the King of the Surf contest at Watergate Bay, Cornwall, just 30 points separate defending champions Mick Pritchard and Baz Minns in 01 Pegasus Vortex Racing and the pretenders to the throne, Bligh Julius and Simon Butters in 03 Commandos Predator.
Bligh and Butters topped the podium in both rounds 11 and 12 to take the Bournemouth Grand Prix title and, more importantly, close the gap on their rivals. Second place on both days went to Baz and Mick after a consistent performance, only just out-gunned by the 03 Commandos Predator team.
03 Vortex Racing’s Craig Davis and Rob Martin would appear to have secured third place overall in this year’s championship after taking third place on Saturday and fourth on Sunday. They were usurped on the podium by Stroud-based 49 Randall & Payne, who finally got the break they’d been looking for over the last couple of Grand Prix meetings and took third place in Round 12. The result catapulted them from 12th to 8th place overall in the 2008 National Championship standings.
Bournemouth saw the return of some old faces and some new players. Three-time National Champion Martyn Wilcox made a guest appearance piloting 38 Speedy Hire with Nick Selfe in the jump seat while regular pilot Darren Ford recovers from a skiing injury. It took them one day to get back in the groove before Martyn found himself in a familiar position, topping the podium. The only difference, this was in Division 2. Promising rookie team, Rob Wickham and Chris Gowing in 77 Exe Jets took second place on Sunday, with Charlie Brickle and Adam Bushrod in 35 Nine Lives making another podium appearance in third place.
Also making a first appearance this season, 38 Cat in the Hat, Jim Crooks having returned from competing in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race to swap the 68-foot yacht he raced on with a team of 18 for something smaller and considerably faster with a single co-pilot, Carl McIlory.
And new to the racing circuit, Nick Ponting and Stuart Harrison acquitted themselves well in 23 Rusty Racing, their appearance at Bournemouth giving them some invaluable race practice before they face the surf in their home county of Cornwall.
There is clearly some strong competition in Division 2, Saturday having been dominated by different set of teams to Sunday. Father and son Steven and Robert Pidsley in 44 Blue Sheets 2 took first place with Stephen and Kevin Watts in 78 Island Racing in second place. Completing the trio on the podium was the Royal Navy-sponsored Royal Marines team 42 Go Commando, Ryan Allingham and Andrew Harriman. Appropriate on a weekend when the skies were filled with a spectacular display of mostly military hardware at the Bournemouth Air Show.
Bournemouth conditions proved as varied as ever with sunshine, blue skies and some fairly big chop on Saturday followed by a grey, still day with much flatter water on Sunday. Beach starts thrilled the huge crowds massed to watch the action on the water and overhead.
With the competition poised to go down to the wire, the final Zapcats National Championship Grand Prix of the season is set for Friday 19 and Saturday 20 September at Watergate Bay, near Newquay in Cornwall. As the hurricane season wreaks havoc in the Caribbean, the racers can expect some big surf for the final, demanding rounds of 2008. The 2008 Zapcat National Champions will be crowned at the end of season awards dinner at the Watergate Bay Hotel.