3.5cc
The first heat did not require a single rescue boat intervention. This is very unusual and no doubt contributed to the best 3 lap scores being set in Round 1. Nobody was able to improve or beat these scores in Round 2, which was interrupted by a rescue boat failure. The race was stopped and restarted, but several people pointed out that there is a possible flaw in the rules in these circumstances – A boat which has nearly completed a lap when the race is stopped will lose that lap, then has to complete another full lap on the restart. This can result in a competitor losing nearly 2 laps compared to a stoppage-free heat. Would this have changed the result today? Probably yes. Andrew Aykroyd would have had at least one more lap and this would have put him on the podium and most likely given him the win. He didn’t do himself any favours though as he missed a buoy near the end resulting in a further 1 lap penalty. Unlike International events, UK rules do not allow circling of missed buoys, a rule brought in as the UK lakes are generally smaller than continental ones, and circling boats would potentially cause an unnecessary hazard.
With the top 4 boats all with 1 lap of each other, Leon Morgan took the win in the 2nd outing of his new Falcon. Leon said this was mainly a fuel endurance test for him before the World Champs and he was much less aggressive than at the Masters last month. He did turn on the afterburners towards the end of the race though and showed the boat has the speed necessary to do well in France. Nigel Smith grabbed 2nd place, his Ikarus 2 / Nova Keep proving fast and reliable. Mark Wraight took 3rd place, having reverted to the CMB pipe on his Falcon and regained his old speed.
Dave Clay had a tough weekend, breaking his Nova and stripping a gear, allowing Dave Hole to extend his lead at the top of the 3.5cc table, although the gap is only 8 points in reality after deduction of the worst score (8 out of 9 count, but with Maidstone cancelled, this season will be best 7 out of 8)

7.5cc
Could this be Dave Pillmans first title year? He certainly has the boat to do it and with others saving their boats for the World Championships, now is his chance. However, Dave himself thinks a bit differently and is all about trying to be the fastest. What we saw in Round 1 was some incredible racing between Dave and Andrew Aykroyd with their boats inches apart. This was only ever going to end up one way and it wasn’t that long until we were treated to a spectacular crash. Dave almost made up for this by winning Round 2, but in typical fashion snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by stopping one minute from the end!

15cc
A surprisingly decent turn out in the 15cc class which has somewhat declined in popularity due to the extremely high cost of a competitive engine and the amount of fuel they consume. From the 4 GB Team qualifiers for France, only Sam Lincoln entered this event for the purposes of running in and testing engines. Both Sam and Gary Wraight tried as hard as they could to give James Taylor a run for his money, but another top drive from James claimed an emphatic win by 6 laps over 2nd place Gary. Can anyone stop James claiming a 9th Drivers title this year? We don’t think so, but with 120 points still to fight for in the last 3 races, anything can happen. Terry Holmes grabbed 3rd spot, but ended up with a [sg_popup id=”36″ event=”click”]broken crankcase[/sg_popup] on his CMB91.

27cc
Another walk in the park for James Taylor, finishing 9 laps up on 2nd placed Paul Adams. Realistically, only Ian Folkson can consistently compete with James in the 27cc and he was unable to attend this weekend. Steve Baxter was testing a new build for the World Championships, but this didn’t go well after the boat turned over, lost the aerial cap and flooded the radio box. Some repairs and more testing required. No Dave Marles today after a scuba dive by Dean Lord to retrieve a boat from the bottom of a lake. Terry Holmes finished 3rd, a double-podium today to maybe cheer him up for the broken 91 engine.

3.5cc – 2017 champion Mark Wraight

In the 3.5cc class, 2017 iMBRA European Champion Zack Humphries is untouchable, but the NDC is not his priority – He has eyes on bigger prizes at international level. 2017 3.5 NDC winner Mark Wraight is both fast and reliable, but he is also in the world championships team which may open the door for others if he doesn’t attend all the races. Alongside Mark, we would consider Dave Hole, Geoff Parmenter and Andrew Aykroyd in with a shout and we haven’t yet seen the best of Ian Folksons Ikarus. We’d probably make Dave the favourite but Andrew can win it if he goes to most of the meetings. Battle for the King of Speed will probably be fought out between Dave Marles and Dave Pillman, but we suspect neither of them will do enough events to win the title and those last few km/h of speed usually come at the expense of occasional reliability issues. Keith Burgess also has great speed but has been thwarted by reliability in recent seasons.

7.5cc – 2017 champion Mick Szebeko

The 7.5 should be interesting this season as we have another top racer in Andrew Aykroyd joining the class. Gary Wraight will be looking to return to the podium with his 8 Ball after extensive modifications. Gary will be determined to make 2018 a success after scuppering his chances of the 2017 title by attempting major changes mid-season only for it to backfire spectacularly. Everyone is looking forward to the first glimpse of 2014 World Champion Martin Fields new self-designed 7.5. Martin will be hoping the new boat is as good or better than his superb Pegasus Evo that he sold after the GB International win. Martin will no doubt putting most effort into the internationals so he’s not really a UK title contender. In no particular order, we would say that Mick Szebeko, Gary Wraight and Andrew Aykroyd are the front runners. Julian and Ross Waumsley are also strong in 7.5 and Julian’s average of 26 points per race would have been enough to take the title last year had he competed in every event. Ross may be looking for some wins to make up for the disappointment of missing the eliminators having contracted a serious infection in 2017 which almost cost him his leg.Dave Pillmans new Pegasus Evo may give everyone a fright (Video), but will he do enough races?

15cc – 2017 champion Terry Holmes

The best 15cc boat in the UK is Phill Fields Tornado T7, but like other top racers he will be considering potential damage in a world championship year so Mark Wraight will be looking to put right the disappointment of missing out on an 8th title in 2017. Facebook users will have seen the progress of his all-new Seljak design 15cc boat. We will shortly bring you a build masterclass of this boat. However, we hear he may have to contend with James Taylor who is rumoured to be returning to the 15cc class with a new Tornado T7. James is arguably (With Zack) the best driver in the UK, so Mark will have his hands full if James gets his boat built. James/Mark 2017 champion Terry Holmes will also be a strong contender as he only had one DNF all season last year on his way to the title. 2015/2016 champion Sam Lincoln would normally be considered one of the favourites, but is almost certainly focused on the world championships. We would also back Mikey Hillstead if he can keep the consistency he showed in the latter part of 2017.

27cc – 2017 champion James Taylor

27cc is a straight fight between Ian Folkson and James Taylor in our eyes. Or CMB vs Tiger King! James average 35 points per race in last years championship was simply phenomenal and if he carries that form into 2018 he will be unstoppable. The other contenders would be Steve Baxter and Mick Pain who is ultra reliable, but not on the pace of Ian, James and Steve. All 4 are qualified for the world championships, so this may let in Terry Holmes.

Coming to the business end of the season with 3 to go, it’s still wide open in all classes except 3.5 where Mark Wraight has now established a big lead equivalent to a whole race win.

3.5cc – It’s clear that the fight for the title is being taken seriously as a few of the racers went testing on Saturday before the race. The intense rivalry between Mr #boughtnotbuilt Mark Wraight and Andrew Aykroyd continued to produce the goods with only 1 lap separating them at the end. Dave Hole completed the podium in 3rd. It now looks like the 3.5 title is Mark’s to lose. (No pressure Mark!)

Click on a boat for fullsize image:

7.5cc – Peterborough member Mick Szebeko took the win with his Pegasus Evo, putting him 11 points clear at the top of the table. Julian Waumsley took 2nd and climbs to 2nd spot in the table after a disappointed Gary Wraight was just edged out to 3rd having struck bottom left buoy whilst leading with only a minute or so to go! Gary is showing good consistency with his #boughtnotbuilt 8 Ball and is determined to fight for the title until the last race.

15cc – Terry Holmes extended his lead at the top of the 15cc table with the win. Returning after a year off, Mikey Hillstead grabbed 2nd, and Mike Holiday took 3rd. Mark Wraight (4th) is keen to point out that as only 8 of the 9 races count towards the title, he is actually only 14 points behind Terry and is still gunning for the title!

27cc – James Taylor took the win with the highest laps of the day (73), making it 3 in a row and is in great form in this World Championship eliminator year. Another good performance from Terry Holmes, taking 2nd spot means he stays overall top in the table. He will have a tough fight holding off James who is in devastating form. Mick Pain returned after a 2 race absence to take 3rd place.

Championship Tables

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