3.5cc – Richard Sewell arrived armed with a brand new Ikarus 2.3 along with a #dptuned O.S. engine. There was no doubt his boat was quick, but the happiest people will be the polystyrene manufacturers whose profits will soar from all the replacement buoy material that will needed after several incidents. Here’s one of the more spectacular efforts: [Click to enlarge]

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7.5cc – Dave Pillmans Pegasus Evo is the boat to beat this year in Martin Fields’ absence. If only Dave could have kept it upright he surely would have retained and extended his championship lead. However, he now trails Andrew Aykroyd by a single point after Andrew grabbed 3rd spot on the day and top spot in the championship. Andrew beat Dave by 9 seconds with an engine he borrowed from him for the 2nd round! Oh the irony! Dave Clay won the class with MPBA Chairman Mick Fields taking 2nd place. Dave Clay and Mick now sit 3rd and 4th in the 7.5cc championship.

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15cc – With 9 boats including a newbie in one heat (Brentwood is not the biggest of lakes) this promised a drama-filled race. As it turned out, the racers were well aware of this and for the most part kept their cool to produce some great racing. Championship leader James Taylor had some trouble in testing on the Saturday when he managed to strip a metal gear in his T7. Some hasty repairs and switch to a nylon gear and James was ready to race. Mark Wraight had repaired his new Seljak boat and needed to get things right before the Haarlem International. Things were not looking that great for Mark in the first round but he found the magic bullet during the lunch break and dominated round 2 for an emphatic first win with his new boat after Phill Fields elected to sit out round 2 having completed his setup for the upcoming International.

Here’s what Mark had to say about his half-time transformation : Click Here

Marks win lifted him to 4th place in the championship albeit 23 points adrift of leader Phill Fields who took 2nd on the day, and rather embarrassingly 5 points behind twin brother Gary Wraight although we doubt it will stay that way for long. Mike Holliday took 3rd place, 4 laps in front of Gary.

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27cc – Another 9 boat race that produced the best racing of the day. An epic battle between James Taylor and Steve Baxter. Steve’s 27 boat is really quick and James narrowly lost out by 8 seconds after going down a prop size for round 2 to improve stability. Unfortunately the effect of this was to prevent the boat from lifting and achieving its top potential speed. Congratulations to Steve though, James is usually unbeatable in the 27cc class and was very optimistic before the race. 1st, 2nd and 3rd (Terry Holmes) were all within 1 lap.
Here’s what James had to say before the race (Additional commentary by Rok Folkson!) : Click Here

James’ 2nd place puts him top of the 27cc championship, 12 points clear of Mick Pain who had a radio issue and an unfortunate coming together with the rescue boat. See FSR Photos on Facebook

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Podiums

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.

As we enter mid-season, every class is wide open with the only significant gap of 12 points being held by new 3.5cc leader Mark Wraight. As usual, full heat and lap breakdown available. Additional photos in our Google Gallery

3.5cc – The airwaves of the internet were chocka with friendly (And not so friendly) banter durng the week and ‘DNF’ Dave Pillman overcame his usual reliability problems to take the win. No TowRope or GPS required. Mr #boughtnotbuilt Mark Wraight was hot on his heels in 2nd and Colin Croxford (No nickname as far as we know) took 3rd.

Click on a boat for fullsize image:

7.5cc – A superb maiden win with his #boughtnotbuilt 8 Ball for Gary Wraight sees him climb the table after his 3rd in the first outing at the Masters. Steve Clements took a solid 2nd and Martin Fields came in 3rd after only fuelling for 18 minutes instead of 20!

15cc – 2 in a row for Dave Marles following his victory at the Masters in June. Dave has his Tornado T7 really flying and reliable. Terry Holmes grabbed 2nd, sending him to the top of the 15cc table, replacing previous joint leaders Mark Wraight and Mike Holiday who took 3rd.

27cc – James Taylor took the win, making it 2 in a row and is in great form in this World Championship eliminator year. Steve Baxter took second, underlining his consistency with his new boat. Another good performance from Terry Holmes, taking 3rd spot means he’s overall top in the 27cc, replacing Mick Pain who has now missed a few races after a strong start.

Juniors – Thomas and Miha both put on good performances and are now tied for the Championship lead. They’ll soon be beating the seniors!