Powerboat racing visited the English Riviera on the 1st and 2nd May 2021 when 20 of the UK’s fastest drivers arrived in town for Round 1 of the Offshore Circuit Racing Drivers Association Championship (OCRDA) Aqua Adrenaline Tour. The Championship consists of 7 rounds which sees the teams travel around the UK. Each race weekend consists of four races of 30 minutes duration. There are two crew members per boat, a driver and a navigator.
In addition to the four races, the crowds were entertained to a great display by Ryan Campbell on his flyboard, and some jet ski racing.
The weather on Saturday was perfect - dry, warm and sunny – the drivers describing the conditions as flat and fast. With circuit racing, the course is marked out by buoys on a course that starts just off Paignton Pier, crossing the Bay to Thatcher Rock, and then bringing the boats back in to Haldon Pier. A chicane is positioned just in front of the Marina to provide extra excitement. This year, the back straight was marked out by the cruise liners that have become a welcome feature of Torbay during the last twelve months.
The two races on Saturday were under rolling start conditions. The boats are classified depending on engine size, so they soon start to spread out, as battles commence for Class honours. The most competitive class was Formula 1. For Race 1, at the front of this Class, it was Exeter based master thatcher Craig Temple-Murray who sprinted in to a lead which he would not relinquish.
In Race 2, Craig had a fight on his hands with Jeremy Gibson and navigator Malachy Browne in Smokey & The Bandit. In Race 1 their boat suffered a propeller bush failure and they were forced to retire. This pairing were the 2018 OCRDA Champions. It was a fast and furious, race long battle with honours eventually falling to Jeremy.
The two other front runners in the Formula 1 Class were Tommy 5 Star Racing – Tim Spink / David Squires and Racing Green – Richard Mason / Adam Corser. Both crews are highly experienced racers.
On Sunday, the conditions were a little rougher. In fact, most competitors prefer these conditions to flat waters. Sunday’s racing was from a standing start. This seemed to play into the hands of Jeremy Gibson. He was soon stretching out a lead at the front which grew lap by lap – he was putting in a performance that Lewis Hamilton would have been proud of!
This race however was marked by last lap drama. Craig Temple-Murray in Matahari 4 was involved in an incident that caused his boat to pitch wildly front to back. This resulted in navigator Paul Scott being injured. The safety boats were soon on the scene and Paul was brought in to the harbour and after initial first aid, was transported to hospital, fortunately only suffering relatively minor injuries.
This set up what had to be the drive of the day. Having lost his navigator, it looked inevitable that Craig would have to retire. However, there was a substitute navigator who wanted to race, and he quickly donned his racing overalls and helmet. As Craig was dashing out from the harbour with his new crew member, the remainder of the boats were under starters orders off Paignton Pier. Craig was starting at the back of the field. This just seemed to make him more determined, and he started an incredible climb up through the field. He eventually made his final overtake on the last lap for fourth place! A stunning drive.
The winner – well yes, it was Jeremy Gibson for his third win of the weekend. The highly experienced racer and owner of a Kingsbridge based building business, was taking the victor’s spoils once more. It topped off a magnificent weekend on the Riviera.
That Race 4 performance paid big dividends for Craig and Paul as they now lead the Formula 1 Championship, from Racing Green and Smokey & The Bandit.
Proving that there is a place for ladies in power boat racing, in Formula 3 it was a clean sweep of four victories for One Step Beyond – Neil Williams and Connie Jones. In Race 3 on Sunday, Annika Hawthorne with her brother Joe as navigator, scored an excellent second place in their Formula 2 boat, Y Knot.
Formula 2 also saw a clean sweep of four victories for Thurston – Ben Brown and Andrew Jenvy.
The top class, Formula Sport, only had one entry – Exeter businessman Bradley Cannings with navigator Nick Butler in Prodigy. They probably had the easiest weekend of all the competitors with no direct competition!
OCRDA Chairman, who also races in the Championship in his boat, If Only, Bob McCarthy, was very pleased with the weekend. Although the crowd’s were well down on the numbers that would usually line the harbour walls, there was still good support. The races were also live streamed on Facebook with about 3,000 people viewing around the world. It looks like it is going to be another successful season of close, exciting racing.
The next time these racers are back in The Bay will be August 26th-30th for OCRDA Round 5. The UK competitors will be joined by international teams for a round of the prestigious Class 3 World Championships.
To follow the action, check in to the OCRDA web site
www.ocrda.com which contains all the latest news, and a lot of information about the race series and competitors.
Make a note in your diary for August and come along and find out all about powerboat racing from this very friendly family of racers – OCRDA – where the action is!
To view an album of photo's
http://www.flickr.com/photos/riviera...th/51298041267
Race 1 Saturday 1st May 2021
Formula Sport
1 The Prodigy Bradley Cannings / Nick Butler
Formula 3
1 One Step Beyond Neil Williams / Connie Jones
2 Team Concorde Andy Nelms / Jordon Redman-Thomas
Formula 2
1 Thurston Ben Brown / Andrew Jenvy
2 Aquarius Perry Murphy / Graham Drew
3 Fatboy Twin Andy Childs / Mark Childs
Formula 1
1 Matahari 4 Craig Temple-Murray / Paul Scott
2 Tommy 5 Star Racing Tim Spink / David Squires
3 Racing Green Richard Mason / Adam Corser
Race 2 Saturday 1st May 2021
Formula Sport
1 The Prodigy Bradley Cannings / Nick Butler
Formula 3
1 One Step Beyond Neil Williams / Connie Jones
Formula 2
1 Thurston Ben Brown / Andrew Jenvy
2 Aquarius Perry Murphy / Graham Drew
3 Bullet Proof Paul Smith / Jack Webb
Formula 1
1 Smokey & The Bandit Jeremy Gibson / Malachy Browne
2 Tommy 5 Star Racing Tim Spink / David Squires
3 Matahari 4 Craig Temple-Murray / Paul Scott
Race 3 Sunday 2nd May 2021
Formula Sport
1 The Prodigy Bradley Cannings / Nick Butler
Formula 3
1 One Step Beyond Neil Williams / Connie Jones
Formula 2
1 Thurston Ben Brown / Andrew Jenvy
2 Y Knot! Annika Hawthorne / Joe Hawthorne
3 Bullet Proof Paul Smith / Jack Webb
Formula 1
1 Smokey & The Bandit Jeremy Gibson / Malachy Browne
2 Racing Green Richard Mason / Adam Corser
3 Matahari 4 Craig Temple-Murray / Paul Scott
Race 4 Sunday 2nd May 2021
Formula Sport
1 The Prodigy Bradley Cannings / Nick Butler
Formula 3
1 One Step Beyond Neil Williams / Connie Jones
Formula 2
1 Thurston Ben Brown / Andrew Jenvy
2 Aquarius Perry Murphy / Graham Drew
3 Bullet Proof Paul Smith / Jack Webb
Formula 1
1 Smokey & The Bandit Jeremy Gibson / Malachy Browne
2 Racing Green Richard Mason / Adam Corser
3 Tommy 5 Star Racing Tim Spink / David Squires
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