Torbay offers extreme challenge and brutal conditions for adrenaline tour

The OCRDA Aqua Adrenaline Tour featuring powerboats, Pro Cats and jet skis recently visited Torquay for the second time this season.

Unlike the July event, the weather on the English Riviera for this latest event, the season finale, was not so kind. The conditions prompted the first powerboat race of the weekend to be red flagged after just a few laps.

Fortunately, the inflatable hulled Pro Cats and jet skis were better suited to ride the waves, and their races proceeded as planned. The conditions were the most challenging that the racers had ever experienced in Torbay – they were all totally exhausted by their high-speed waterborne work out.

The Tour, comprising seven rounds, has visited venues all over the UK, including West Bay, Kings Lynn, Caernarfon and Cardiff. It is the UK’s biggest race series and is now in its eleventh season.

The Offshore Circuit Racing Drivers Association, the sport’s governing body, was formed in 1984 by legendary racer Eddie ‘Paddy’ Reilly. The Association’s administration team is now based in the South West.

Conditions for the boats did not improve by midday, and the difficult decision was made by the organisers to cancel the second race. Therefore, the final Championship positions for the three powerboat Classes were declared based on the results of the first six rounds.

F1 Powerboats National championship 1. Scotty 1 – Craig Temple-Murray and Mark Hayward 7172 pts 2. Smokey & The Bandit 2 – Robbie Mould and Michelle Jelfs/ Justin Copeland 6136 pts 3. The A Team – Jeremy Gibson/Malachy Browne James Goldsmith/Davie Finlayson 5296 pts

F2 Powerboats National Championship 1. Fake Tax - Benjamin Brown and Andrew Jenvey 7577 pts 2. Thunderstruck - Wayne Mort and Chris Mort 6053 pts 3. Racing Green - Benjamin Amstad and Chris Dossantos/David Savin 5252 pts

F3 Powerboats National Championship 1. Shall We Do It - Eddie Gourlay and Michelle Murray 3600 pts 2. Lyns Crew - Gerard Dudley and Jon Dudley 2920 pts 3. Absolute Weapon - Duncan Bradford and Emily Pike 1332 pts

For the Plymouth based Pro Cat team, Blackjack - Ben Cantelo and Jeremy Linford – they arrived in Torquay with a narrow lead of just 50 points over Waveform – Stuart Holloway and Duncan Bradford-Viles.

Unfortunately, Ben and Jeremy were forced to debut a new boat due to issues with their usual craft. They battled hard, however, Waveform collected enough points from the three races to win the Championship by 51 points.

Pro Cats Championship 1. Waveform – Stuart Holloway / Duncan Bradford-Viles 9504 pts 2. Blackjack – Ben Cantelo / Jeremy Linford 9453 pts 3. 51 Racing - Simon Harding /Mark Lloyd 8756 pts

The other racing action for the weekend was provided by the jet skis. In the J1 Class for modified craft, Hayling Island based Jack Izzard held a considerable Championship lead heading into the Torquay event.

The conditions did not suit him, and Rory Collingbourne - NWS Marine – had a great weekend recording two wins. However, this did not produce enough points to overhaul Jack, who clinched the Championship by a considerable margin.

In the J2 Class for stock or showroom spec craft, Steven Pidsley - Gliddon Marine Racing – claimed the Championship by 309 points from his fellow Gliddon MR team-mate Darren Lodge. A great success for the Torbay based Gliddon team from Churston, dominating Class J2.

J1 National Championship 1. Jack Izzard - Hydro X Racing 8200 pts 2. Rory Collingbourne - NWS Marine 7361 pts 3. Bobby Pidsley - Gliddon Marine Racing 5086 pts

J2 National Championship 1. Steven Pidsley - Gliddon Marine Racing 8299 pts 2. Darren Lodge - Gliddon Marine Racing 7990 pts 3. Sean Hughes - MES Racing 6914 pts

The Aqua Adrenaline Tour will return in 2026. For all the latest news from OCRDA please visit www.ocrda.com