National Powerboat Championship set to grace the waters of Torbay

The OCRDA Aqua Adrenaline Tour is heading to Torquay for Round 4 of their national championship which takes place on July 19 & 20.

The race series is now in its eleventh year and is the biggest in the UK. The races will take place on a circuit just off Beacon Quay.

Spectators on the harbourside can watch all the action and follow the competitors around the whole course. In addition to powerboats, there will also be races for jet skis, and for the first time in the history of the Championship, ProCats too.

There have already been events at West Bay, Brixham and Kings Lynn – the Tour is now at its half way point, and those racers who have amassed a good haul of points, will now be considering their chances of finishing the season as a champion.

There is still plenty of racing ahead though, and mechanical issues can often ruin a weekend. The water can also be unpredictable, even for these highly experienced competitors.

Read more about Powerboat racing in Brixham

The F1 powerboat class is currently being led by Craig Temple-Murray and Mark Hayward in their boat, Scotty 1. This Devon-based team are the 2024 F1 National and World Champions. The second placed crew of Richard Mason and Justin Copeland in AquaBlast had a great weekend at Brixham in May, so expect some close racing between these two teams.

In the F2 Class, Ben Brown and Andrew Jenvey – Fake Tax - from Southampton have a substantial lead over Wayne and Chris Mort in Thunderstruck who endured a difficult weekend at Brixham. They will be hoping for better results in Torquay.

The jet skis race in two classes – J1 for modified machines and J2, stock or standard showroom specification. In J1 Jack Izzard – HJS Racing – is enjoying a very successful season and the racer from Hayling Island maintains a healthy lead over Rory Collingbourne – NWS Marine.

In Class J2, there is a close battle between team-mates Steve Pidsley and Darren Lodge racing for the Churston based Gliddon Marine Racing team. Just four hundred points separate them – the amount of points awarded for a race win!

A very welcome addition to the race programme are the ProCats. These inflatable catamarans with a crew of two all compete with the same engine. This ensures very close racing and demonstrates the skills of the teams.

Currently the Championship is being led by the Plymouth-based crew of Ben Cantelo and Jeremy Linford in Blackjack.

Their advantage though is a narrow one – just sixty points separate them from second placed Waveform - Stuart Holloway and Scott Kershaw.

Spectators can enjoy the action from Haldon Pier – the event is free and racing usually starts around 11am and finishes mid-afternoon. Each day there will be two 25-minute plus one lap races for both the boats and jet skis, and three 10 minute plus one lap races for the ProCats.

For all the latest news, please visit the OCRDA web site www.ocrda.com