Local Hero Hoping to Conquer Powerboat P1 SuperStock Championship

2nd June 2010

Thirteen thrill-seeking powerboat racing teams will charge into Galway on Ireland’s west coast this week for round two of the Powerboat P1 SuperStock Championship. The Galway Grand Prix of the Sea will kick-start the Irish bank holiday weekend celebrations and begin a seven-day powerboat racing festival.The Powerboat P1 SuperStock Championship provides the opening act for the nautical extravaganza, which sees the Around Ireland Offshore Powerboat Race headlining a top billing of the finest competitive offshore powerboat racing.

Galway’s unruly Atlantic Ocean coastline will offer a stern examination of the fearless powerboat pilots’ skills with all three days of pleasure navigation racing set to present distinctive demanding conditions.

Following a successful opening event in Penzance, Cornwall, which saw 18,000 people cram onto the only promenade in England’s most south westerly county, spectator numbers for the latest round of the SuperStock Championship are expected to surge past 50,000 for the marine motorsports extravaganza.

Powerboat P1 SuperStock Championship 150 Class leaders Premier Cru are hoping to continue its fine form in Ireland’s capital of entertainment. Pilot John Wilson said: “It was a cracking event to start the season but when the calendar was drafted Galway certainly stood out as the flagship Grand Prix of the Sea. To be invited to open this well respected marine festival is an honour and we will be pushing even harder to win this weekend in front of a passionate powerboat racing crowd.”

Irish eyes will be firmly glued on local entry Green Machine. Piloted by Dublin-based Alan Power, the 150 Class wildcard entry will be challenging Wilson’s Premier Cru and Penzance Grand Prix of the Sea runners-up, Team Fox, for a spot on top of the podium.

Power is looking forward to racing a monohull powerboat in an offshore race for the first time in Galway. He said: “I’m used to racing in catamarans with top speeds pushing 100 mph so I’m expecting an entirely different sensation in Galway. I think the Atlantic Ocean will make it an uncomfortable debut for all of the SuperStock Championship pilots but it’s extremely exciting to have the home support and jump inside the cockpit with an experienced pilot such as Andy Wilby.

“The thrill of the experience to join the UK series as well as the unique proposition to race single manufactured powerboats using identical engines was a test I couldn’t refuse. “

Round two of the Powerboat P1 SuperStock Championship begins at the Galway Grand Prix of the Sea on 5-7 June 2010.

Published in Around Ireland Offshore Powerboat Race 2010

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