Drama on and off the water in Greenock
P1 Scottish Grand Prix of the sea
Reigning UK and world champions Sam and Daisy Coleman again proved dominant as they powered to a second straight victory in Greenock this weekend. However, following post-race scrutineering on Sunday, the engines of both the Pertemps Network and Arthur J Gallagher boats were found by race officials to have failed technical inspection and the teams were subsequently disqualified from the weekend’s results.*
This handed the Milford Waterfront team their first ever P1 SuperStock Grand Prix victory after initially having to settle for second place behind Pertemps in a closely fought battle over the two days.
After heading into the final day level on points with Milford Waterfront, Pertemps battled their way to the lead in both races on Sunday and never looked back despite constant pressure from Charles Morris and Andrew Foster in the Pembrokeshire Panther. It was to be a first podium finish for the Anglo-Welsh pairing who only joined the P1 SuperStock series last year and missed out narrowly on third place in Denmark earlier this month.
P1’s second visit to Inverclyde again attracted tens of thousands of spectators along Greenock Esplanade, and they were entertained by some outstanding racing with the crews being hugely challenged by the constantly changing conditions on the Clyde.
One of several crews who will also be pleased with their performances this weekend are the Jackson brothers in the Experience Kissimmee race boat, who subsequently found themselves on the podium despite picking up a time penalty on day one following the disqualification of Pertemps. Local favourites Spirit of Inverclyde, with father and daughter pairing Dave and Ashleigh Finlayson in the cockpit, recorded another set of consistent results at their second ever Grand Prix weekend to finish fourth, pushing Platinum Products close in the final race who now take second and a lead in the championship standings
There was drama to end the weekend’s racing after South Street suffered a mechanical failure on lap one of race four, causing them to veer left into Pickfords who had no time to avoid collision. Both crews were taken for medical checks but thankfully were cleared with no serious injuries, although they were not able to restart the race after the red flag was waved.
P1 Managing Director Robert Wicks reflected on a hugely eventful weekend: “Our partnership with the co-hosts of Inverclyde Council and Riverside Inverclyde here in Greenock is immensely rewarding and the crowd of tens of thousands of local residents and visitors were treated to some spectacular race action. The Clyde provides a superb race venue which this weekend proved to be immensely challenging for the P1 SuperStock crews.”
After their superb performance to take victory, the Milford Waterfront team can now look forward to racing in front of their home crowd when the 2017 P1 SuperStock UK Championship moves on to Milford Haven in three weeks’ time.
* In line with UIM procedures, the two disqualified teams will have the right to appeal the decision.
Commenting on the success of the 2017 event, Councillor Stephen McCabe, Leader of Inverclyde Council, said: "The event was an undoubted success. The P1 Scottish Grand Prix of the sea event has it all. For powerboat and racing enthusiasts there were thrills and excitement from the on water championship level racing. On shore, families could enjoy fun activities and events, while foodies had a great choice of local and Scottish fayre at the food and drink village. The fascinating history of Inverclyde and Scotland was on show as part of the year of history, heritage and archeology.
"Our strong maritime heritage was reflected in music, displays and film across the Esplanade Showcase. The event was the first in the country to have Archaeology Scotland's mobile museum in attendance with its hands-on activities and artifacts to explore as well as the chance to dig into Scotland through minecraft. It proved to be very popular and I'm sure will be welcomed across the rest of Scotland when it visits.
"Thanks to all of the teams involved in the weekend and the planning which leads up to it especially P1, the council officers and our co-hosts at Riverside Inverclyde.
"I'd like to pay a particular thanks to our emergency, security and medical services. They worked hard with us to make sure the event was safe for all visitors and competitors without compromising in any way on the fun and excitement.
"Thanks are also due to the residents of the Esplanade and surrounding streets. Any event of this scale will always cause disruption and they have been very welcoming and patient especially with the additional security details which were necessary this year."
"Our partners at Event Scotland promote Scotland as the perfect stage. I hope the second year of the P1 Scottish Grand Prix of the Sea further showed that Inverclyde is the perfect stage for maritime leisure events in Scotland.
"I'd like to thank the P1 staff and the powerboat, AquaX and water ski competitors for making it a great weekend and wish them well for the remaining championships in Wales and England in the rest of the 2017 season."