11:31 AM Fri 22 Jul 2011 GMT
P1 SuperStock Championship 2011 third round is being held in Hull, UK from 29th to 31st July.
Hometown hero Ian Brusby is hoping for plenty of local support in Hull next weekend, when the P1 SuperStock Championship brings the UK's top powerboat racers to East Yorkshire.
Although now based in Doncaster, the Rough Cut Racing team driver was born and bred in Hull and with family still living in and around the city Brusby is keen to produce a winning display when the P1 SuperStock competitors take to the River Humber in a week's time.
Ably assisted by experienced navigator Dan Whapples (Poole, Dorset), the pairing is unquestionably one of the strongest in the headline P1 Panther 250 Class. Their high level of performance hasn't been borne-out in terms of results though due to a challenge which has been hampered by a series of issues.
Gremlins during the opening round in Jersey and also in the second of the two races in Plymouth last weekend mean Brusby and Whapples will arrive in Hull propping-up the P1 250 table. That could easily change though if they can repeat the Plymouth form which brought victory in the one-on-one Match Races and a strong second place in the first of the main points-scoring encounters.
'It'd be great to have at least one win in Hull but I'm going out there the same way I do for every race, to do the best I can', said Brusby, 'We've had problems in Jersey and Plymouth so we're second from bottom of the championship, we need more finishes.
'In the second race in Plymouth it was quite annoying as the fuel tank ran empty even though the gauge said we had 87 litres onboard. From now on I think we'll revert to checking it with a dip-stick, return to the mechanical way of doing things instead of relying on anything else!'
Brusby added: 'I was really pleased with the match racing results in Plymouth. We were drawn against Andy (Wilby) in the first one, who was navigator for me last year, and then, co-incidentally, in the semi-final we were up against Rupert Pugh who Dan navigated for last year. It was great to win both of those and then to take the final as well really did make my weekend. We need to try and repeat that in Hull.'
As P1 SuperStock prepares for its sole visit of the year to the east coast, the Pertemps crew of John Wilson (Coleshill, West Midlands) and Neil Scarborough (Monks Risborough, Buckinghamshire) head the P1 250 standings but the duo is being chased hard, not least by Edox pairing Rupert Pugh (Matlock, Derbyshire) and Tony Crossley (Sidmouth, Devon) who took a brace of superb victories last time out.
Wilson, like Brusby, has Yorkshire blood flowing through his veins having been born in the East Riding town of Beverley. So far this year, the reigning P1 150 Champion has been a consistently strong force and although missing out on a victory in Plymouth the step-up to P1 250 has been very smooth.
'I spent my formative years in East Yorkshire and worked back there too in my 30's so I'm looking forward to being back in my home county', said the Pertemps pilot, 'We've never raced on the Humber before, it's all new to us, so it'll present its own challenges and a different set of conditions again.'
In the P1 150 Class, Stuart and Sara Cureton (Lindford, Hampshire) continue to lead the way and success in the second of the Plymouth races mean the husband and wife Team Purple partnership has taken three wins from four starts.
Eclipse crew Rose Lores (Stubbington, Hampshire) and Tom Hunter (Maidenhead, Berkshire) and the Team Fox pairing of Jersey duo Martin Colligan (St Helier) and Liam McDermott (St Helier) are the immediate competition.
MacDonald Mermaid, meanwhile, is playing catch-up after missing the opening round but the husband and wife team of David and Kirsty Toozs-Hobson (Arundel) is one to watch as they won the Plymouth match races and the first points scoring race.
Unique to next weekend's Hull Marina event is that the action on all three days will take place during the evening, offering an even more impressive spectacle for spectators at Hull Marina. With such a terrific vantage point, and access completely free of charge, there's no excuse to miss out on witnessing the outstanding sport provided by the country's top powerboat stars.
P1 SuperStock 250 Class points after four races:
1. Pertemps 70 points
2.Team Eighty Eight 58 points
3. Peters & May Racing 57 points
4 = Edox and Typhoo 55 points
6. Helvetia Wealth 51 points
7. Rough Cut Racing 28 points
8. Haas Racing 21 points
P1 SuperStock 150 Class points after four races:
1. Team Purple 77 points
2. Eclipse 65 points
3. Team Fox 60 points
4 = Aztec Racing, Black Magic 38 points
6 = Red/Macdonald Mermaid 34 points
8. Flying Sparks 26 points
P1 SuperStock website
by Powerboat P1 Management
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Casey, TAS
