6:29 PM Sat 30 Jul 2011 GMT
The P1 SuperStock Championship 2011's third event witnessed Britain's top powerboat racers take to the water at a rather overcast Hull Marina during a one hour practice session ahead of the weekend's fifth and sixth rounds of the season.
The untimed run gave the people of Hull their first glimpse of the crews from the P1 250 Panther and P1 150 classes in action, although three more teams are scheduled to arrive in East Yorkshire on Saturday ahead of the final mandatory practice before racing gets underway during the early evening.
Local interest this weekend comes from P1 250 championship leader John Wilson who, although residing in the West Midlands, was born and bred in nearby Beverley. He pilots the Pertemps boat alongside navigator Neil Scarborough, the pair currently 12 points clear of Team 88's hugely impressive rookie crew Simon Bayles and Philippa Baker.
Hull-born Ian Brusby, who now lives in Doncaster, will also be hoping for plenty of local support when the action proper starts tomorrow and he and Rough Cut Racing navigator Dan Whapples need a strong result on the Humber to boost their current championship position of seventh.
In P1 150, Team Purple's Stuart and Sarah Cureton are out to increase their lead which currently stands at 12 points over Eclipse pairing Rose Lores and Tom Hunter. Team Fox, Martin Colligan and Liam McDermott are just five points further adrift.
There will be an additional mandatory practice for all competitors tomorrow afternoon, Saturday 30 July, from around 17.10 with head-to-head P1 250 Match Racing and the first of the weekend's two points-scoring 'Enduro' races taking place shortly after. On Sunday, 31 July, more Match Racing - this time for the P1 150s - will begin the on-water action at 17.30 followed by the all-important second Enduro.
P1 SuperStock website
by Powerboat P1
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Casey, TAS
