Wettpunkt.Com shows the way in Round Britain

by Event media on 28 Jun 2008 Competitors in the 2008 Round Britain Race sped south today (Friday) in moderate to rough conditions and while it may be heading home to Portsmouth, it is an Austrian, Hannes Bohinc aboard Wettpunkt.Com, who is showing the way.

Wettpunk.com covered the 240 statute mile course between Inverness and Edinburgh in a little under three hours representing an average speed of approximately 70mph. But although not the roughest seas so far encountered, conditions were far from smooth and this was reflected in the finishing times.

Wettpunkt.Com finished 12 minutes ahead of Venturer driven Andy Macateer, a boat that although first in the RB1 class, was previously lying 18th overall. This second placing for Venturer illustrates this great offshore battle is far from over and is going to be a bow to bow up to the Portsmouth finishing line on Monday.

Third place was filled by the Greek entered Blue FPT driven by Vassilis Pateras and Dag Pike, the British navigational expert. Previously lying second overall and leading the MC1 class, Blue FPT was 13 minutes 12 seconds behind the Norwegian entered Rib Lionhead at Inverness. Despite this impressive result she only reduced her elapsed time by less than two minutes on this leg over the leading Norwegian, Pal Sollie, who bought Lionhead home fourth. With such high performance by the Goldfish Rib, Blue FPT will need to work hard to swing the final outcome.

The pace is beginning to tell with some hulls and machinery protesting at the punishment. Four days of racing from the Channel to Northern Ireland to the Scottish highlands and now downhill to southern waters has seen some teams working through the night to remain in the contest.

Cinzano 558 of three-man crew, Tim Grimshaw, Eric Smillie and Nick Keyser worked frantically to get their boat up to Inverness after suffering a multitude of mechanical problems at the Portsmouth start. Working through Thursday night they just managed to reach the start line only to break down yet again a few miles later.

The Belgium entered Birretta driven by Thomas Vandamme and Jean-Pierre Neels lying ninth overall suffered an engine fire an hour after the start. Once extinguished its determined crew maintained their heading for Edinburgh on one engine.

Another suffering a mountain of problems but now rewarded with a tenth place on this leg, was the Top Gear entered Garmin driven by Iain May and Rowland MacDowie and Jeff Hunton. With Gremlins apparently sorted, this one looks set for a good finish at Portsmouth.

Perhaps the greatest act of sportsmanship so far in this event was when the Fairey cruiser , crewed by BA Captains, Jonathan Napier, Andy Fielding and Cormac Lundy, wrapped a drifting rope round its propeller a few miles after the start. Class competitors John Guille, Richard Hoskins and Chris Clayton aboard the 42 year old restored Gee, immediately stopped and offered assistance.

Grabbing a knife, John Guille jumped into the sea, and swimming below the stricken Team 747, cut the tangled rope from his competitor's propeller in order to continue their bow to bow contest to Edinburgh.

Wettpunkt wins again!

Hannes Bohinc, Ed Williams-Hawkes and Max Holzfeind arrived in Edinburgh ahead of the field on day seven of the ten-day Round Britain Offshore Powerboat Race to claim another victory for the Wettpunkt.com team. Despite choppy conditions, the 1800hp Isotta Fraschini-powered craft completed the event's longest stage at an average speed of 84.36mph to further establish the team's credentials as one of the outstanding performers.

'It was an uncomfortable ride and we are all pretty exhausted,' commented a drained Hannes Bohinc. 'But we won and made up more time on our rivals; the boat is running well and we could not have asked for much more. Ed's navigating is always top-class and Max is proving his talents as an engineer as well as a driver. If he had not detected one of two small problems when we arrived in Scotland we may not have completed today's stage. As it is, we completed it, won it, and with the boat and engines running perfectly, we're looking confidently ahead to the remaining stages.'

The Wettpunkt.com team were followed into Edinburgh by second placed 'Venturer' and third placed 'Blue FPT'. The next leg of the event commences tomorrow (Saturday 28th) as the teams head to Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Blue FPT - After the break, the attack.

The crew of Blue FPT, composed by an Englishman (Dag Pike) and three Greeks (Pateras Vassilis, Tsikopoulos Panos and Vasiliou Lefteris), spent the lay day of the Round Britain celebrating the first place in the category MC1 in a Italian restaurant, in honour of the boat made by Fabio Buzzi and the Fiat Powertrain Technologies engines.

The Director and sports doctor, Vincenzo Tota, has recommended a Mediterranean diet to recover the energies.

The 'young' 75 years old Dag Pike keen to stress that despite the fatigue, 'the head works, but the legs and body complain of blows on the waves.'

The crew has learned to control the boat on the rough sea and they has now decided to push full throttle for the entire leg, the longest in the Round Britain (210 miles), from Inverness to Edinburgh.

The sea is 4-5 force and it will put in difficulty pilots and mechanics, but Giorgio Bertoni, head of technical team FPT, has urged the crew to attack.

Stories came in thick and fast at Inverness today (Thursday), some tall others short. It was yarning time among crews competing in the Round Britain Powerboat Race. It's known in powerboat racing circles as lay day but few had time to relax.

Several were still licking wounds suffered by their machinery or hulls on the way up from Portsmouth. It's now the halfway stage but the excitement of the forthcoming fifth leg to Edinburgh tomorrow (Friday) was just the ingredient needed to reminisce.

It all came out while Sarah Jane Fraser and Miranda Knowles were entertaining a group of child cancer sufferers from the fund raising charity Click. They happen to mention their experiences while crossing the very rough Lyme Bay off the Dorset coast last Saturday and had no idea they had made a powerboating first.

It seems concentration of driving Team Scorpion Dubois at full throttle, plus a little salt spray, conjured a thirst but trying to guzzle from a bouncing bottle was neigh impossible so they came to a stop. There as Team Scorpion Dubois rolled in the swell the girls enjoyed tea and biscuits.

'It was quite civilised,' said Sarah 'And certainly not breaking the rules.' It is this laid back attitude which is being reflected in the performance of Team Scorpion Dubois up the West Coast to Scotland and one likely to move them even higher up the finishing table when they finish at Portsmouth on Monday.

Two boats struggling to make do and mend is Team 747 and Swordsman. Both suffered damage to their transmission between Oban and the entrance to the Caledonian Canal Fort William. Vital shafts and propellers were being flown back and forth from the southern England to Inverness to ensure both boats are ready in time for tomorrow's start.

Garmin, the outfit entered by the Top Gear team, is living up to form providing minute by minute excitement for its crew Iain May, Jeff Hunton and Rowland MacDowie. Not only did they have to suffer two blown turbochargers on the opening leg to Plymouth forcing them to transport Garmin by road to Milford Haven, they caught fire on their next leg to Northern Ireland.

It seems yet anther turbocharger overheated but this time under a leaking fuel pipe which ignited. Although the fire was extinguished almost immediately, it ruined their chance of completing at least one western leg of the course.

Now they wait in Inverness after covering more of the Britain by road than water hoping their fortunes change as they race the rest to Edinburgh.

Ano