P1 USA off to a great start
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Team Morton Water Dig Deep To Take Weekend Honors In Stuart Sunshine
April 22, Stuart Florida - The 2013 P1 SuperStock season in the United States got off to an exciting start over the weekend in Stuart, Florida as father and son pairing Team Morton Water took the overall weekend honors after defending champions Andy Biddle and Tracy Blumenstein ran into technical problems in the opening heat. The pair would later be penalised for jumping the start in the second heat leaving them with a lot of ground to make up over their rivals.
High winds and rough water prevented most classes at the Stuart Sailfish Regatta from taking to the water and it was left to Powerboat P1’s versatile SuperStock boats to keep the crowd entertained with some dramatic racing.
In the opening heat a gearbox problem slowed Team Proboat’s attempt to win the first race of the new season but Biddle and Blumenstein battled their way back through the field to finish in a credible fourth place. The race was won by father and son pairing of Tom and Jason Morton.
“It felt great to win the first race of the season. Jason won the last race of last season so to win here today means we have a good thing going right now,” said a delighted Tom.
Second place went to the other father and son pairing of Bill and Elijah Kingery who are in their second full season of racing in P1. Third place went to James Norvill and Christian Young in the P1 Marine Foundation sponsored boat. The team is based in the United Kingdom and compete in both the UK and USA national SuperStock championships in 2013. “Racing here in the US is a dream come true and it’s even better to know that we are running competitively out here finishing in the top three at our first event,” said an elated Norvill.
The second heat saw Team ProBoat take an early lead but race officials imposed a 30 second penalty for jumping the start. This handed the race win to Glen Gray and Daniel Racz in the Team AO Coolers boat. “We were a little nervous being out there for the first time and conditions were rough on some of the turns, but we pushed it hard to make sure we were in the hunt. We have a great feel for the boat and will be doing everything we can to make sure we get a great start on Sunday,” said Gray.
The Kingery pairing showed consistent form in the Pier 57 boat to take another second place, giving them the overall weekend lead going into the heats on Sunday. “It’s good to be leading and the boat has been working well. We’re really happy with this as it’s been a cold winter in Ohio and we have had little opportunity to test,” said an excited Elijah.
Norvill and Young placed third in the second heat to take a commanding position in the top few places. Two full rookie teams also took to the water for their first race on Saturday with husband and wife pairings in both boats providing a great endorsement of the accessibility of the P1 SuperStock class. Craig and Cynthia Belfatto in Livorsi and Gene and Paula Weeks in Cheoy Lee Marine both showed great form with the latter finishing a credible fourth in heat two.
On the Sunday the father and son pairing of Tom and Jason Morton continued their form to take the overall lead in the P1 SuperStock USA Championship in two further heats under the baking sunshine on the Stuart Causeway in Florida. A first place in the opening heat and a second place in the final heat gave them 69 heat points, just three ahead of the AO Coolers team who fought hard for the win.
Championship leader Tom Morton said: “What a great weekend! We worked really hard today to make up for where we placed in the second heat yesterday. (Sat) We’re heading home very happy to North Carolina tonight and very proud to be the championship leaders. We’ve got to get some practice in before the next race in Daytona as the conditions are going to be so different to this weekend.”
Second place in Sunday's first heat went to Team ProBoat who were followed over the line by the P1 Marine Foundation boat with UK pilots James Norvill and Christian Young.
The final heat of the weekend was won by AO Coolers, followed by Morton Water and Pier 57. “I would never have believed it in a million years,” said an emotional Daniel Racz. “We came with no major expectations so to be heading home with two wins out of four heats is a very special feeling. This shows that new teams can run at the front because the series has such parity.”
The next round of the P1 SuperStock Championship in the USA sees the teams take to the challenging offshore waters off Daytona Beach on 14 – 16 June but before that the UK P1 SuperStock Championship kicks off in Hull where US racers Andy Biddle and Tracy Blumenstein will be making their UK debut.
For more information on the P1 SuperStock Championship visit: Welcome to P1 Superstock - P1 Superstock. For press information contact UK +44 (0)20 7170 4252 or US +1-252-721 8020
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Morton Water 20 pts
2. AO Coolers 17 pts
3. Pier 57 15 pts
4. Team ProBoat 14 pts
5. P1 Marine Foundation 13 pts
6. CL-Alpha.com 12 pts
7. Livorsi
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