Powerboat GP Sprint Championships this weekend

50 of Britain's top powerboat racing stars will be going head to head on 6-7 August for the 2016 Powerboat GP British RYA Sprint Championships.

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The Powerboat GP Sprint Championship is a stand-alone event, separate from the on-going 2016 Powerboat GP RYA British Championships.

It is being held at Stewartby Watersports Centre in Bedford between 6-7 August.

Each class will battle it out for pole position and then over three heats.

By the end of the weekend, six individuals will be crowned the RYA Powerboat GP British Sprint Champion.

In the GT15 Class, the junior drivers will be looking to beat Thomas Mantripp, who won the competition last year.

On home water, several of Stewartby Powerboat Racing Club’s youngsters will be looking to challenge including Lincoln’s Jonathan Brewer and Kent’s George Elmore.

Local Bedford boy Aidan Fleet will be looking to secure his first podium finish.

Ben Jelf will be hoping to secure his 12th successive British title as he sets his sights on the GT30 crown.

Looking to stop him in his tracks is the only female racer in the whole championship, Tiegen Goodfellow.

There will also be strong pressure from Jack Pickles, following his first podium finish at Chasewater.

Bedford’s Elliot Fleet will also be looking to prove himself on his home course.

In the OSY400 Hydroplane class, Jamie Marr is facing tough competition from Jason Mantripp and the rest of the hydroplane fleet.

Newcomers Wayne Moyse and Sean Woods will also be looking to make their presence known as they take part in their first national race.

Extremely close competition is expected for the sprint title between Leon Wigg, Robert Veares, Matt Wood and Ben Jelf.

They will all look to knock Sam Whittle from his top spot and claim their first F4 crown.

Whittle has been on exciting form in the F4 competition recently, with three straight heat wins at Chasewater.

The final class of the weekend will also compete for the Jerry Lamba Memorial Trophy.

In addition to a sprint title up for grabs for the F2 fleet, they also compete for Powerboat GP RYA British Championship points.

This makes the competition all the more important for these catamaran contenders.

Following engine problems at Chasewater, reigning sprint champion Colin Jelf will be looking for a return to form.

He will be hoping to catch Paul Balfour in the British Championship campaign and retain his sprint crown for a second consecutive year.

There will be mixed emotions for the 2015 British Champion Steve Hoult who spectacularly crashed out at the sprint championships last year and nearly cost him his British crown.

Mark Williams seemed to put problems behind him that have plagued him for the last two seasons and the former F4 World Champion will be looking for his first F2 Championship crown.

The Powerboat GP promoter, Jason Brewer, said he can’t wait for the 2016 Sprint championship battle to get underway.

“This season the racing’s so close and there’s very little separating the racers throughout the whole championships, but this weekend the rest of the season doesn’t count,” he said.

“All that stands now between the racers and a British Championship title is three heats of racing. One wrong move or even the smallest mistake can lose you the crown,” explained Brewer.

He continued: “Even the best racers can have an off day and as always in powerboat racing another racer is right in your wake waiting in case you do. It lends itself to some awesome action on the water and by the end of the weekend we’ll have six newly crowned British Sprint Champions.”

The on water action will get underway from 10.30 on both 6-7 August, starting with qualifying and then with each class competing over three heats.