Also, there was the French boat builder David Moore, who had driven up from his base in Rouen, France to see Dillard.

I was excited to be able to get that face to face with David and prepare some dates to go testing. We also ironed out a few details about the new boat, somethings are different about it as we both have some innovative ideas that we got nailed down.

Moore won’t just be supplying the boat; he will also be supplying a word in Dillard’s ear as this season he will be the American’s radioman during the UIM F2 Grand Prix weekend.

Sure, it will certainly help me out on the course, but you must remember that Mette, my teammate is also racing a Moore so, it will give the whole team that extra edge. David is really good on the radio; I remember in my first race in Norway there was a protest about the right-hander. He wasn’t on our team, but I was racing a Moore. So, he came over to help me because I had to see the jury and he showed me in the rule book what I had to say and everything, so, you know David knows that rule book inside out.

As part of the preparation for this year Dillard has spent some time in France with Moore building up a special relationship, which also included meeting up with his mother.

I really loved my time in France as it gave me an opportunity to go over further aspects of the new boat. You know, hanging out with these people, not at the boat race but in their hometown is a perfect way of developing that good bond and with David I believe we’re working on something special.

Earlier on this year Dillard raced at the Port Neches River Fest in Texas because he would get a chance to race against the new Mercury APX motor. It would mean racing the Team Dillard Financial Solutions DAC hull in place of the Moore though.

That had been severely damaged in a crash at last season’s final round of the American based F1 Powerboat Championship, which took place at the famed Lake Havasu course. Fortunately, Dillard was unhurt but was unable to repeat his triumph from the previous day.

When we got the wreck home from being repaired and we were rigging it out and we were running out of time and so we almost didn’t go to Port Neches but at the last second, we said hey we still have the DAC over there, so we spent about three may be four days getting it ready.

Even though he was unable to test the DAC his lap times did get progressively quicker over the weekend.

The DAC is a totally different ride. It took me almost the whole weekend to get to nail it down to be perfect in that boat. I’d say my last five laps in the final were almost a second quicker than the first five just because I was starting to get comfortable with the boat. Now though I must get that out of my head because it’s all Moore, Moore, Moore from here on.

This season Dillard has joined forces with the British based JRM Racing team and will have the Norwegian racer Mette Brandt Bjerknæs as his teammate.

She’s fast and I think we’re going to make each other better racers. I remember she ran well in Brindisi, and I didn’t. Throughout that season there were some races that I was a little bit better and then some races she was a little bit better than me.

I think we’re going to be able to take what she is strong at and what I’m strong at and learn from each other. We both use a similar AIM’s system so I know that after practice has finished, we can both plot the course and see where she was faster or where I was faster which can only help both of us out.

I’ve been waiting to come back for two years now and I’m really excited. There are so many new boats going to be out there with guys that I know for sure are fast right now. Poland is going to be a really tough race to debut a new but my plan this year is to reach the podium steps. Then start winning races as my ultimate goal is to be a World Champion one hundred percent.

The first opportunity for the fans to see the F2 competitors will be during a boat parade on Friday evening. This will see some of the competitors drive their raceboats along the Netta causeway passing the popular Nowa Szekla Tawerna & Bar on route to the town. It will be streamed live on the PRW FaceBook page. Then the following morning the F2 contenders will take to the water for Free Practice ahead of the three-stage qualifying in the afternoon.

Photos Chris Davies/PRW

David Moore said

I am delighted to join JRM Racing following Dillard signing with them earlier this year and I will be helping him with his comeback in the UIM F2 World Championship. The support of his parents Teresa and Steve is amazing and it already feels good to be part of the Dillard family, plus I can’t wait to see Dillard and Bjerknæs racing side by side this year in Moore hulls.

JRM’s Mette Bjerknæs has been racing Moore hulls since her debut in the World Endurance Championship back in 2012 and has been working closely with him ever since.

Whilst Dillard first got the taste of Rouen’s finest back in 2018 when he purchased Pierre Lundin’s F2 Championship winning Moore hull. So, having built world championship winning boats for decades he now brings with him that vast knowledge which will of course be of immense value to the team.

Bjerknæs said

Having David’s expertise at every race is going to be invaluable to me and all at JRM Racing.

PRW understands that Dillard will first be competing at the opening round of this year’s NGK Spark Plugs Formula 1 Powerboat Championship, which will be roaring into Southeast Texas on April 30. The 19^th  annual ‘Thunder on the Neches’ powerboat race will be the highlight of the five-day Port Neches ‘River Fest’.

Following that race weekend Dillard will begin testing with his new team prior to the 2022 UIM F2 season opener in Portugal in June. Before that though JRM Racing, who are currently working on their brand-new team livery, will be competing at Carr Mill Dam in England at the end of May. PRW understand that negotiations are currently under way to allow Dillard to compete at the opening round of the CPA British National Championship.

JRM Team Principal Jamey Stallard told PRW that to have David Moore joining their team is an honour.

Not only is he a prominent figure in powerboat racing but also, he’s a first class raceboat constructor, with many world championships titles achieved in his Moore designed boats. He is just what JRM values as a team member, always striving for victories while promoting professionalism and the future of our Sport.

Since then, a lot of water has passed between his sponsons and not all of it has been calm. When PRW caught up with the young man from the English Midlands he was about to collect his trophy for another second place, this time in the CPA British National Championship Formula GP Light category.

He’s the first to admit that the 2021 season had been a frustrating one. A disappointing sixth place finish at the UIM F4 European Championships held in Viverone, Italy back in September seemed to have summed up his season. Now all that’s about to change.

The boat I was racing in the British series and the European Championship was a 2015 Moore. So being an older model we took out as much weight as possible. We tried to push it as hard as we could, but we just weren’t getting the results for which we were hoping.

Now a new season brings a new sense of optimism, especially as he has the Moore hull back in the workshop that he used to excellent effect in his F4-S campaign

In terms of how I see my skill progressing I feel that I’m ready for a hull that has a lot more surface area, so it comes out of the corners a lot quicker. I’m ready to take that next step in racing where I can push myself a bit harder to get those satisfactory results.

Smith has raced a Moore hull for several seasons now and is a huge fan of the French boat builder.

They are fast, reliable, and by far the best-looking boat in the series.

Me and David Moore have built up a great repour about how I think the F4 hull needs to progress but obviously it’s a fine art making the perfect boat that suits every driving style. We’ve started speaking with him about coming over to Britain to have a test day with us. That should give us the opportunity to go over a few factors that we’ve seen which could improve our boat and future versions.

This year Smith plans to race the 2018 Moore hull in the British National Championship, along with the German series starting in Traben-Trarbach in May. The European Championship in Latvia and also rounds of the World Series are also on the agenda.

One of the drivers I raced against in the F4-S series was Max Stilz. He beat me to the 2019 F4-S Drivers Championship but he’s a great lad. He was the ADAC Motorboot Masters Champion back in 2016 and he told me how good the series is. I believe this year though he’s going into F2.

With an increase in driver numbers racing this season in the British Formula Grand Prix class (F2) has he given much thought to joining those ranks or following in the footsteps of Stilz?

I’ve been offered the chance to test an F2, but I have never seen the need for it. If I got into the boat all it will show me is how slower my F4 is. If I start looking towards the future of getting into F2 then I will lose my objective of winning in F4. I want to get ultra-competitive and competent before stepping into an F2. Yes, getting into F2 at some point is a long-term aim but right now I have unfinished business with F4.