The search is underway in Scotland for a powerboat racing crew to compete in this year’s P1 SuperStock UK Championship, a four-venue race series that will include the P1 Scottish Grand Prix of the Sea in Greenock on 24-25 June co-hosted by Inverclyde Council and Riverside Inverclyde. The crew of driver and navigator will race the Inverclyde-branded P1 Panther powerboat in the one-design national championship.

The 28ft ‘Spirit of Inverclyde’ race boat will once again fly the flag for Inverclyde and Scotland at every round of the championship which gets underway in Aalborg, Denmark before heading to the Clyde and then Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, with Scarborough staging the season finale in September.

P1 chief operating officer Robert Wicks says;

This will be an amazing opportunity for suitably qualified Scottish residents to apply to race across the summer, including competing in front of thousands of Scottish fans when the P1 fleet takes to the water off Greenock’s Esplanade.
The minimum requirement is that applicants have completed the RYA Level 2 powerboat course and race training.
The racers will be responsible for leasing and maintaining the boat across the season, as well as transporting it to each of the events.

Gerry McCarthy, chair of Riverside Inverclyde, commented;

Hosting the inaugural P1 Scottish Grand Prix of the Sea in Greenock last year and having our very own boat compete in the UK championship was really exciting, and we are now looking for a new crew of Scottish racers to represent us in 2017.
We have a rich maritime history and the P1 events provide us with a great opportunity to showcase Scotland and to promote Inverclyde as the country’s marine leisure capital.

Robert Wicks added;

Local racers Gordon Wicklow and Dino Zavaroni, who crewed the Inverclyde boat in the 2016 race series, did an outstanding job as ambassadors for Inverclyde – including a podium finish in Bournemouth – and we wish them well as they move on to undertake a new challenge this year.
Racing the Inverclyde boat is the experience and opportunity of a lifetime and we are looking forward to welcoming the new crew to this year’s P1 SuperStock UK Championship.

Applicants should email Powerboat P1 with their name, address, telephone number and evidence of completing the RYA course by 10 March. Details of the P1 race series can be found at www.p1superstock.co.uk