Formula 1 meets Powerboat P1

In 2007, a trio of land-based racing car drivers took to the waves courtesy of the Powerboat P1 teams. We look back at what four-wheel stars Johnny Herbert, Pedro Lamy and Darren Turner made of offshore racing’s most exciting series.

Racing drivers are no strangers to powerboats. After all, when you live in Monaco, fly by private jet to grands prix and have a fleet of high-performance supercars and maybe even a luxury yacht, it seems silly not to splash out on some waterborne transport with a little extra horsepower – especially when you consider how addicted these guys are to speed!

But, when three top racing drivers – Johnny Herbert, Pedro Lamy and Darren Turner – took some test runs in Powerboat P1 machinery in 2007, they discovered exactly why Powerboat P1 is a step above your typical leisure powerboat, and why the Powerboat P1 racers consider their sport one of the last, true unrestricted forms of racing in the world.

Ex-Formula 1 star Johnny Herbert has had some experience of water-borne racing thrills, having tried out an inshore powerboat while he was racing for the Jaguar team. He’s since returned to the world of sportscar endurance racing, driving for Audi, Bentley and Aston Martin in the Le Mans 24 Hours. He tried out the #81 Wettpunkt.com Evolution class boat on Lake Como in Italy

“I’ve always liked doing things that are challenging,” he said. “In a straight line, the Powerboat P1 doesn’t feel overly powerful – it doesn’t shoot off like an F1 car does. But what’s nice about it, and very similar to F1, is when you try and go into the corners and get the grip on the turn. Trying to get that right is always exciting.

“I didn’t know where I was going at first, but once you’ve done a couple of turns you know where you’re aiming for. With the throttle-man, it’s a bit like being a rally driver and having a co-driver alongside you. The relationship has to be very close and you have to gel, whereas driving an F1 car, you’re on your own. It’s completely different to anything I’ve ever done before.”

Next up to try out Powerboat P1 was SEAT touring car ace Darren Turner. The British star has acted as an F1 test driver for McLaren, as well as competing in the German touring car series for Mercedes-Benz and racing at Le Mans with Aston Martin. At the time, he was racing production-based touring cars for SEAT, so was well placed to understand the production-based #01 Extremeboat SuperSport boat of when he took the wheel off the coast of Southampton. Regular pilot Jackie Hunt sat alongside him manning the throttles.

“It was an absolutely fantastic experience, and something that I’ll never forget,” Turner said. “Jumping across the waves, with the spray coming over you – it doesn’t get much better than that. The steering is more remote than in a car. It’s about anticipating what’s coming up and getting the balance of the boat right.

“The speed was very impressive – 90mph on land doesn’t feel that fast, but on choppy water it’s amazing. When you look ahead you don’t feel like you’re travelling that fast because there’s such an expanse of water, but when you look to the side and see the land flashing by, only then do you get a true sense of speed.

“It’s also a lot more physical than I was expecting. It’s not so much the acceleration and braking g-forces that you get in a racing car – although you can really feel the power from those two massive 525bhp engines. It’s more the pounding you get from the waves. I guess it’s a lot more like rallying than racing in that respect.

The third of our racing trio to try out a Powerboat P1 was Portugese star Pedro Lamy. The ex-F1 star, like Herbert, has carved out a new career for himself racing sportscars and touring cars for Mercedes, BMW, Chrysler, Ferrari and Aston Martin. This year he’ll once again be driving the diesel-powered Peugeot 908 HDi in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

As the only Portugese driver to ever score points in an F1 race, he was naturally a big draw for the crowds when he visited the Powerboat P1 Portugese Grand Prix Of The Sea in Portimao last year. He perhaps got the best impression of Powerboat P1’s top-level racing as he took the wheel of the #97 Lucas Oil Outerlimits Evolution class boat, with regular driver Nigel Hook controlling the throttles as they headed out to sea.

“These boats are so fast, and racing on a circuit is a completely different experience to racing on the sea,” Lamy said. “In a sportscar, whether you’re driving fast or slow, you feel safer as the track is predictable. In these boats, you’re on a surface that is constantly changing and one that you have no control over. When you enter a turn, you find it hard to feel the level of grip and to know where to position the boat. It was a great experience, though.”