DELMAR CAUSE MAJOR SHOCK IN SOUTHAMPTON

Delmar Group stormed to a debut P1 SuperStock Championship race victory as Dave Cowley and Graham Doggett took the checkered flag in the opening race of the Southampton Grand Prix of the Sea.

The 2007 150 Class champions used the inside line into turn one to their advantage as the pair maintained their dominant position throughout the 5-lap race. It saw the formbook well and truly ripped up as current 150 Class pacesetters, Grandstand Motor Sports and Eclipse struggled in 7th and 8th respectively. 

Cowley and Doggett, who drove the boat down from Lowestoft to Southampton via Torquay in a 9 ½ hour marathon journey produced a commanding and confident display on Southampton Water and treated the spectators glued to the action at the PSP Southampton Boat Show to some spectacular close-range racing.  

Team Purple chased hard in second with Liam McDermott and Dale Williams securing a surprise runner-up finish whilst Team Fox, who hooked their hull at turn one, edged Flying Sparks into fourth position with an impeccable drive.

GSS Mermaid raced over the finishing line in fifth ahead of Aztec Racing whilst Construction Racing was a non-starter due to a technical fault with their steering. 

In race two, Heights of Abraham got back to winning ways as Rupert Pugh and local lad, Dan Whapples, blitzed the rest of the field en route to their eighth race win of 2010.

After watching Rough Cut Racing claim its inaugural Grand Prix of the Sea title in Pwllheli in July, the favourites for gold on the south coast this weekend showed it was just a mere blemish on their enviable 2010 race card.

Heights of Abraham conceded the early lead to Maurice Lacroix but powered back in convincing style after winning their mini-battle with Evans Heritage Developments during the early stages of the 7-lap race.

It was another imperious spot of maneovring from Messrs Pugh and Whapples that gave them clear water in front of Maurice Lacroix. Michael and Stephen Baggs succumbed to the relentless pressure from the blue machine and had to settle for second in Sunday’s second race.

Double 6 racing duo Brian Caudwell and Neil Cadman secured a very respectable fourth position on their first-ever P1 SuperStock Championship outing. They made Rhys and Haydn Evans work extremely hard for the last place on the podium and will hope to go one better in the afternoon despite their minimal race experience with the Mercury 300 XS.

Team Shark, in fifth, led in Rough Cut Racing and the trio of wildcard entries, including Buildbase (7th), Claygate (8th) and Coalition (9th).