SHARK READY TO BITE BACK

It’s been a frustrating first season for Stuart Cureton after making the move to the 300 Class with Team Shark.

A demonstration of Cureton’s taxing year has been his inability to nail down the navigator’s position. After starting with Andy Wilby (now of Rough Cut Racing) in Penzance, Liam McDermott, Marcus Bradshaw and most recently, Paul Hislop have tried their luck alongside the Hampshire-based driver.

However, since completing the Southampton Grand Prix of the Sea at race speed, Cureton is understandably happier with the team's progress and is confident of being in the mix for podium positions in Lymington.

“Finishing at race speed in Southampton gives us a lot of confidence,” said Cureton. “I knew after round two in Galway that we wouldn’t be competing for the title so the team’s been spending a lot of time analysing the boat’s performance and looking at ways to improve its reliability.”

In many ways Cureton’s challenging year epitomises the fortunes for all in the Powerboat P1 SuperStock Championship. Year one has been about building relationships and experimenting with new and exciting formulas. 

Penzance witnessed Powerboat P1’s first-ever music festival, round four in Southampton ran in conjunction with the PSP Southampton Boat Show, and most significantly the introduction of a new class and engine, the Mercury 300 XS, is proof enough that the series is evolving and is consistently striving to make a bigger impact on the marine industry.  

Even though his luck with the new engine hasn’t been as profitable as others, Cureton believes the signs are still good for the future. He said: “The class is more exciting. The Mercury engines have made the Cougar Marine hull a completely different boat to drive.

“There were a lot of issues with the 225 engines in their first year but like the Mercury 300s this year they improved after every race.

“It’s been a learning curve for everyone. You can’t expect perfection straight away but no one had engine faults or electrical problems in Southampton, so their reliability is improving and the pilots are acclimatising to the change.”