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29 September 2003
for immediate release
Champagne corks were popping this weekend
as Charles Gardiner and navigator Tom Powell took the chequered
flag in superb style in the final race of the RYA National
V24 Championship in Portsmouth on Sunday.
Having had a difficult start to the season with technical
problems, Gardiner swapped boats for this final V24 race of
the season and led from the start to the finish line beating
a former European Champion as well as four times World Champions
in the process.
'I had begun to loose confidence in my ability as the season
seemed to get progressively worse,' explained Gardiner. 'But
this is a fantastic result and what's more we've beaten a
superb field which is just the icing on the cake.'
Rough seas on the second part of the course gave rise to
a few interesting airborne moments but the team in their boat
V7 PlayFair managed to retain a strong lead until the penultimate
lap. Four times World Champions Pete Little and Dave Arthur
in V27 White Stuff were gradually gaining ground and for the
final two laps the two boat fought neck and neck.
'As the race went on I was just trying to concentrate on
keeping our cool and staying focused,' explained Gardiner.
'we can't see behind us in the V24s and having led for the
whole race it was difficult to know if we were going fast
enough so we decided to keep to our foot to the floor tactics
and it obviously paid off!'
Gardiner and Powell had the upper hand on the final straight.
On the final turn the safety marshalls had 'yellow flagged'
the area due to an earlier incident, forcing Gardiner and
Powell wide while Little and Arthur took an inside line through
the marshalled area.
Gardiner and Powell raced full throttle to the line just
20 metres behind Little and Arthur who then conceded the victory
in light of the incident around the final mark. Little and
Arthur were consequently disqualified for overtaking under
a yellow flag.
This victory was their first of the season and was all the
more sweet as Gardiner has been the force behind the start
up of the new V24 one design series. Gardiner and Powell are
now preparing for the National Speed Records on Lake Windermere
in October.
- Ends -
For further information, please contact:
Bambi Gardiner, V24 Powerboats
Unit B Oak Park Industrial Estate
Northarbour Road
Portsmouth, Hants
PO6 3TJ
Tel 023 92 221133
Mobile 07768 698070
Email: pr@V24powerboats.co.uk
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