The pair would later be penalised for jumping the start in the second heat leaving them with a lot of ground to make up over their rivals.
High winds and rough water prevented most classes at the Stuart Sailfish Regatta from taking to the water yesterday and it was left to Powerboat P1’s versatile SuperStock boats to keep the crowd entertained with some dramatic racing.
In the opening heat a gearbox problem slowed Team Proboat’s attempt to win the first race of the new season but Biddle and Bluenstein battled their way back through the field to finish in a credible fourth place. The race was won by father and son pairing of Tom and Jason Morton. Jason raced at two events last season as a substitute driver but this year the pair have bought a P1 Panther and look likely to be competitive all season. “It felt great to win the first race of the season. Jason won the last race of last season so to win here today means we have a good thing going right now,” said a delighted Tom.
Second place went to the other father and son pairing of Bill and Elijah Kingery who are in their second full season of racing in P1. Third place went to James Norvill and Christian Young in the P1 Marine Foundation sponsored boat. The team is based in the United Kingdom and compete in both the UK and USA national SuperStock championships in 2013. “Racing here in the US is a dream come true and it’s even better to know that we are running competitively out here and in the top three places at our first event,” said an elated Norvill.
The second heat saw Team ProBoat take an early lead but race officials imposed a 30 second penalty for jumping the start. This handed the race win to Glen Gray and Daniel Race in the Team AO Coolers boat. “We were a little nervous being out there for the first time and conditions were rough on some of the turns, but we pushed it hard to make sure we were in the hunt. We have a great feel for the boat and will be doing everything we can to make sure we get a great start on Sunday,” said Gray.
The Kingery pairing showed consistent form in the Pier 57 boat to take another second place, giving them the overall weekend lead going into the heats on Sunday. “It’s good to be leading and the boat has been working well. We’re really happy with this as it’s been a cold winter in Ohio and we have had little opportunity to test,” said an excited Elijah.
Norvill and Young placed third in the second heat to take a commanding position in the top few places.
Two full rookie teams also took to the water for their first race on Saturday with husband and wife pairings in both boats providing a great endorsement of the accessibility of the P1 SuperStock class. Craig and Cynthia Belfatto in Livorsi and Gene and Paula Weeks in Cheoy Lee Marine both showed great form with the latter finishing a very credible fourth in heat two.
Racing continues today (Sunday 21 April) with two further heats for the P1 SuperStock teams to determine who will take the weekend honours.
Source; USA Superstock
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