"First race, I had a great start and was leading the pack. Then in trying to put my sunglasses on I clipped a bouy and went through the reeds.
Second was a brilliant race. Had a slow start and was half a lap down on Phill. I caught up with him just before half race distance and started pressuring him. Having to push hard to find a way round the outside of him was tough on me too and I made a couple of mistakes which gave him breathing space and time to regroup before I inevitably caught back up and pushed him more.
It was a great race and well driven by Phill to hold his nerve under severe pressure. 1, 2 for LMRacing in the first race is a great start to the year but we will have to keep an eye on Mr Marles who is extremely fast this year. Could this be Phill’s year, domestically??"
IT’S NOT JUST A TEAM, IT’S A WAY OF LIFE!
“What a day. I really couldn’t have asked for more. Even winter corrosion couldn’t stop my engine!
Two perfect starts from Martin meant that from both ends of the pits I was in the water first and running. Random glare on the lake stopped me in the first race but the second was probably the best of my life.
Real close racing is what LMRacing are all about (other than alchohol) and that’s just what we got in the 2nd heat. Leon and I left everyone for dead at the start and settled into a race long, one on one, mano a mano battle. Great stuff nothing dirty and close as hell. I’m really pleased that I didn’t crack under extreme pressure from the big man and hopefully it’s a sign of a good year to come.
Roll on the internationals.”
Heat 1 was not good at all! An accidental collision with Aad Bervoets, sorry, going to the first buoy resulted in me losing my torque tab. This made the boat a pig to drive which led to a poor result and my eventual withdrawal from the race.
Heat 2 i had to stay composed and just stay out of trouble for 20 minutes to qualify. After a cautious start i carefully passed Ludo SMeets for the lead and then worked my way to lap Frank Werner who was having a strong race. I stayed there for over half the race until picking my moment to overtake cleanly and then pulled away to notch up some faster laps, until the chequered flag. Qualification complete... 8th place for the Final!
The final approached and i was slightly nervous due to starting in the middle of the pits. But thanks to a great start by my pitman Chris Hauenschild i got to the bottom right buoy with Erich Costa just in front and Team mate Phillip to my outside. Going up to top right buoy i had the inside line and slotted in front of Phillip. I was just settling behind Erich when his boat bogged down after the top left buoy and i whizzed past on the outside. I then just kept a good lead just behind Michael Bertram, 2nd, who was going a good pace in front of me and brought my boat to the finish line safely.
Another memorable victory for LMRacing, at a Wonderful regatta (very cold showers though!!), where it was great to see everyone for the first time this year. Many thanks to Team Magic and all of the Dutch who helped organise a great race!!
Top qualifier, fastest lap of the weekend, and a disaster of a final!
After the first heat I really thought this could be my weekend. A perfect race meant I was on pole for the final and I could relax and test in the second heat.
The final was already becoming a shambles before the hooter for the start. The fuel line had come off and my pit man Siguard, had managed to squeeze it on just in time.
We were in the water well and slotted into third just behind Eric and and rocket ship start Leon. But by the centre boy the boat just stopped. Bugger!
We got back out but the race was already over and my boat, which has been perfect all year, had become a dog. Bogging out of corners, drifting on and off pipe and trying it’s hardest to get hit from behind. A couple of stops to try and sort it did nothing, so we called it a day and enjoyed Leon taking another great win.
Well done mate, and hopefully Beauvais will be great for LMRacing too. A one-two is the aim, so fingers crossed!
p.s. thank you Julie W for feeding us on Sunday!!
You know when you think your going to have one of those weekends when nothing is going to go well! I thought that I was going to have one. The weather was crappy on Friday and Saturday and my boat was rubbish!!!
I'd put a new piston and liner in, so was thinking that Saturday would be good to do some running in and setup, but the engine had other thoughts. It didn't want to start, it was was slow and it was blowing plugs. So after a solid but slow run I managed to qualify for the final. It must be why Steve Whenham took us to that restaurant saturday evening!!!
Sunday felt like it was going to be a better day. We were woken up by a barking dog- you know who we're talking about, and we had glorious sunshine. I went to have some more running time to sort the problems but they persisted, but the wonder team of LMRacing kicked in its vast experience and we got the boat running again. Probably still too rich but at least it showed some speed. The first final we were slow away, last but it wasn't a surprise, and I managed to claw my way back up to about 3rd or 4th. With about 7 minutes to go the race had to be stopped because someone hit the transponder. We had a slow restart again, a bit better than before but eventually had to retire with about 3 minutes to go as my radio-box was full of water. The second run was a lot better, still away last but this time only about 3/4 of a lap behind. Driving hard but consistent laps got me into the top 3, and eventually the win.
A big thanks to team for getting it all right in the end- GO TEAM. You just need to bring the noise in France!!!
I had one aim for the weekend - trying to get my boat to run cleanly on a full tank (s) of fuel.
And I thought on Saturday we’d just about managed it. We treated the pre-race procedure just like a NAVIGA race. We didn’t go on the water before the race and just warmed the engine.
So by Sunday I was up for a real race, only with 10 minutes more fuel than everyone else! And with a great race by Martin winning the 7.5 and Leon with no boat but official alcoholic status, I wanted to do a good job for the team.
A blinding start from Chunk had me out in the lead (from the wrong end of the pits too!) and we were flying. But just as I was settling through the ‘mad 5 minutes’ a long throttle for rescue and I chugged to a stop.
We got back out but tangled whilst lapping people and called it a day.
Well done to Andrew for a good win and I think Martin can buy us all a drink with the money he’s saving in plugs now!
“Come on! At last I finally have a final that matters. It’s been a while since I last finished 30 minutes and i’m glad it was at my last international of the year.
A perfect first heat left me second for the final and I got to have the afternoon off (drinking!). I kept my nose clean and some calming words from no.1 pitman Leon made sure it was all about Sunday.
As always I was nervous as hell by the start of the race. Not sure if my engine would be running cleanly from the start didn’t help. A solid start from Mr Morgan and we were in 2nd and running. A few chokes from the engine put me worryingly close to being hit from behind and I dropped a few crucial spots. But a couple of laps later and it was running like a dream and we worked back up to 2nd, just a few second back from Eric.
Which is how it stayed the whole race. I did start to worry with about 5 mins to go. Would I have enough fuel to finish the race? Thankfully Leon’s special brew lasted till the last lap but is was running on fumes.
A big, big thanks to Leon for making sure I kept my nose clean and fast!
The LMRacing 1-2 will have to wait till next year.
"Well i got the fastest lap of the weekend within the first 5 mins of the race! And thats all i achieved apart from taking my boat back in bits. Note to self - Don't hit the buoys in Beauvais! At least i now have an excuse to spend some much needed time with my boat to get into top shape for Leno. Watch out guys... This was just a little slip up and i'll be back!
Well done Phizzle!"
