ZAPCAT ABERDEEN ROUND UP – RACE REPORT

Whilst the rest of the UK was experiencing torrential rain for those who made it to Aberdeen enjoyed the sunshine, large crowds and a great new venue for Zapcat Racing.

The best part of a 1500 mile round trip is long by anyone’s standards and the majority of teams took the opportunity for some sight seeing on the way and back turning rounds 11 & 12 into a short break which really set the relaxed tone for the weekend.

With slightly fewer teams than expected, gave the race organisers the chance to alter the structure of the weekend mixing up division one and two boats, which put a smile on quite a few competitors especially Neil & Naz in PatioDoorStore.co.uk who have been itching to take on the likes of Bluesheets, BladeRun, Speedy Hire & Team Suffolk.

As the first Zapcat event or anything like it to be held in Aberdeen there was a lot of interest from the gathering spectators especially in the “Flower Power” livery of Scaredy Cat as well as the locally sponsored boats of SeaVacation I & II.

As the sun shone the swell died which favoured the lighter teams, but there was enough to make some of the beach starts interesting particularly for the three female co-pilots.

A loss of power meant no online coverage at the start of Round 11 (and a lot of emails and texts from around the world asking where it was?) as well as a very quiet beach commentary but the teams made up for it with some exceedingly close heat finishes around a standard M with an extended pit lap.  Tactics were certainly coming into play as teams were gambling on which final would gain them the most points and at the end of two very close races saw Speedy Hire on top in Division 2 and BladeRun take top spot in Division 1 and for only the second time in two seasons Bluesheets I sidelined to appluding the podium winners who also included Nine Lives & Scaredy Cat in Div 2 and Team Suffolk and PatioDoorStore in Div 1.

The Saturday BBQ at the Udny Arms Hotel turned into a great evening for all the teams and event staff as well as a chance for everyone to continue a very relxing day, one of the other highlights being the combined fun race which saw way too much cheating going on with PatioDoorStore being declared the winner!

Round 12 started once again in glorious conditions and a distinct lack of surf, Bluesheets I found themselves back in the pack, with a very valid excuse; having the previous evening broken their skeg whilst testing on a wreck at low tide and using a borrowed gearbox from Nial found themselves going just that little bit slower and challenging from behind which they were if being honest thoroughly enjoyed!

The heats again were again very close and in the Div 2 final Nial and Aaron secured the win just in front of Nine Lives, Charlie and his last minute stand in co-pilot Josh seconded from the local Surf Rescue team who also have a Zapcat, Josh emailed us to say that it was a cracking weekend and two silver medals was the icing on the cake!  Russell and Sandra in Scaredy Cat collected another bronze.

Div 1 was a battle not for the Grand Prix win but the Celtic Cup and City Championship titles between BladeRun and Bluesheets I – BladeRun took the Round 12 win and the GP title with a rejuvenated Team Suffolk in second and Bluesheets held off PatioDoorStore to pick up the bronze.

Aberdeen City Council Depute Provost Jackie Dunbar was on hand to present the trophies and medals and was very generous in her praise regarding the teams, the event, the spectacle and the crowds.

All Championship results at this stage are unofficial until the End of Season Awards, however it looks like a win by the skin of their teeth (a countback on GP titles – one of which was a countback on heat wins!) for BladeRun in the City Championships and a win by 10 points (the margin of a top three place) for Bluesheets I in the Celtic Cup.

City Championships – Belfast, Edinburgh & Aberdeen

1= BladeRun 390 (win on countback of GP wins)

1= Bluesheets I 390

3   Team Suffolk 345

4   Speedy Hire 315

Celtic Cup – Edinburgh, Prestatyn, Barry & Aberdeen

1 Bluesheets I 670

2 BladeRun 660

3 Speedy Hire 540

4 Team Suffolk 520

As always nearly all of the Championships within Zapcat Racing come down to the wire and the next event is the last time to really go for it before the discards for National Championship, Rookie, Team & Mixed points come into play.

Congratulations to the winners and without coming all over Hollywood acceptance speech style … thank you to Aberdeen for a great venue and a very warm welcome and also to all the teams and your supporters for making the event even more special and a big thank you to Sharon for all your assistance.

See you next month on the 18th – changed venue to be confirmed very soon…

Article and pictures courtesy of ZapCat Racing.