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Hunstanton National
Rounds 3 & 4 (5th/6th June)

After the disapointment round two's cancellation at Allhallows, the focus of the National Championships turned to rounds 3 & 4 at Hunstanton, on the North Norfolk coast. The venue that hosted the World Championships in 2005 was this time staging two back to back races over the weekend. With the sun blazing on the Saturday morning, the stage was set for a water ski racing extravaganza!  
The main race got off to a thunderous start, with Darren Kirkland leading the way in Formula 1. He was closely followed by a flotilla of formula 2 boats which were going to have to fight it out tooth and nail for the whole 50 minutes plus one lap of the race. The three contenders in formula 3 also had a fight on their hands to gain a clear advantage over their counterparts. As it turned out, their was no real advantage to be had, and it was Matt Fielding who took the formula 3 top spot from Dan List by a mere 4 seconds. As the race progressed at a relentless pace, the formula 2 fleet started to stretch out. Harvey Robinson proved the man inform, ably holding off  a late challenge for the lead from Richard Kirk, who was felling the heat.

 Next it was the turn of the Ladies to fix it up with the Juniors and Seniors in the support race. Jake Frame, in Juniors, took the lead in the race. Rod Hawkins and Russell Cox can through next, as they were battling it out for 1st and 2nd place in Seniors. Paula Newland was the first British Lady skier home. The Brit Kids all skied their hearts out. It looked like they had all benefited from their pre-season training weekend in Belgium! Thomas Smith and Charlie Cox both had a real duel for the overall lead. Thomas Smith just sneaked it from Charlie by 6 seconds to take the chequered flag in Brit Kids B. The racing in Brit kids A was also to an exeptional standard. Lee Holland from Stone took pole from Grace Cox 2nd and Robin Veater in 3rd.

The stage was set on Sunday for another great day of racing. The anticipation between the competitors was probably running a little higher, as no doubt the exertion from the day before would have taken it toll. Any doubts as to whether the racing woud have suffered as a result were soon quashed. This time it was the turn of the Brit kids to race first, followed by the support race and the main race was the last billing of the day.

Again battle between Thomas Smith and Charlie Cox resumed. This time it was an over heated engine which proved terminal for Charlie. In Brit kids A, the top four skiers were all tightly grouped. Lee Holland took his second win of the weekend, followed by Ben Manchett and Robin Veater, with Grace Cox fourth. In the Support Race, Jake Frame lead the field by a lap. Rod Hawkins took another pole in the Seniors, Glen Manchett who was third the previous day managed to go one better finishing 2nd. Sam Clapson took second place in Juniors from Scott Brooks, who switched places with Dan Ellis from the day before to come third.

There was a twist in the tail for the main race. The weather really had the final word to round off the weekend. Conditions on the water were on the turn when the race got underway. It was Daryl Tyndall who made the early ground in formula 2, but with a squall brewing and the sea state worstening, the race slowly started to turn into a test of endurance. With four foot waves in places, staying upright was the main objective to stay in front! Darren Kirkland again took the overall win, followed by Richard Kirk in formula 2. Kurt Brooks was 2nd, followed by Will Newland 3rd.


For full results please go to the results page!