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Mike Shelton and Jackie Hunt celebrate after winning the World Championship

HOME rule will once again be the order of the day when reigning Powerboat P1 world champions Jackie Hunt and Mike Shelton take to the sea for the British Grand Prix off the Isle of Wight at the end of the month.

The Hook-based husband and wife team find themselves, as they did at the same stage last year, trailing in the championship standings, but they are banking on another good home win.

Driver of the team Hunt said: "We love racing off the Isle of Wight. It is our home waters and, for us, the rougher it is, the better. Some of the other teams, especially the Italians, do not like that."

Even if it is rough, their Extremeboat will be touching speeds of up to 70mph and, in flat conditions, they will be flying over the water at nearer 80.

Cowes will be the base for the races, with the pair in action on Friday, August 24 (2pm), for a round-the-island race, and then, two days later, on the Sunday (3pm), there is the circuit race out in the Solent, which will be great for spectators to watch.

Hunt said: "The round-the-island race is where Mike really comes into his own, making sure we take the shortest and correct route.

"With it being around the islands, conditions are always changing, which makes it great fun and a real challenge."

The Hook duo will be racing in the SunSport class and have renumbered their boat to number one this year.

Their craft was going like a dream in Germany before they damaged a propeller. That cost them more than £5,000 to replace and, since then, it has been a race against time to get the boat ready for the Isle of Wight.

However, a couple of press days this week at Ocean Village, in Southampton, will help the couple do a bit more testing ahead of Cowes.

Despite a lot of media attention this season, and being the reigning world champions, Hunt and Shelton are still without a backer and, at the moment, the pair look set to have to quit the sport at the end of the year.

Hunt said: "When you look at the money that is being thrown at Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1, we only need a fraction of that. It would be nice for a local company to sponsor us but, at the moment, it is not looking good. This makes us more determined to retain our crown and go out as champions."

She added: "I will miss driving the boat, as I love it, and being world champion proves I am the best."

After the two races off the Isle of Wight, the championship continues at Zeebrugge, on September 8 and 9, and Portimao, Portugal, on September 29 and 30.

Currently, the British duo are in third place in the standings, 100 points behind Italian leaders Hotel Roscioli. However, with 100 points for each race win, the current world champions are still very much in the hunt to retain their crown.

The season started well for them in Malta with two wins, and then second and fifth places in Naples.

The German meeting was marred by the death of Italian driver Sergio Carpentieri after a racing accident, and then the second race saw Hunt and Shelton limp home sixth after their propeller broke.

However, the British pair are ready and waiting to claw their way to the top of the leaderboard.

Any companies wishing to sponsor the current world champions can contact them through their website www.extremeboat.com

9:27am Friday 17th August 2007

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