Local powerboat team, ‘51 Racing’, loaded up their race boat and drove 1,850 miles to Malta last month to compete in the P750 Thundercat UIM World Championships.

The two-man team, namely Simon Harding from Neyland and Kurt Croft, of Pembroke, were representing Great Britain in the event.

This was the second time Simon had competed in the championships, while Kurt was taking part in his first.

They were entered in the stock class, which is for a standard motor out of the box and bolted on to the boat. However, following practice and, due to a lack of power in this form, with the air temperature at 34 degrees and a water temperature of 24, the decision was taken to move up a class to pro stock.

The first day of racing was surf discipline. There was not much surf, but the team managed to come in fifth after four heats and one final.

The next discipline was long haul, one race covering 68 miles. The conditions were very rough as the boats took on six laps of racing out of Mellieha Bay around to St. Paul’s Bay and back.

“It was one of the hardest races we have ever been in,” said Simon later. “With three boat flips and four retirements, it pushed man and machine to the limits.”

Nevertheless, despite the conditions, the team managed a great result of third in class.

The last discipline was circuit. Unfortunately, the motor was now suffering with a few problems, but the team managed to keep the engine going and finish in a very creditable sixth place after three heats and one final.

It meant that after all the points had been added up, the duo found themselves ranked fifth best in the world - an amazing result.

“All this would not be possible without the support of our sponsors,” added Simon afterwards, “so a massive thank you goes to News Transport, Bedford; Bworx Ltd, Italy; Syncro Motor Factors, Pembrokeshire; Steel Developments, London; Percolated Design, Pembrokeshire; and Station Self-Drive, Pembrokeshire.”