Congratulations to Tom Roberts, piloting the Fox’s Marina & Boatyard sponsored Formula 1 powerboat, who has made a blistering start to the season by coming second overall in his first event of the year. In blustery and cold conditions, Tom in his new boat, freshly race prepared at Fox’s, took to Oulton Broad to compete in a tightly contested series of three races.
The first race was beset with engine trouble however, after some quick spanner work by the shore team, Tom was soon amongst the race leaders again and managed to make significant gains on his closest rivals, finishing in second place in the second race and in first place in the last race. We look forward to seeing Tom and the team back in action again soon, to build on their winning ways.
Tom’s new boat is a Formula 1 DAC catamaran made in Italy by DAC Racing with a top speed of around 140 mph, which can accelerate from 0-60 in 3.5 seconds!
The boat is fitted with a 2-litre V6 Mercury 2-stroke outboard engine, producing 350hp at 9000 rpm, which drives a 4-bladed, surface-piercing propeller.
Hulls of Formula 1 powerboats are 4.8 meters in length and require a minimum weight of 513 kg (including the pilot). Due to their specially designed tunnel hulls, Formula 1 boats are able to turn almost instantaneously, creating higher G forces than any other racing machine on the planet – up to 9G in the turns!