Southampton based Peters & May Racing Thundercat team Piloted by James Tapp (29) and co-piloted by Murray MacGregor (27) were one of the three British teams to compete and returned home with the World Silver medal, having faced fierce competition from teams from Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Russia, Germany and Latvia.

Tapp MacGregor Worlds 2012The teams were faced with three disciplines - the surf event, the long haul event and the circuit racing event - and having taken a lead from the first of the three stages, Tapp and Murray managed a fifth in the endurance section to stay in touch with the leading pack. That meant it went down to the final Circuit Racing stage, where several short multi-lap races are held on secluded inshore waters. And with an excellent third, Peters & May Racing took an overall silver in the UIM World P750 Championship after several days of fantastic racing.

Pilot James Tapp said: “It was touch and go whether we could come to the event but fortunately our Sponsors Sapphire Homes provided us with the required funds to compete. Once we had confirmed attendance, we only had one aim and that was to come away with a win, as every racer does. But realistically we knew to come home in the top three, knowing how fast the Scandinavians are, would have been a fantastic achievement.

“Heading into the last race, we were leading the championship and sitting on pole. We had it all to play for but so did three other teams who are all World class. Up until the second from last lap, we were leading the championship but then reigning World Champions Mr Dynamite took a pit lap into clearer water pushing us behind him. To be so close to Gold is hard but a Silver medal in this level of competition is absolutely awesome and we are only as fast as we are because of the competition here in the UK, so it really shows the strength of the UK series and its efforts.”

Written by: Alex Smith
Alex Smith is a journalist, copywriter and magazine editor with a long history in boating and a happy addiction to the water. He’s worked on boats, lived on boats, bought boats, sold boats and – when he’s not actually on board a boat – he can generally be found in his Folkestone office, tapping away at the computer and gazing out to sea.