Thundercat Racing at Wight Air

tim griffin · 31 October 2006, 08:57

Popped along to Wight Air to watch the Thunder Cats bloomin excellent anyone else see it .The sea was flat but they got some amazing speeds around the cans and the close inshore turns made the event.They even had a have a go session at the end anyone do it .

Cookee · 31 October 2006, 09:27

I "had a go" in Portugal - managed to do the whole event minus a couple of heats when my arms were completely knackered! I must also mention John Bunyon who was my co-driver / passenger / ballast who put his faith in my despite never having been in one before! Also went wave jumping and I have to say it was fantastic fun and they were the nicest bunch of people you could meet - Fiona and Sophie Pascoe are really enthusiastic and are willing to help anyone who is interested in starting.

slimtim · 31 October 2006, 13:15

I was there tim, sat and sun didn't see you though. I have a few pics so will post them tonight if I have time.

DM · 31 October 2006, 16:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by tim griffin

the close inshore turns made the event.

The inshore marks are placed in about 8'' of water so this brings the racing right onto the beach. The racers have then got to get out through the surf line which makes for some really spectacular ramps.

I did the safety for them in Scarborough a couple of weeks ago when the surf was 4'-5'. We used a Seadoo 4tec (215hp

) allied to a rescue sled. I forgot to attach the fixed harness so the sled was only attached by two thick bungee straps. When the Ski driver took off, the bungees stretched out to about 4' long, then when he slowed down, I was launched off the sled and landed sitting on the back seat.

or what! We just carried on and pretended we did it all the time but my nads were sore for a week after.

Next event is November 25th in Weymouth.

Slimtim the organisers may be interested in your pics.

http://www.thundercatracing.co.uk/co...page/Itemid,1/

DM · 31 October 2006, 16:23

Thundercat goes vertical

slimtim · 31 October 2006, 20:24

a couple of pics. Not great but the light was really flat and crappy on saturday and the water was too flat on sunday! Flat flat flat.

I've also posted one of my mate jumping over me on his mountain bike on the jump box at the event.

I'll put up more on my website soon I think...

prairie tuber · 01 November 2006, 04:51

Are 'Thundercat Races' limited to Ceasar Thundercats or is it inclusive of zapcats and other similarly dimensioned super light tunnel hull boats? Also, are their any noticeable diferences in performance or durability between thundercats and zapcats?

slimtim · 01 November 2006, 08:47

You can race a number of different hull/engine combinations in thundercats as long as you stick to certain manufacturers (i believe). These include Ceasar, aquarius and zapcat. There were a couple of zapcats at Whiteair that have raced in the zapcat series.

I think the likes of aquarius and ceasar are slightly longer than zapcats making them faster in a straight line and on the flat although I guess it makes them slightly less agile in the turns.