Friday, May 23: The F1 Atlantic Team’s Ben Jelf has entered the history books by breaking a 41-year-old powerboat record.
The Maidstone driver, 24, clocked a time of 27.14 seconds to set a new Lowestoft & Oulton Broad Motor Boat Club speed record in an F1H2O DAC 2.5-litre hull. That was sufficient to surpass the time set in 1984 by the late Tom Percival running a Hodges boat powered by a 3.5-litre Evinrude engine by 0.64 seconds.
Jelf is currently preparing himself physically and mentally for the start of the new UIM F1H2O World Championship season, where he again teams up with veteran Duarte Benavente. His blistering lap on Oulton Broad was a monumental moment in the celebrated history of the Lowestoft & Oulton Broad Motor Boat Club, which has been an iconic hub of the sport of powerboat racing in the United Kingdom for the last 91 years.
Jelf said: “This achievement really is special to me and us as a team. When we attempted this record two years ago, we came very close to beating it. Back then, we were still getting used to the boat and set-up. Last year, we didn’t get a chance to attempt the lap record due to clashing events and we knew we were faster especially with our new engines supplied by Alex Hledin and Greg Crossley at Engine Performance Parts.
“We even had Greg come out to the UK with us to make sure we had the engine set up just right, which we appreciate very much. Of course, this is also a very historic moment in powerboat racing. It showcases how far the boats have come in 41 years and it shows how much closer in speed we are to the F1H2O boats of old. It does also mean a great deal to me personally as I have grown up with the stories of the British drivers in F1H2O boats and it has been my dream to be able to drive in F1H2O among the best drivers in the world and put my name in the history books. There are so many people to thank but I want to thank my parents, my team and all of our loyal supporters in the UK and around the world because without them we could not do this.”
Percival was a successful F1H2O racer in his own right but his life was tragically cut short in an accident at the seventh round of the F1 Powerboat World Championship at Liège in Belgium in August 1984. Tom’s boat collided with debris from another competitor’s overturned hull and he suffered severe head injuries. Jelf has now honoured Percival’s legacy and set a new benchmark for future racers.
