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Colemans are red hot in the Mumbai sunshine

John Moore on 5th March 2017

The British brother and sister pairing of Sam and Daisy Coleman will go into tomorrow’s final race in Mumbai looking for a hat trick of victories in the inaugural NEXA P1 Powerboat India Grand Prix of the Seas that brought world class powerboat racing to India for the first time.

They followed up their success in yesterday’s qualifying session, that saw them edge out fellow-Brits James Norvill and Charlie Parsons-Young by a 1/100thof a second, to secure pole position in today’s opening 15-lap race, by winning in impressive style.

Despite victory in the second race of the afternoon with a dominant performance on the unique closed race track in Mumbai’s sweeping bay, the Colemans will need their team-mates in the other Baleno RS Booster Jets boat to play their part in tomorrow’s final race if they are to return home to Wales as world team champions.

Applauded by the international media corps as they entered the evening press conference, Sam and Daisy attributed their success to fitness in the 30-degree heat, setting consistent lap times and detailed race preparation. “It’s a very technical course and it’s essential to seek out clear water and choose the right line when racing in a pack of 12 boats on this innovative race track” explained Sam. “Selecting when to take the compulsory pit laps is crucial, and our strategy was to leave it to the last possible moment to make this decision and to be aware of the positioning of the rest of the fleet to give us the maximum benefit”.

It was an afternoon of hugely contrasting fortunes in the two races for the Mirchi Mavericks duo of John Donnelly and Kevin Burdock. Their delight at finishing second in race 1 turned to despair on the last turn of race 2 when they rolled their P1 Panther just short of finishing in third place.

The biggest threat to the Baleno quartet of Sam and Daisy Coleman, CS Santosh and Martin Robinson lifting the NEXA trophy tomorrow is the Lloyd Dolphins team who are just two points adrift. Looking ahead to the climax of the very first Indian Grand Prix of the Seas, Sam Coleman said; “Tomorrow’s 20-lap race is going to be immensely demanding both physically and mentally as at home in the UK we are used to races of around 8 laps. I’m hoping that my fitness programme that includes cross training will give us the edge and the world championship title.”

A huge crowd is expected to line Mumbai’s Marine Drive tomorrow afternoon and to tune in to Sony ESPN’s live television coverage which starts at 2pm local time. For full details visit www.p1india.com.

 

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