“Swim and win” in Nottingham 1981..
Was fighting with John Hill and was trying to pass John on the inside..
My Burgess/AKAI boat hooked..rolled and I had to swim back to the boat. Started up the engine and finished that heat.
Click the link for the rest of the story..

The Winners are..Molinari OZ – Seebold ON – Strom OE..Nottingham 1981

Cees Van Der Velden winning and swapping power heads with the fourth place driver Tom Percival and winning again to prove a point..

Full Powerboat & Waterskiing Magazine story.

Yes, I was there racing F3.

Started 1981 and ended after the 1989 season.
Millions of spectators around the world and sometimes up to 500,000 people watching from the shore.
Many major sponsors and here is a list of some..
Cool, Aspen, Carlsberg, JPS, Benson&Hedges, Martini, Castrol, Nordica, Nashua, Denim, Champion, Trimite, Peter Stuyvesant, Gordon’s Gin, Tecnocar, Beneteau, Dole, ITC, Lasse Strom Marin, Naiu, ToTip, Stefanel and many more.

The eighties was by far the most interesting time in tunnel boat racing.

Bob Spalding in the #11 Velden Racing/JPS/Johnson V8 from 1981/82.
Probably to most famous motorsports sponsor ever.

Lots of money..