Despite only finishing second in the final race, it was a deliberate, tactical battle as only one other boat, Pattern Forme, could beat him.With 1,960 points to his credit, it made no difference where Smith finished, as long as he finished – for Pattern Forme had only 1,602 points and, in the end, came in fourth, a long way behind the first three racers.’We weren’t going to do anything silly,’ Smith said afterwards.
‘We’d won our first race on Friday and just had to finish the course.’Towards the end of the race I made an attempt to catch up with the boat in front of us and, although a mile behind, we finished just a few yards behind him, but I was happy with second place.”Because of my injury I couldn’t defend my national title last year, but this was the first win for my navigator, David Simpkins, and he was delighted.’I love my racing and we will both be back again next year.’Before then, on 15 October, Smith and Simpkins will be aiming for yet another record – the three-hour endurance race on Lake Windemere.
At one stage Smith held the two-hour record, since broken, but the three-hour record will be new to his string of successes which now includes world and British 2-litre titles.’The current record is an average of 59.6 mph,’ Smith said.
‘And the advantage we have is that, in our boat, we won’t have to stop to refuel during those three hours, which will save us several minutes.’I want to set the new record, knowing it will never be beaten.’The reason why that will be the case, is because, later this year, new speed restrictions will be placed on the lake.Almost certainly after his record-breaking attempt, no other boat will be allowed up to such speeds.
He is looking forward to the attempt, and although he has regrets that he did not compete in the European championships earlier this month, because of family commitments, this has been: ‘a very successful season,’ not least because his boat is still in excellent condition.Smith is sponsored by Commodore Ferries, Roy Scott (Jersey), Esso Petroleum, Rosden Glassfibre Ltd.
