1981 F1 Powerboat World Championship

1981 F1 Powerboat World Championship
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The 1981 John Player Special Formula 1 World Series was the inaugural season of Formula 1 Powerboat racing. Representing the 'OZ' racing class of the period, the championship was formed as a consequence of a difference of opinion between the leading figures in powerboat racing at the time, and was heavily supported by both John Player and engine manufacturer Outboard Marine Corporation, whose Johnson and Evinrude branded engines were used by the entire field. Whilst the series was designed to showcase the firm's huge 3.5 litre V8 engines, the very first race saw all boats using smaller V6 units and only six drivers would be given the V8 engines for the remainder of the year.^[1]

Renato Molinari was the series' first ever champion, winning four of the five races he contested. In total, six races made up the 1981 world championship, beginning in Como, Italy and ending in Den Bosch, Netherlands.^[2] An additional non-championship invitational race, the British Grand Prix, was also held at Chasewater.

Series Formation

Teams and drivers

The Tecnocar Squadra Corse boats at the Grand Prix of Germany.

Lillo Columbo and Renato Molinari at the Grand Prix of Germany.

Team	Hull	Engine	No.	Race drivers	Rounds
Velden Beneteau Racing	Velden	Johnson 3.0 V6	1	Cees van der Velden	1
		Johnson 3.5 V8	1	Cees van der Velden	2–6
		Johnson 3.0 V6	8	Arthur Mostert	2–6
Gordon's Gin	Velden	Johnson 3.0 V6	9	Roger Jenkins	1
		Johnson 3.5 V8	9	Roger Jenkins	2–6
		Johnson 3.0 V6	19	Rick Frost	3
Team John Player Special	Velden	Johnson 3.0 V6	10	Tom Percival	1
		Johnson 3.5 V8	10	Tom Percival	2–6
		Johnson 3.0 V6	11	Bob Spalding	1
		Johnson 3.5 V8	11	Bob Spalding	2–6
		Johnson 3.0 V6	12	Francois Salabert	All
Andy Bullen	Velden	Evinrude 3.0 V6	16	Andy Bullen	1–2
Tecnocar Squadra Corse	Molinari	Evinrude 3.0 V6	161	Lillo Colombo	1
		Evinrude 3.5 V8	161	Lillo Colombo	2–6
		Evinrude 3.0 V6	165	Renato Molinari	1
		Evinrude 3.5 V8	165	Renato Molinari	2–5
Hans Pelster	Velden	Evinrude 3.0 V6		Hans Pelster	1–5

Season calendar

Countries that hosted F1 Powerboat races in 1981, shown in green.

Round	Race Title	Date	Circuit Location	Race Winner	Hull/Engine
1	1st Grand Prix of Italy	17 May	Como	Renato Molinari	Molinari/Evinrude
2	1st Grand Prix of Germany	21 June	Brodenbach	Renato Molinari^[1]	Molinari/Evinrude
3	1st Grand Prix of Britain¹	31 August	Holme Pierrepont	Renato Molinari^[3]	Molinari/Evinrude
4	1st Grand Prix of Norway		Drammen	Renato Molinari	Molinari/Evinrude
5	1st Grand Prix of France		Vichy	Cees van der Velden	Velden/Johnson
6	1st Grand Prix of the Netherlands		Den Bosch	Bob Spalding^[4]	Velden/Johnson

^1 The British round of the championship was known as the John Player Grand Prix for sponsorship reasons.^[5]

Non-championship events

Race Title	Date	Circuit Location	Race Winner	Hull/Engine
British Grand Prix	12 July	Chasewater	Cees van der Velden^[6]	Velden/Johnson

Results and standings

Points were awarded to the top six finishers based on the aggregated results of between one and four heat races during the event. Any drivers below sixth place were not classified (NC).

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
Points	9	6	4	3	2	1

Drivers standings

Pos	Driver	ITA	GER	GBR	NOR	FRA	NED	Points
1	Renato Molinari	1	1	1	1	2		42
2	Cees van der Velden	2	NC	2	5	1	3	27
3	Bob Spalding	NC	3	3	2	3	1	27
4	Tom Percival	4	5	5	3	5	4	16
5	Roger Jenkins	5	NC	6	NC	4	2	12
6	Francois Salabert	3	2	NC	NC	6	NC	11
7	Lillo Colombo	6	4	NC	4	NC	5	9
8	Arthur Mostert		6	4	NC	NC	6	5
9	Hans Pelster	NC	NC	NC	6	NC		1
10	Andy Bullen	NC	NC					0
11	Rick Frost			NC				0

Key
Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	Second place
Bronze	Third place
Green	Other points position
Blue	Other classified position
Blue	Not classified, finished (NC)
Purple	Not classified, retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
White	Race cancelled (C)
Blank	Did not practice (DNP)
	Excluded (EX)
	Did not arrive (DNA)
	Withdrawn (WD)
	Did not enter (cell empty)
Text formatting	Meaning
Bold	Pole position
Italics	Fastest lap

References

^ ^a ^b "World Debut of V8" (PDF). Powerboat and Waterskiing. August 1981. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
^ "1981 John Player Special Formula 1 World Series Championship Table" (PDF). Retrieved 18 January 2016.
^ Christopher Wright (October 1981). "A John Player's Special" (PDF). Powerboat and Waterskiing. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
^ "Racing Round-Up - Grande Finale" (PDF). Powerboat and Waterskiing. November 1981. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
^ "John Player Grand Prix Race Preview" (PDF). Powerboat and Waterskiing. September 1981. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
^ Bob Brister (August 1981). "The Boys Are Back In Town" (PDF). Waterskier and Powercraft. Retrieved 18 January 2016.

External links

[V8Debut-1] "World Debut of V8" (PDF). Powerboat and Waterskiing. August 1981. Retrieved 18 January 2016.

[2] "1981 John Player Special Formula 1 World Series Championship Table" (PDF). Retrieved 18 January 2016.

[3] Christopher Wright (October 1981). "A John Player's Special" (PDF). Powerboat and Waterskiing. Retrieved 18 January 2016.

[4] "Racing Round-Up - Grande Finale" (PDF). Powerboat and Waterskiing. November 1981. Retrieved 18 January 2016.

[5] "John Player Grand Prix Race Preview" (PDF). Powerboat and Waterskiing. September 1981. Retrieved 18 January 2016.

[6] Bob Brister (August 1981). "The Boys Are Back In Town" (PDF). Waterskier and Powercraft. Retrieved 18 January 2016.

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