The 1964 500cc Crescent Cracks 50 Seconds
On a chilly evening, The 2011 club season at Oulton Broad got underway with a practice session for all powerboat classes. The Area 31 Racing team decided to give the restored Classic 1964 500cc Crescent its first outing of the season.
Rebuilding the outfit 4 years ago was a challenge in itself, but getting the 1964 500cc Crescent engine running properly has been a bigger challenge for the team mainly due to the age of the engine (nearly 50 years old), and the availability of parts.
However after spending a lot of time on the engine during the close season the somewhat temperamental engine decide to fire into life at Oulton Broad as Driver david Jones and the Area 31 Racing Team managed to get the classic hydroplane outfit to lap under 50 seconds for the first time with a time of 49.61 seconds.
With some modifications to the propellers, David and the team are confident they can get the classic Crescent outfit going even quicker at the next meeting at Oulton Broad on bank holiday monday providing the engine behaves itself.
Throughout the Season the team will also be racing the 1980's restoration project, The 500cc Konig Powered Cabover Hydroplane.
And also the 1990's restoration project, the 500c Konig powered Popoli hydroplane.
All these restorations are hydroplanes the team have raced throughout the past 40 years on the local, national and international circuit.
