THE sailing boats have returned to the Solent after last month’s P1 Powerboat British Grand Prix, so it is full throttle ahead for Jackie Hunt and Mike Shelton to Portugal, where this weekend they intend to win the SuperSport Class of the World Championships.

To realise the dream, though, the husband-and-wife team from Fleet, Hampshire, must finish in the top three in both races, while keeping the Chinese boat, Ocean Dragon, behind them. Female involvement in powerboating is rare, but scarcer still is that the £200,000 ARPRO Racing Dragon — as their 39-foot pink-and-white beast is named — is driven by Hunt, who retained her maiden name because she was already an established competitor.

So far, at least, she has treated Shelton, 43, more tenderly than her previous navigator. “I spun the boat on a corner, which chucked the poor guy out,” Hunt said. “All that was left on the deck was a pair of shoes. Thankfully, he was fine, apart from being battered and bruised.” Despite that calamity, Hunt, 37, insists that the few women drivers who do compete seldom allow their aggression to tip them into misjudgments.

“I do drive differently to a man,” she said, “and often that’s an advantage. Sometimes, men lose it completely and then do something silly, like turn the boat over, or drive it so hard that they break it. In that sense, women have more feel, so I don’t know why there aren’t more of us.”

She admits, though, that having children would probably scupper P1 racing for many women. “I live life to the full and I made the decision a long time ago that children would get in the way,” she said.

The cost is also a barrier. “Basically, you need a sponsor,” Hunt said. “We’re backed by JPS, who make innovative plastics, so we’re very fortunate because every race costs us around £10,000 and the World Championship has six rounds.”

Winning does not cover the bills, but it’s a thrill that Hunt and Shelton are savouring. Had they not broken down in Italy in July, they would be in pole position to take the title. Instead, they are second, trailing by 30 points, after Grand Prix wins in Malta, Germany and Cowes.

Both concede that they are hooked and intend to race for as long as the money lasts. “One day when we’re sitting in an old people’s home,” Hunt said, “we won’t be talking about how big our house was. We’ll be remembering what fun powerboat racing was.”

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