Every ‘wave’ has a silver lining

Drew Langdon is a chartered architect by criterion, yet he does not practise such profession for his main concern is running his own development and commercial property company based in Exeter.

His other great passion is powerboat racing. Langdon must have been inspired by his father Alan, a most active racer in the 70s.

Alan Langdon was also president of the South Devon Water Sports Club, a time when young Drew enjoyed his school holidays following and giving dad a hand in the races where he grew to become a lap-scorer and a time-keeper by the age of 12.

I have known Drew Langdon since his first P1 in 2004 where, from a modest start in SuperSport, he upgraded his challenge by moving up into the Evolution where in the span of seven years he attained five Grand Prix wins and 20 podiums.

Mentioning podiums, Langdon is a leading player where powerboating honours are concerned.

He has achieved many feats among which the National Offshore Endurance champion, two national water speed records, Round Britain – Portsmouth-Plymouth leg first overall, current British marathon speed record holder, along with Miles Jennings, the Bahamas Trophy winner... and more.

This year, Langdon returned to Malta at the helm of Team Racing Silverline for the Ocean Grand Prix World Endurance Championship.

Besides being team owner and manager, Langdon is on throttles and trim, while Jennings drives.

The other crew members are Robert Jenkins, chief engineer, John Fairman, supporting engineer, Keith Fear, logistics, Marcello Guillerno, media officer, and wife Judy and sons Ali and Dom, assisting on all the other stuff.

What are your memories of your early years in the P1 Championship?

“I started racing in P1 in 2004 with Buzzi Bullet in Supersport and in our first outing in Malta, we came second. We made the podium in every race that year eventually winning at the final race in Sicily.

“I raced with Jan Falkowski. With him, I had raced for four years previously in offshore races in the UK and Gibraltar.

“Then, I was supported by one engineer, Steve Causley and my wife, Judy, two sons Ali and Dom and Jan’s then girlfriend, now wife, Bethan. This was my crew and they attend the majority of the races.

“As well as the P1 racing we always compete in the classic Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race.”

Alan Langdon, who lost his life in a flying accident, was your inspiration to become a powerboat racing aficionado. Presently, you are restoring three military jets (a Harrier, Jaguar and Buccaneer). Was this interest motivated by the strong bond with your father?

“Yes, dad and I were very close. I used to fly with him and enjoyed the navigation. In those days, I used charts and two navigation beacon systems known as ADF and VOR, there were no SatNav systems then.

“I only navigated to the wrong airport once, but it was getting dark and the airfields were very close together in North London. It was just by chance that I didn’t fly with him on the day of the accident.

“I do enjoy the jets and Ali and Dom are helping to complete their restoration. They are a good distraction during the winter months and make a good escape for me.”

You are often quoted as referring to Malta as one of your most favourite racing destinations. What makes it so special?

“I have always found the Maltese people very friendly and in the early days of P1 they were always willing to help which was very useful as I only had a small team then.

“The racing conditions also appealed to Jan and I as the water was very rough and matched the environment we were used to in the UK.

“Racing against Aaron Ciantar has also been interesting as he has been racing since 2004 in P1 as well. We had some close duels when we were both using twin outboard boats.

“Each year we return to Malta, the people who have helped us over the years always return to the pits and we have formed some good friendships and I always look forward to meeting them again.”

How does Drew gauge his Malta OGP outing and what are his powerboat racing plans?

“This time around Malta was a bit of a disappointment for us. The Arneson drives became progressively loose during the first race and destroyed a new set of propellers which resulted in a poor performance in our first race and a third position.

“On the second day, a torque sensor broke in half only a few seconds from the start, forcing our retirement. This was a great shame as we were unable to collect any points that day.

“We now have to resolve the sensor issues quickly if we are to make a return to complete the series.

However, we are able to continue with the UK Marathon series and always have the excellent Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race in August, which is extra special as it always falls on my birthday!”

Do you believe the newly-launched OGP Championship can revive the interest and enthusiasm of international teams?

“Only time will tell. It is unfortunate that so few boats are running this year. However, we are in a seriously depressed economic cycle, so this is bound to happen at present.

“Hopefully, things will improve in time to keep the sport alive and the exciting television that is produced will catch the imagination of enough people and companies to move the sport on to the next level.

“The sport has all the ingredients to be able to do this, due to the good work Nathan Knight and his team did in the early days of P1 to raise the profile of the sport, television and corporate entertainment.”

So, the baptism of fire is over for Langdon and the other teams following the launch of the Ocean Grand Prix 2011. The coming weeks should create more competition, added interest and further support to the championship.

The remaining stops on this season’s calendar are Den Helder – Holland (August 5-7), Siracusa (September 2-4) and Milazzo, Sicily (September 16-18).

Den Helder should welcome to the event Ukrainian Spirit, with Victor Shemchuk and Aaron Ciantar as crew after failing to make the opening Malta races... definitely an exciting addition to the 2011 championship circuit.