Maritimo Racing to debut new R30 for 2019 UIM XCAT World Championship

Maritimo Racing - Ross Willaton and Tom Barry-Cotter © Maritimo

After a harrowing, high speed accident in the season opening race of the 2018 Union International Motonautique XCAT world championship in Fujairah, UAE. Maritimo Racing is focused on a 2019 world championship revival and is well advanced in the development of a new R30 XCAT.

The April crash saw Maritimo's Ross Willaton knocked unconscious on impact, having to be rescued by the Bergamore SCUBA Angels after spending several minutes submerged in the cockpit.

He subsequently spent five days in ICU being treated for fluid on the lungs. Whilst Tom Barry-Cotter escaped with minor internal bruising.

Maritimo said the impact virtually destroyed the boat, which will be later converted into a racing experience project.

The team is now well advanced on a new Maritimo R30 which is being closely guarded at the company's Gold Coast manufacturing plant.

The new Maritimo R30 has been designed by Tom Barry-Cotter and Maritimo's in-house design and engineering department.

Details of the new design are being kept confidential, but construction is underway in Maritimo Racing's Research and Development Department, and Barry-Cotter said the new design incorporated significant emphasis on the aerodynamic characteristics of the hull and deck.

"We are looking to maximise lift at the slower speed range, crucial for quick getaways at start chute speeds which has not be an area of strength for us in the past," he said.

"We recognise that our starts have been our weakness and many times we have qualified in the top two and had our position wasted because of our under performing acceleration away from the start."

"Our aim is to find another two or three seconds from where we currently are and improve the low range acceleration so we are in a position to better capitalize on our qualifying position," he said.

The Mercury Racing XCAT 400 ROS Powered R30 will be constructed of carbon fibre and E-glass composites using latest resin infusion practices.

"The boat is being constructed in a way that will maximise hull/deck strength and integrity which is imperative given the fierce nature of the XCAT World Championship which often results in boats sustaining damage at some stage throughout the season," he said.

"The boat's systems will be completely modular and contained in waterproof containers within the hull in order to reduce the time required to have the boat running in the scenario of being submerged.

"The R30 is designed to the latest UIM safety specifications and our desire is for our monocoque design to be the case study of structural integrity and protecting our drivers from impacts and inundation."

He said the design and construction of the new R30 was a unique scenario with both the driver and designer being one.

Maritimo is the only Australian motoryacht manufacturer to have its own race team and experiences on the international circuit are fed back into the design and construction of all the models in its range.

"The competitive culture of racing is inherent in everything we do and we are constantly striving to improve and refine our product offering using the data and feedback we receive first hand on the race circuit," he said.