IT’S ‘power to the people’ of Inverclyde this weekend as high speed boats prepare to make waves at a world-wide competition.

Thousands of spectators will line Greenock’s Esplanade on Saturday and Sunday to watch the Powerboat P1 Grand Prix of the Sea UK Championships.

Father and daughter team Davie and Ashleigh Finlayson will take their places in the cockpit of the ‘Spirit of Inverclyde’ boat for the new P1 Superstock series, which started in Denmark earlier this month.

To give Tele readers a taste of what’s in store, Davie took our reporter Rosemary Lowne out for a spin on the £70,000 P1 Panther boat they will race.

Rosie said: “Whizzing through the waves at 65mph is not for the faint hearted!

“When we moved out of James Watt Dock into the open expanse of the Clyde, Davie slammed down the throttle and the speedometer became a blur.

“All of a sudden, we were hurtling past the Beacon and Ocean Terminal and along the Esplanade.

“By the time we were back at the dock, I was buzzing with excitement.”

Davie, 48, and his daughter Ashleigh, 23, who is the navigator, told the Tele they are revved up and raring to go for the race.

Ashleigh said: “It’s brilliant to be racing in Greenock.

“We have been racing for a few years now but we’ve never raced in Scotland.

“To be Scottish and to be sponsored by the place where we are racing in front of thousands of people is very exciting.

“It’s great knowing that we will have home support and that everyone will be cheering us on.

“We will be trying our best for everyone.”

Ashleigh says that racing with her dad is the perfect partnership.

She said: “We think like each other so it works really well.”

Davie got his first taste of P1 SuperStock racing last summer when he grabbed a last-minute opportunity to jump into the navigator seat of a P1 Panther race boat in the P1 Scottish Grand Prix of the Sea in Greenock. 

He said: “Being able to compete in such a successful powerboat series at the fantastic location of Greenock was a brilliant experience. 

“When the opportunity came up to crew the Inverclyde boat, I jumped at the chance. 

The two-mile race course will be close-to-shore at the Esplanade, which will be lined with stalls and marquees.

In addition to the tens of thousands of spectators expected on each day, the race action will be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK and internationally in more than 150 countries.