THE Spirit of Inverclyde powerboat team defied the wild conditions of Gosport to finish joint-fourth in the P1 English Grand Prix of the Sea third round.

Dino Zavaroni and Gordon Wicklow produced a brilliant performance to handle the strong winds during the thrilling race on the south coast.

The Inverclyde duo took it steady and it paid off, only narrowly missing out on the podium on the event weekend.

They are currently seventh in the championship standings but trail the leaders by only 86 points, so they are still very much in contention if they do well in the next two rounds.

Experience Kissimmee, from Florida, went on to win the event.