1 March 2008 Powerboat P1 Awards Landmark Hotel, London - Shelley Jory of Team Raymarine announces she has joined forces with the LUCAS OIL American Powerboat Team to compete in the Powerboat P1 World Championship Series.

Shelley Jory, one of the UK's leading powerboat racers and top female in her sport, has been signed as driver of the LUCAS OIL team. She will race with team owner and throttle man, Nigel Hook.

The pair will compete in the P1 Evolution class in the P1 powerboat race series. The series has 14 races and the teams will travel to destinations around the world including Italy, France, Malta, Spain, Tunisia, Portugal and Bahrain

Shelley, who has previously won the Honda Formula 4-Stroke Championships, is the first women to enter the P1 Evolution class. She will be driving the Mercury powered Skater V399 superboat, which with over 1400hp of Mercury engines is arguably the fastest boat in the series.

Shelley also announced a new sponsor partner for her new venture, www.GoingLean.co.uk. The company specialises in lean manufacturing consultancy and the P1 team are going to endeavour to learn those Japanese “lean” techniques to improve their performance in the pit area and boat preparation.

Speaking at the announcement Nigel Hook, said “"P1 is to boat racing as F1 is to auto racing. P1 is a true world Championship, presenting racers from around the world, competing on four continents, and being televised globally to over 400 million homes."

I believe Shelley has the perfect credentials to race in the series. She has proven herself consistently in the highly competitive Honda race series, she is
unrivalled at promoting her sponsors and she is a team player."

Shelley Jory – “I am delighted to have been signed by Nigel and the LUCAS OIL team. I plan to capitalise on all I have learnt from the hot competition in the Honda Formula Four Stroke series over the past 4 years. With Nigel’s skill and confidence in the boat I am positive we are the perfect team to go hunting for a world championship!”

Shelley Jory is one of the United Kingdom’s leading offshore powerboat racers and the top female in her sport.

Shelley and Libby Keir make up one of only two all female teams amongst 18 teams of men and outstandingly won the British Honda 225 Championships in 2005.

Shelley, 37, from Southampton is a partner in the successful family bridalwear business Brides of Southampton established in 1976 - a far cry from the male dominated world of powerboat racing!

Shelley was never really interested in boats or any kind of motorsport as a young girl. She has, however, always been a very keen sportswoman, competing in gymnastics to a national level and fencing for Great Britain.

Twelve years ago, Shelley's boyfriend at the time Peter Berrow had a powerboat which they used recreationally. She became a keen spectator of the powerboat racing in Cowes and was in awe of the racing fraternity. Her boyfriend wanted to race so she took it upon herself to organise it. Shelley took on the role of team manager while her boyfriend and friend crewed the boat – in their first year, the team came 2nd in the 1995 National Championships and they were all hooked.

The following year, Shelley decided to get in on the action and became the crew’s navigator. Whilst still enjoying this as a hobby, Shelley could not resist a bigger challenge, and in 2000 she bought her first race boat and set up her first all girl team with navigator Darrell Elmes. The girls raced a Bat Boat in the offshore 1.3 Litre series. They gained a respectable third place in their first season and from that moment on Shelley has never looked back. Her boats have got bigger, the engines more powerful and the competition has got harder. But Shelley has become focused on being the best in this very male dominated sport.

2002 saw Shelley compete in the 2 Litre World Championships with ex-Royal Marine Chris Bryan. The dynamic duo took the team to South Africa and won the bronze medal. Shelley and Peter Berrow then spent the rest of the season racing together in their new Revenger Stepped 27 Rib, winning the Gibraltar Championships and Shelley collecting First Lady trophy.

2003 saw her compete against some of the top men in the sport in her new V24 powerboat in the new highly competitive class of V24 Racing. With her experienced navigator Gavin Brown, the team were delighted to clinch 2nd place in the RYA British Nationals, 2nd in the V24 Championships and Shelley became the first woman ever to win the 3-hour Endurance Race on Lake Windermere setting 3 new records.

In 2004, Shelley was asked to form the first all girl team in the very successful British Honda Powerboat Series. She exchanged her V24 powerboat for a Cougar 225 and teamed up with experienced racer Debra France. The team gained a very respectable 3rd place in the 2004 British Honda Championships. Shelley also went on to win the 2004 three hour Endurance Race on Lake Windermere for the second year in a row.

2005 was a big year for Shelley. At the start of the year, Shelley took on a new race partner, Libby Keir, who was a complete novice to the sport of powerboat racing. Libby started training with Shelley in January and they immediately bonded making an unbeatable, determined team. At the first race of the season, the only all girl team took their first win and then went from strength to strength, training and practising hard throughout the summer and gaining podium places at every event. The championship title was down to the final race and after two phenomenal wins, Shelley and Libby became British Honda Champions in Guernsey in the September of 2005.

Team Raymarine were first all girl crew to win the Honda F4SA series and have continued to maintain their winning form. They enjoyed another championship podium finish in third place in 2006 – the girls have remained at the top for the past 4 years making them the most successful Honda team to date.

In 2007 Shelley was asked to become a Hondamentalist and the face of Honda Powerboat Racing. Both she and her Team Raymarine powerboat feature in all the press adverts and most famously on ITV Formula One Grand Prix idents.

The Honda F4SA (Formula Four Stroke Association) is a very affordable class to race in. A one design series means that you cannot buy the best, fastest engine or an expensive, race-winning propeller – the class is organised and scrutineered to avoid cheque book racing. Shelley has raced in the Honda series for four years and loves it. She enjoys the team camaraderie, the Honda support, great venues with superb spectator viewing, and the brilliant iTV4 coverage which keeps the sponsors happy!

Shelley is well respected in her sport and gains a great deal of press coverage. Over the past few years, she has been seen in national TV features, full page features in the Daily Telegraph, Daily Mirror and The Independent and in many sport and boating magazines. She is a regular guest on BBC Radio Solent and she and her boat feature very highly in the Channel 4 and ITV 4 television series for 2004, 2005 and 2006 British Honda Powerboat Championships.