Andrew Cottingham and Henry Talbot’s hopes for an impressive double at the Bermuda Power Boat Association’s National Championship Series finale in Dockyard this weekend have been cruelly dashed.

The Devil’s Isle Racing pair are joint leaders with rivals, brothers Steven and Jason Meireles, in a hotly contested D class and trail S class leaders Steven Bridges and David Selley heading into the final two timed races of the six-race series.

However, their hopes of landing the D class crown have gone up in smoke as their 22ft catamaran is still undergoing repairs to fix a cracked transom after its engine mounts broke.

“Unfortunately my D class entry is still in need of repairs, so we won’t be going for that title,” boat owner and throttle man Cottingham told The Royal Gazette.

The battle for the D class title now involves the Meireles brothers, who hold a nine-point advantage over rivals Shaki Easton and M'Kai Hodsoll.

With their hopes of success in the D class dashed, Cottingham and Talbot have shifted their focus to trying to retain their title in the S class, where they trail rivals Bridges and Selley by ten points.

“We are defending our national title in S class and are hoping to secure the win,” Cottingham said.

”There will be two races on Sunday so lots can happen. It’s a fairly tight track so it will be down to driving strong and holding on.

“The conditions look to be a little bit choppy with the winds out the south at 10-15 knots, so there will be a lot of action with 13 boats registered to race.

“Big shoutout to all our sponsors and to the Bermuda Power Boat Association for making this race possible. Cross Island is a great venue.”

Cottingham and Talbot’s preparations were hindered in the lead-up to the race due to Hurricane Ernesto, which passed directly over the island last month.

“We really haven’t had any time for preparation since Round the Island Race, with the hurricane making a lot of work for my partner and I,” Cottingham said.

“We are only going to look at the boat for the first time since Round the Island today, so fingers crossed all is good.”

All eyes will also be on the close battle for A class honours with only ten points separating leaders Chris Marshall and Jacari Marshall from sole rivals Shane Madeiros and Errin Butterfield.

Madeiros and Butterfield have momentum going into the race after retaining their title in the prestigious Rubis Around the Island Race last month.

Brandon DeSilva and Blake Burgess have already clinched the BV national championship title, while newly crowned Rubis Around the Island Race winners Quincé Dowling and Tai Bean have taken C class honours with a race day to spare.

Racing begins at 1.30pm on Sunday, while junior racing takes place at Ferry Reach on Saturday at 11am.