The second round of the Laser 5000 5GrandSlam Series takes place at Broadstairs this weekend. A new venue to the class, Broadstairs could prove to be a real winner with a small but growing and enthusiastic local fleet together with a weekend forecast to beat most Mediterranean venues.

Following some well attended winter training and first event at Weston, the 5000 fleet seems to have had an upsurge of interest this year – the wide availability of good second hand boats, a comprehensive circuit pitched at all levels (from the local GrandSlam to the Audi Eurocup) together with the unmatched Laser 5000 weight equalisation system seems to have captured a strong interest. Indeed the class will soon be in a situation of lack of boats on the market, so heads up if you’ve got one to sell.

The racing should hot up at this event – after winning Weston, Mark Emmett and Anthony Esse (Juice Plus / Ronstan / Brite Software) are on a high, but joining the fray this time round will be current Eurocup and National champs Andy and Dave Richards who will be launching with a new sponsor this weekend.

Andy Fairley and Tim Davies are sure to be up there while Simon Spolton and Ed Browne (Spinlock) will be sitting out this one as Simon won’t be able to get back from work in the US in time.

There will be a lot of new faces at this event and it’s expected that this, combined with the promise of excellent weather, will bring one of the highest turnouts for the fleet for sometime.