CARDIGAN honoured its most famous sporting son at a special ceremony in the town this morning.
A commemorative blue plaque was unveiled at Prince Charles Quay on the banks of the River Teifi to mark the achievements of four-time world Formula One powerboat champion Jonathan Jones.
It was fitting that the ceremony took place at a spot where Jonathan started out on his glittering career and the pouring rain failed to deter a good crowd from turning up to celebrate the occasion.
"I started my career racing on the Teifi, though funnily enough it's not what I wanted to do when I was young,” said Jonathan.
“I wanted to be a grand prix motorcycle racer but my dad said if that happened he would chuck me out!
"When I was a kid I used to watch the boats racing under the bridge. I was hooked and thought l have to have a go at that.
“I started out at local level with help from John Quiney and it was very competitive.
“At one stage, I heard Dai Gorwel had designed a new boat in his yard and that it was quite special. I was desperate to get a look at it but he would not let me near it.”
Following success at local level, Jonathan moved on to national competitions, travelling all over the country and won the British championship a number of times.
“I went to race in Bristol docks and that's where I saw my first F1 race and decided that was what I was aiming for” he said.
Four F1 titles were to follow in 1986, 1989, 1991 and 1998, plus there was success in the American championship, with Jonathan the first non-American to win that coveted prize.
"It was a great time for me and my family but I could not have done it without the support and backing of my wife Gwyneth,” said Jonathan, who has three daughters – Chiara, Felicity and Kylie.
“She was 100 per cent behind me all the time.
"I remember when my first daughter was born. I had been racing in a Grand Prix in Europe and flew back to the UK.
“My daughter was born and the next day I was back out the door and on my way to America.
“That was my entire life - if I was not racing I was knocking on doors looking to raise money to keep going.”
But Jonathan never forgot his Cardigan roots.
The team around him was very much a Cardigan venture, with Dai Morgan his race mechanic for 25 years, Bob Henty and Malcolm Williams.
“People were involved not only from the early days but right through to the top level,” added Jonathan, who now designs and builds the boats he used to race and also puts his expertise and experience to good use as a tv commentator.
"I feel very privileged but also very humbled to have this plaque in my name,” he said.
“It is a great honour and it's great to have it right next to the River Teifi where I started out at the beginning of the 70s.”
Cardigan deputy mayor Cllr John Adams-Lewis said: “Jonathan is Cardigan born and bred, and is a sportsman who has achieved so much and who has placed this town with its historic maritime past on the sporting archives of the World Powerboat Championships.
“The placing of this plaque to commemorate Jonathan’s excellent achievements is long overdue.
“The gratitude of the people of Cardigan for finally recording this accomplishment must go to Yr Hoelion Wyth, a group from far and wide which has been represented locally by our very own Dai Gorwel, himself an experienced and successful member of the maritime fraternity in Aberteifi.
“This beautifully constructed and artistically designed plaque has been funded by the efforts of Yr Hoelion Wyth and is worthy of Jonathan’s successes on the world stage.”
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