Lowestoft continued to celebrate the sunshine this weekend with the start of the Honda Formula 4-Stroke Powerboat Race series which kicked off today (Saturday) for the third leg of its 2008 UK tour. Honda representatives came to watch the excitement alongside other VIP’s and local dealers Lings.

With only one day to go until the Honda Formula 4-Stroke Powerboat Race series hits the Mersey this weekend Team Williams the double act of the 150hp and 225hp powerboat class have been gaining as much media attention as possible at today’s (Thursday) Press Day which was held at the Liverpool Marina Bar & Grill.

Team Williams 150hp announced today of their intention to step up from the 150hp class in a bid to become the first ever duo 225hp team ever to compete in the Honda Formula 4-Stroke Powerboat Series, the largest off-shore powerboat series in the World.

Don’t miss the Honda Formula 4-Stroke ‘Blue Peter Presenter’ race footage on BBC1 Tuesday 21^st October 4:35pm.

In preparation for their 10th Anniversary the World’s largest Off Shore Powerboat Race series the Honda Formula 4-Stroke will be taking on a new look to mark the special occasion with a specially commissioned logo.

The series began in 1999 when Honda came on board as title sponsor. Since this time the series has developed from a fleet of just five 130hp Cougar Powerboats to a two class series of almost forty Cougar Powerboats across two classes of 150hp and 225hp.

On Saturday 23rd August James Brooke and Jeff Weake won the Honda Class Trophy in the Cowes/Poole/Cowes powerboat race and flew the flag for the Honda F4SA Powerboat Series when they were presented with the trophy at the Royal Yacht Squadron by Lady Vi Aitken.

It’s in the Bagg for Team Vortigern The Honda Formula 4-Stroke the World’s largest offshore powerboat race series made its way into Douglas Bay today as the fleet of almost 40 powerboats began to line the promenade in preparation for this weekends’ Grand Prix Final.

The final round of the 2008 Honda Formula 4-Stroke Powerboat Championship held in Douglas, Isle of Man on Saturday 13th September took an unusual twist, as the new and current Blue Peter presenters took to the waves in a special race to mark the 50th Anniversary of the CBBC show.

The World’s largest Off Shore powerboat race series came to a spectacular end this Saturday 1st November as the Honda Formula 4-Stroke series held their annual Awards Dinner at the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum in Bristol.

Southampton based powerboat star Steve Curtis has added another ‘world’ title to his striking CV by winning the US Offshore World Championship.

'It was huge, a big win for us,' said Curtis. 'Tom and I have been coming here for years and have always had a monkey on our back, so it was great to finally get the championship.

Leading boat manufacturer Cougar Powerboats will be holding a ‘Cougar Run’ on May 30th to celebrate their 40th anniversary in the marine industry.

The event will be held at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy and will attract a fleet of Cougar boats dating as far back as the late 60’s to present day.

The company originally founded by Clive Curtis and James Beard in 1969 was aptly named after the cougar cat because of the catamaran designed hulls they produced. Cougar’s reputation for cutting edge technology and winning mono and multihull powerboat designs for commercial, military, racing and leisure purposes is still strongly recognized today in the work that they produce.

Luxury Swiss watch maker, Ebel announce that they will continue as the Official Timing Partner to the Honda Formula 4-Stroke Association for the forthcoming 2009 series.

Ebel will be involved in all timing related elements of the Series, providing the official race times for both the 150hp and 225hp categories.

As in 2008, the season will conclude with Ebel awarding the first, second and third place winners in each category with a luxury prize at the end of season party set to be held in a private location in Windsor. 

Local powerboat enthusiasts gathered today across the beach frontage at Marian y De to see the return of the World’s largest powerboat race series.

The Honda Formula 4-Stroke Grand Prix which has returned to Wales after a six year absence has once again marked a fantastic impression of the sport upon the area at the first race of the 2009 season.

Spectators were spoilt by double action today as Saturdays races were taken on top of Sunday’s due to the postponement on the first race day which was caused by bad sea states.

The City of Plymouth one of the UK’s most desirable coastal locations has been chosen to mark a special anniversary of motorsport achievement this June 20th and 21st when it hosts the 10th Birthday and 100th race day of The Honda Formula 4-Stroke Race Series, the largest offshore powerboat event in the World. The series will return to Plymouth for the second leg of the 2009 Championship.

The Plymouth Grand Prix has always been a favourite on the Formula 4-Stroke race calendar and this year Honda are back for even more exciting on water action as one of the highlights of the cities entertainment calendar.

When Honda launched its first large scale outboard engine in 1999, the 4-Stroke BF130 it would have been an optimistic prediction that this early model would set the basis of what would become the World’s largest Offshore Powerboat race series.

The Honda Formula 4-Stroke Powerboat Race series is making the final preparations before the opening round of the 2009 race season in Pwllheli on May 9th and 10th.

The Grand Prix will bring up to 20 Cougar powerboats to the towns’ impressive marina along with a vast crowd of enthusiasts and holiday makers.

With less than two weeks to go before that the start of the Grand Prix competitors competing in the series are preparing their boats for the first of five race weekends which will take place throughout the UK this summer, and, with a mixture of 150hp and 225hp boats split across two classes organisers of the event promise a fantastic on-water showdown to mark the start of what looks to become one of the biggest Honda F4SA race seasons to date.

Honda Formula 4-Stroke (F4SA) the World’s largest two class powerboat race series completed round two of the 2009 Grand Prix season in Plymouth this weekend June 20th and 21st.

The special event which celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the series which is backed by sponsor Honda attracted large spectator numbers who witnessed the 150hp and 225hp classes in some extremely close racing across Plymouth Sound.

Saturday’s race produced some exciting results with the 225hp fleet in two races during the afternoon. There were no disputes and results were clear with lead boats Team Williams and Lings winning the first place spot respectively.

Bright sunshine and clear blue skies greeted competitors for the final three races in the Honda Formula 4 Stroke Association sponsored by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. It was the final chance for some of the crews to get vital podium places with battles raging throughout the field in both classes.

Race three of 225hp the action went right down to the wire in the final rounds of the 2009 Formula 4 Stroke Association series with the last races in both championships decided the overall winners.

The only 225hp race of the year was a straight battle between Lings.com and Team Williams, both crews separated by just three points at the start of the race. Both boats raced to the first buoy within inches of each other. Scott and Ken Williams squeezed out their rivals David Cowley and Paul Barkshire but in doing so let Heights of Abrahams with driver Rupert and navigator Sophie Pugh get into the lead, a position they maintained to the chequered flag.

Dr Liam Fox MP for North Somerset illustrated with Vincent Scott-Halton Marketing Manager of the Bristol based Hydrex group – a leading national excavator rental company, drew the winner of a raffle which supported the raising of funds for the “Help for Heroes” Charity.

The prize winner will enjoy a weekend in Exmouth experiencing the thrills of power boat racing and enjoying a behind the scenes introduction to the Hydrex Honda Formula 4-Stroke Power Boat team who won the 2009 British Offshore Championship series after participating at five venues and in twelve rounds.

The Plymouth Sound was a hive of activity last weekend as the Honda Formula 4-Stroke Association came to town. The World’s largest 2 class series put on a spectacular performance as the crowds lined Plymouth’s Hoe to watch all the action.

Organisers had decided that due to a logistics problem later in the season Teams would race 3 of their championship Rounds at Plymouth providing even more action for the venues spectators.

Conditions were perfect with blue skies and sunshine as Saturday’s action got underway with the first 225 class race. Where Team Williams got a superb start they held from start to finish, ahead of Team Lings and Germany’s Power of Dreams.

There is a lot to be said for anyone willing to place themselves at the wheel of a race machine. But add this to water, throw in about ten other boats maxing speeds of up to 70mph, call it the Honda Formula 4-Stroke Powerboat race series and you will understand why David Cowley driver of the Lings 225hp powerboat is starting to gain a reputable reputation on the East Coast for being the local adrenaline junkie who’s addiction is fuelled by his own employer.

David Cowley who heads up the Sales division of the Lings Honda dealership in Lowestoft embarked on a racing career with the company in 2007.

In an effort to raise awareness of the Honda brand Lings remained loyal to the famous words of Soichiro Honda founder of the company who said: “If Honda does not race, there is no Honda”.

The Honda Formula 4-Stroke Powerboat race which was held today (Sunday) has been one of the most spectacular and memorable Grand Prix’s  the area has witnessed since the series began racing in Lowestoft in 2007.

The day began with the 225hp fleet and a marvellous win once again for home team Lings driven by David Cowley and Navigator Paul Barkshire. Leaving a tremendous gap between themselves and their opposition Team Williams they had clearly won the race before they had finished. In third were the German crew of Power of Dreams Germany who mopped up the wake of their challengers to take the final victory of the morning.

The Honda Formula 4-Stroke Association (F4SA) the World’s largest two class offshore powerboat race series is set to perform this August 29th in the Cowes Classic Powerboat Race which is Cowes-Poole-Cowes. 

This race forms part of the Cowes Powerboat Festival which will include the famous and legendary Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race. The Cowes Classic race for Honda boats will be for the fourth leg of the 2009 Championship season.

Originally founded by Sir Max Aitken, in 1961, the legendary Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race launched the sport of offshore powerboat racing outside the United States.

Honda Formula 4-Stroke Association (F4SA) the World’s largest two class powerboat race series staged the fourth leg of their 2009 championship race season today (August 29th) in the line up for one of the Cowes-Poole-Cowes races; part of the Cowes Powerboat Festival which included the famous and legendary Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race.

All three races started concurrently at about 10:30am a little later than scheduled; with a fleet of 50 or so Honda and Offshore Racing Drivers Association (ORDA) craft plus over ten Sports boats and 20 Marathon class contenders. Once underway the entire fleet left the vicinity of the Red Solent Bank Buoy and headed West in one of the most spectacular race line ups in almost three decades.

With only days to go until the start of the Honda Formula 4-Stroke Grand Prix of Lowestoft, anticipation of this weekend’s racing is already filling the East Coast upon the hype of the successful Lowestoft Air Festival. The Honda powerboat event which is following on into the weekend (July 25th & 26th) from the Air Festival is set to attract a staggering amount of spectators in light of their success in 2008.

Lings Honda will act as the headquarters of the event this weekend starting with a drivers briefing which will be held at 6:30pm on Friday. The full fleet of powerboats are due to start arriving from tomorrow just before the brief into Haven Marina along with their crew and sponsors.

Powerboat P1 Management Limited, rights holders of the Powerboat P1 World Championship, has today announced it has concluded discussions to take over the running of the British-based Formula Four Stroke Association (F4SA). 

The move will offer competitors new technical regulations, a unique media and broadcasting platform and the opportunity to compete across an enhanced calendar of races in Europe and in the UK.

Over the past ten years, the F4SA, under the leadership of eight-time powerboat world champion, Steve Curtis MBE, has developed the offshore racing platform and nurtured pilots who have graduated to full international level.