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.
The action then moved to the Honda 150’s only race of the day as they would take to the start line twice in Sunday’s proceedings, where Hydrex Honda team Jak Cockman and Andy Phipps were hoping for a good result in their home venue.
As the Green flag dropped Team Premier Cru got off to a storming start leaving the rest of the fleet napping, but Hydrex Honda were hot on their heels, trying to take tighter lines round the buoys to make up water. Premier Cru fought hard to fight the lively duo off and secure their first win of the season.
There was a despondent mood amongst the Hydrex Honda team as they reflected on the day’s race Pilot Jak Cockman commented “They got a better start than us! And when conditions are perfect like this, it’s all in the start, we pushed and pushed to see if they would make a mistake but they raced a fantastic race and deserved the win.” He continued “we’re both disappointed but we now have to focus on the 2 races tomorrow and taking back our lead in the championship”
Sunday’s racing was met with more glorious race conditions and the racing got underway with the first Honda 150 race of the day. Premier Cru got off to another flying start once again proving that Saturday’s result was no fluke. The team took the chequered flag yet again giving Hydrex a battle for the rest of the season to retain their crown.
In the 225hp race Manx team Vortigern stole the top spot in a tight fight against Lings. The final bend proved crucial as Lings driver David Cowley tried a daring stunt to outwit Michael Baggs in Vortigern, but the leaders held them off until the end.
Finishing the weekend in the final 150hp battle were Team Honda Hydrex who in front of Home crowds and sponsors reasserted their competitive streak in a role reversal with Premier Cru from the earlier race, taking a six boat lead to give them their third win of the championship and more importantly saw them regain their championship lead.
Navigator Andy Phipps reflected on the weekends results “We were very happy with the results over the weekend, it was obvious that Premier Cru, Team Williams and Octane had worked very hard on there boats and driving skills and it showed in the races. There were some real battles going on.” He continued “We made some changes on Sunday which made the difference to us and we managed to get a good start, getting us into the lead which then made it our race.”
“We are now turning our attention to the rest of the season we are three points clear of 2nd which can be loads but also isn’t that much as anything can happen when racing. We have to get back out in the boat now for testing and make sure that it’s at maximum performance for Lowestoft next month and maintain our lead in the championship.”
The 25th & 26th July will see the Honda Formula 4-Stroke Association and Team Honda Hydrex head to Lowestoft for rounds 6 & 7 of their 10 round championship.