Nick Clemson and Paul Trow-Smith in Claygate Bathrooms claimed their first ever win in round six of the Honda Formula 4-Stroke 150hp championship at the Honda British Powerboat Grand Prix, Plymouth on Sunday July 17.
Nick Clemson and Paul Trow-Smith in Claygate Bathrooms claimed their first ever win in round six of the Honda Formula 4-Stroke 150hp championship at the Honda British Powerboat Grand Prix, Plymouth on Sunday July 17.
In a thrilling race the duo managed to hold round five victors, local competitors Tony Crossley and Mark Glanville in Delmar Flooring, for an exhilarating 30 minute. The two teams battled bow to bow, each trying to out manoeuvre the other, with Claygate Bathrooms just retaining the edge to claim the top spot on the podium.
“We are absolutely delighted,” comments Clemson. “We got a fantastic start, and by the first mark we were already a length ahead of the rest of the fleet. We kept the boat going as fast as we could and concentrated on putting as much water between ourselves and Delmar Flooring. The competition in the 150hp fleet is intense and there is no room for mistakes! We pitted too early which lost us some ground, but we were keen to get it out of the way to avoid being penalised later. Delmar chose to pit later than us which enabled them to make up some time. We were both heading for the same buoy when they re-joined the main circuit. It was incredibly close but we just had the lead and held onto it to the chequered flag.”
Round five winners, Exmouth-based Tony Crossley and Mark Glanville in Delmar Flooring took second place. Clive and Tim Coote in X-Pole completed the podium line-up in third.
In an equally competitive 225hp race, round five runners-up Jack Glendinning and Simon Bucknall in Warmup managed to wrestle first place from championship leaders Rob Lister and Will Nocker in Fat Boy Racing and Plymouth-based team Gavin Parsonage and Nathan Libby in Negotiator. The home waters proved lucky for the Negotiator crew who finished third to claim their first podium of 2005.
‘We’re both thrilled to be back on the Honda 225hp podium, especially as it’s in front of a home crowd,” comments Gavin Parsonage, driver of Negotiator. “We had a fantastic start and led the fleet into the first turn, but just couldn’t outrace Warmup who overtook us on lap two. We were aware that Fat Boy Racing was right behind us on lap three and managed to hold them off for almost the entire race before they overtook us on the penultimate lap! We were a bit disappointed to lose our position so near the finish but we can’t complain. Third is our best result this season and means more to us as we achieved it at our local GP.”
The action of the 2005 Honda Formula 4-Stroke 150hp and 225hp championships moves to Liverpool for rounds seven and eight on 20-21 August.
