Powerboat GP RYA F4s British Sprint Championship - Victory for Morse

by Emma Slater on 8 Aug 2013 The first ever Powerboat GP RYA F4s British Sprint Championship win was claimed by 19-year-old Ben Morse of Wigan.

The weekend of 03 - 04 August saw the new ‘green’ F4s race class attend the British Sprint Championships in Bedford to challenge for the prestigious Sprint Championship title.

A new class for 2013, F4s is growing in numbers and fans as the standard Mercury 60hp engines power the nippy catamarans and create very close and competitive racing.

As the weekend kicked off with a 20 min qualifying session, it was Mike Pillow that set the pace with a time of 104.25 and Sam Whittle managed a 106.98 qualifying time. Rob Vears and Ben Morse made up the remaining places on the grid after both having technical issues.

Heat one saw all of the F4s fleet head towards the first turn on a pretty even pace, when from the end of the grid Ben Morse seemed to power ahead of the formation and took the race lead. Pole man Mike Pillow, had no answer to the phenomenal speed and control shown by Morse in the breezy conditions at the Lake and although keeping the pressure on, was forced to settle for second position.

Heats two and three saw Ben continue to keep pace, proving that his recent experiences at the World F4s finals in Sweden were having a positive effect on his driving ability. Despite a hard push, Mike settled for second place with real progress from Sam Whittle and Rob Vears being made behind the front-runners.

The F4s class continues to flourish and all of the signs indicate that it’s going to be big news in 2014 with new boats, new drivers and plenty of enthusiasm.

Commenting on his win Ben said: 'After my accident in Sweden which forced me to use a brand new boat to be ready in time for the weekend, I thought it was a bonus just to get the boat on water. Actually winning the Sprint title never even crossed my mind!

'This win really means a lot to me as my team, family and friends put a lot of hours into getting a new boat ready for me to race. I would like to thank them for everything and also thank my sponsors for making everything possible. I’m really looking forward to finals of the British Championship in September and hopefully keeping the momentum going.'

The F4s British championship challenge continues on the 22 - 23 September at the final round - the Bedford Grand Powerboat GP