Lings Racing and Negotiator were on Sunday declared winners of the 2007 Honda Formula 4-Stroke Series after a thrilling weekend that saw large crowds flock to Liverpool’s River Mersey for a nail-biting final day of racing.
But Royal Southampton brothers Tom and James Plant in Quality Job took an impressive lead in the first half of the race but eventually lost their lead to Salcombe Racing. They finished the 150 hp championship in a creditable fifth place.
With championship leaders Lings Racing – crewed by David Cowley and Paul Barkshire - trailing back in fifth place, Sunday’s 150hp race was definitely shaping up to be a classic. Salcombe Racing went on to take the chequered flag ahead of the dark horses Jak Cockman and Andy Phipps in Cider Daze who crossed the line in second place while Lings Racing pulled out all the stops clinching the third podium position and the championship.
“We’re gutted to lose the championship,” said Salcombe Racing’s navigator Jerry McArthur, “but it was something of a consolation to win today’s final event. It was a thrilling race and other teams put up a great fight. It’s been a fantastic championship and we will be pushing for the title next year”. Norfolk-based team Lings Racing, in only its second season in the sport, secured the 150hp class championship crown with a well calculated third place finish yesterday.
Barkshire, navigator of Lings Racing commented: “Sunday’s race was really tough. Tactically we opted to stay out of the mix but halfway through we decided to push harder - we had a championship to win! It’s been a long season but all our hard work has paid off, we are over the moon. We told spectators in Lowestoft that we were going to win and we refused to let them down.”
225hp championship winners, Negotiator, which had already wrapped up the series in Saturday’s race, maintained the pressure throughout revelling in the conditions and the competition. Nathan Libby, navigator of Negotiator commented: “We are both really pleased with how the whole series has gone this year. We had great fun today in the choppy conditions and Rupert drove fantastically for ITV4 Fearless. We are looking forward to coming back next year; there isn’t a better series out there.”
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