The Lings Racing team did themselves proud this weekend at the Liverpool Grand Prix after a weekend of racing fraught with incident.

The choppy waters of the Mersey gave a fantastic spectacle for the large that hard gathered to watch the Honda Formula 4-Stroke Offshore Powerboat Series, despite the poor weather, but the dangers of racing in such conditions became all too apparent when no fewer than 3 boats ended their race upside-down or had crew thrown from the cockpit - extraordinary scenes as Team Williams were thrown from their boat as it capsized on one of the tight corners of the Mersey circuit.

It was during this drama that Lings left the race to come to the aid of their fellow competitors, along with current class Champions Negotiator and Scream-It.com, forming a protective barrier around the Team Williams crewmembers thrown from their vessel.  Interrupting a riveting race to help, Lings sacrificed their steadily climbing lap times and dropped to 16th – however, under series rules teams stopping to aid crashed or ejected competitors would have this taken into account once they finished the race - the clock would stopped until they rejoined the race.  This unfortunately proved not to be the case on this occasion, and despite impressively climbing back to 8th place, to finish a 9th overall for the weekend, their final position, while good, did not reflect the excellent team performance.

Nonetheless, the team remain resolutely positive, and consider every race completed as a success in the incredibly difficult competition of the Premier 225hp Class.  They are very happy with their series position after the weekend’s efforts, as Driver David Cowley said –  "It was a difficult race but we can take alot of positives from it - another race completed and more points on the board, and the way we came back to 8th after falling to 16th once we stopped shows we're getting better all the time."  The result leaves the team at an excellent 8th in the series, with the final race of the series - held at the Isle of Man - still to come.

The Isle of Man GP takes place on the waters of the picturesque Douglas Bay.  Following the natural line of the bay itself, spectators are guaranteed superb views of the boats and they jostle for position in the final race of the 2008 series – where the series champions will finally be revealed.  The Douglas Bay circuit is incredibly challenging, with more turns than any other F4SA course meaning only the most skilful drivers will come through victorious.  As with every leg of the F4SA, it's free to turn up and support the teams, and with the top 10 teams of the 225 series so close on points, there will be added spice to this year's finalé - who will reign victorious?

Honda Formula 4-Stroke Association:
The Honda Formula 4-Stroke Powerboat Series is the largest offshore powerboat Championship in the world. With the help of eight-time Class 1 World Powerboat Champion, Steve Curtis MBE, Honda launched the Series in 1999 in order to prove the performance of their then newly launched BF130 4-stroke outboard.

Since its creation nine years ago, F4SA has fundamentally changed powerboat racing in the UK. Its rapid development has seen it grow from just four teams competing in a single 130hp class in 1999, to some 40 teams competing in two classes in 2007.

By John Barkshire