Date Added: 2007-11-09

With less than 3 weeks to go until the opening of the Whyte & Mackay Earls Court Boat Show there is definitely an under current of excitement running through the Honda Formula 4-Stroke team as they prepare to launch the Powerboat Village at the event...

They will bring the essence of the Honda.Formula 4-Stroke race series alive by putting on a varied display of powerboats from the past and present. The Powerboat Village will play host to series Championship Winners Negotiator from the 225hp class and Lings from the 150hp class. The Village will give the impression of being a real life race pit, complete with chequered flooring, palm trees, and all the glitz and glamour of the real thing. Centre stage welcomes an amazing transformation of a classic beauty of its day, the Thunderbolt. Brought to restoration by its owner Mike James this boat will be unveiled to a huge crowd on press day.

UK Boating TV will also be there to witness Tommy Sopwith unveiling the
boat with Lord Beaverbrook son of Sir Max Aitkin – founder of the Cowes
Torquay Powerboat Race in 1961 that Thunderbolt raced in. F4SA can now confirm that the public will be able to witness all of the Class 1
World Powerboat Championship action in Dubai live from the Powerboat
Village. Steve Curtis 8 times World Champion and Throttleman of the Spirit of Norway boat, will be focusing all of his energy on trying to maintain his title as the season draws to an end. Indeed when Curtis is not racing his own 2000hp,170mph boat in the Class 1 Championship, he is busy managing the largest off-shore powerboat series in the world, the Honda Formula 4-Stroke Series (F4SA) – a national championship in which over 40 drivers compete against each other in two classes of identical boats producing sensational action. Curtis has been hugely instrumental in expanding this cost-effective and highly competitive area of the sport in an effort to encourage ‘the man on the street’ to experience the thrill of powerboat racing. Now with the opportunity to spread the word about this thrill-seekers sport at the Powerboat Village, the F4SA team will be on hand at the show to answer the public’s questions about how they too can join the series and compete for the 2008 top podium honours.