In front of a huge crowd of spectators all enjoying a warm summer’s day in the West Midlands, Paul Balfour blew the F2 opposition away as the powerboat racing revival at Chasewater continued today. Having comfortably taken the first heat, the driver from Warrington knew that he had to make the advantage of starting from pole position pay off and that’s precisely what he did. With the fleet struggling to stay in contention he admitted after his third heat win that he felt a ‘little bit lonely’ out in front especially as his main rival for the national title, Colin Jelf, was forced to sit out due to a recurrence of a lower back pain. “Of course I’m really pleased that I won all three heats, it’s just a pity that Jelf wasn’t out there” said Balfour. “We still have two rounds to go for the national title as we add the points we gain at the Sprint Championship towards it, so even though I’m a step closer, its still not a done deal as knowing Jelf he will be fighting fit in a couple of weeks, because that guy never gives up.”

Taking second spot on the podium much to the delight of his sponsors Squirrel Wealth Management, who were watching the racing from the VIP lounge, was Matt Palfreyman. Although he had crossed the line in fourth place in the second heat he was moved up to second place after Alan Marshall was docked a lap for missing a turn buoy and Owen Jelf also fell foul of the OOD who adjudged him as not maintaining his lane at the race start. Palfryman had made a tentative start in the third heat and soon found himself in a battle royal with Mark Williams for third place. Taking advantage of his higher grid spot he slid inside the Lowestoft driver as they reached the first turn but he had no answer for Owen Jelf who by then looked solid in second place. “I tried to catch Owen up but I then realised that he was way below me in the points table so I settled for third because I didn’t want to risk a podium spot, after all they needed someone good looking on it” he joked afterwards.

Third place went to Steve Hoult much to his amazement as he had been struggling to repeat his form that had earned him a second place the previous day. “I got taken out at the first turn in the second heat and crossed the finish line in fifth place, so to end up on the podium is remarkable really.” 

Only two other drivers finished the weekend on maximum points like Balfour and it would be no surprise to learn that their Christian names are both Ben. In the F4S category Ben Morse repeated his Kingsbury performance and in doing so wrapped up the National F4S Championship title with one round still remaining. “I really have no complaints it’s been a great season racing against some stiff but fair competitors. I want to thank my Mum, Dad, Richard and Clare for all the time and effort they put in, I wouldn’t be on the top step of the podium without their support. The next round is the Sprint Championship at Stewartby and I know that Mike Pillow will be very competitive there but I won it last season and I know I have the boat to get the job done once again.”

Balfour dominant in F2- Photo: Chris Davies

At the prize giving ceremony Morse became the first person to be awarded the Mervyn Aigne Memorial Trophy. It was presented by his widow and former F4 racer Pat Aigne. Mervyn, who had been the Chasewater Club Commodore for several years recently succumbed to cancer and will be greatly missed by all those involved in powerboat racing.

Ben Jelf was another driver to repeat his Kingsbury GP feat when he once again dominated the GT15 class, though it would take a major upset if he was to deny his rival Thomas Mantripp the 2014 national title. Mantripp did come under some early pressure from Jess Beaumont, who really nailed her starts today and with these two battling for second Jelf took the opportunity to pull out a healthy lead on the pair of them. 

In the GT30 category it was Charlotte Newton’s turn to apply the pressure on Jelf but when she accidently headed towards the right hand turn after the start of the second heat, Jelf quickly past her and open up an unassailable lead. “Yes, it was very frustrating but to be honest with his speed it would only have been a matter of time before he’d got past me” said Newton. Making it a hat trick of podium visits this year was Abbie Brewer, who despite having some scary moments at the top of the course did enough to secure third place.

After beating Bill Owen into second place on Saturday in the T850 class all eyes were on Matt Wood to see if he could get the better of his rival once more and to Woods delight not only did he pull off that feat he also secured his maiden national race victory. Starting from pole in the second heat Wood over cooked the first turn and bumped into Owen. “It was my corner to have and he had no right to be there” said Wood. “When he hit me it made my teeth rattle” said Owen, who then had a fright when his throttle stuck open. “Rather than roll it in front of the field I took a wide line to try and sort out the problem” said Owen. “By then everyone had got past me, driving through the pack was great fun though.” In the third heat Wood knew that second would be good enough plus he also wanted to keep his engine fresh for a crack at the Sprint Championships.

With just two weeks to go before the Sprint Championship takes place at Stewartby Lake in Bedfordshire, the competition is certainly hotting up, with various drivers all keen to secure the sprint title and for the F2 racers its also an opportunity to win the Jerry Lamber Sprint Trophy, a much sort after achievement.