When Honda launched their first large capacity outboard engine in 1999 the BF130, they had looked for ways to market their product. Seeing that astronomical costs were forcing powerboat racing beyond the means of the average boat enthusiast and being told constantly that 4-stroke outboard engines would not be competitive for racing they set about to prove the critics wrong and make powerbost racing more affordable. And so began the Honda Formula 4-Stroke Series.

The inaugural race was contested at a stormy Torquay on Saturday May 29 1999. Five identical boats fitted with Honda BF130 engines set out on a race where only three would finish but in doing so they started to fundamentally change powerboat racing in the UK.

In 2000 the fleet of five grew into eight boats, when Channel 4 saw the potential of the series and decided to put powerboat racing back on terrestrial TV for the first time in over a decade.

In 2002 Honda introduced the sleeker more powerful 225hp Class for competitors to graduate into. By now the championship had grown beyond Honda's expectations and was rapidly becoming the UK's premier powerboat championship.

In 2004 the BF130 was replaced with the BF150 and the championship had established itself as the and the largest offshore powerboat racing championship in the world. 

By 2006/7 there were as many as twenty boats racing in both classes and the TV coverage had become global.

Powerboat racing still has a some way to go before it receives the recognition that it the sport so desperately deserves but with continued growth and development, it will find it's place high up in the worlds sporting calendar.