TZANEEN – Thirteen-year-old Lee Mabaso, a Grade 7 pupil of Loretto farm school in Tzaneen, continued his fantastic track record in powerboat racing when he won the development races during Saturday's event held at the Tzaneen Dam.

After demolishing the opposition once again in all three 5-lap races at the National Ports Authority / Mercury development races in Tzaneen, Lee has his heart set on becoming a future Formula 1 champion.

Julius Phiri (13) of Grysappel School finished second to Mabaso in Group A of the development programme with Mpho Moseamedi (11) of Manorvlei School third despite a flip in the second race.

Samuel Phalane (12) of Loretto school won Group B of the National Ports Authority / Mercury development programme with two wins and a third while Belinda Mabaso – Lee's older sister – came second and Alpheus Motlousi (11) of Manorvlei Farm school third.

At the prize-giving function, a two-seater boat was donated by Powerboat SA to the Tzaneen community for sustainable training in the National Ports Authority / Mercury development programme, which is supported by NCS Resins for the construction of the boats and KZN Oils for fuel for the programme.

The Formula 1 races ended in a fiery finish when newcomer Victor Friede's new boat caught fire in the final of three heats. As the flames soared higher, raging towards the high-octane fuel tank, two quick-thinking pilots – Mark Shepherd and Peter Lindenberg – kept the flames under control by turning sharply at the boat and dousing it with spray from the engines. This gave the Netcare 911 team a chance to get their rescue boat to the scene and douse the inferno with a fire extinguisher.

With the final race stopped, the points as they stood counted, leaving the then race leader Ian Mather (#1 National Ports Authority) the winner. However with two previous race wins, it was the defending champion Peter Lindenberg (#1 National Ports Authority) who took overall honours for the day and an early celebration of his 48th birthday on Sunday, September 8. With this win Mather finished second for the day. Port Alfred resident Timmy Fetherstonhaugh (#4 Brunos Panelbeaters) had a tie for third with Marius Krause (#7 Krause Racing), and there was another tie for fifth place between Mark Shepherd and Russell Chard (#9 Hire Anything) making a great debut in his new boat.

Last year's Tzaneen winner Mark Shepherd (#11 Code/Homenet) had a dreadful birthday on Saturday 7 September. After a brilliant start when he clocked the fastest time for time trials, Shepherd's day deteriorated with mechanical problems.

The Formula 30 race for youngsters aged 14 to 18 was convincingly won by Sonya Brits, the only lady in the field who has recently upgraded from the Junior A class.

The second round of the national F1 series will take place on Saturday 28 September at the National Ports Authority Saldanha Port Festival on the west coast.