Lancashire man speeds to victory in the World Powerboat Championships
Matthew Palfreyman, 32, from Ormskirk, Lancashire, kicked off the UIM F2 World Championship with a victory in Brindisi, despite "difficult conditions" on the water.
The 32-year-old has been a member of Lancashire Powerboat Racing Club (LPRC), which is based at Car Mill Dam in St Helens, since he was 12 years old.
Palfreyman, who also won this event in 2024, delivered an impressive performance in challenging, blustery conditions along the Brindisi Adriatic coastline on Sunday, 29 June, to win the opening stage.
Due to fierce winds, qualifying was delayed and moved to Sunday morning - making it a busy and jam-packed day for the team.
But Matthew wasted no time and, early on in the qualifying session, secured the pole position and never looked back—he powered forward from the rolling start to lead from start to finish.
Palfreyman after the race: 'The conditions were tough, but I like the challenge of driving in the rough water—itsuits my driving style.
''The boat was set up and ran perfectly. Honestly, once I was out in front I managed to simply pull away and I knewit was going to be difficult for anyone to get past me. I actually felt untouchable out there."
Joining Palfreyman on the podium, Peter Morin of France in second place, and Sweden's Hilmer Wiberg took the third step, he managed to get past Andre Solvang from Norway who had to settle for fourth.
Kingfisher Team Manager Ian Blacker, praised the team's preparation and performance.
He said: 'I'm proud of Matthew and the whole crew. A flawless race in difficult conditions. The boat performed exactly as we'd hoped and gave Matthew what he needed take the win.
"This is the best possible start for our 2025 season, and now we need to build on this success and shift our focus to Klaipėda.'
With this victory, Team Kingfisher now celebrates and takes the early lead in the 2025 F2 World Championship standings—with a maximum 20 points, and they are keen to send out a clear message: They're here to challenge for the 2025 title.
Palfreyman is scheduled to compete in the second round of the event, which is due to take place in Lithuania between 17-19 July.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
3 hours ago
- Times
Moses Itauma blitzes Dilian Whyte to cement status as Britain's great new hope
Moses Itauma confirmed his status as the next great British heavyweight with a first-round demolition of Dillian Whyte in Saudi Arabia. The 20-year-old had never fought an opponent remotely close to Whyte's calibre but an emphatic and nerveless performance dispelled any notion that the hype around the prodigious southpaw is superficial. The end came after just 119 seconds as Itauma landed almost at will, rocking Whyte with a left hook before unleashing a precise, unanswered barrage with his opponent pinned to the ropes. Itauma said he would 'love' to fight Usyk next GETTY A right hook eventually sent Whyte sprawling to the canvas and, although he rose to beat the referee's count, the gulf in class was painful and the fight had already been beaten out of him. Itauma, whose family moved from Slovakia to Kent when he was four, had initially aimed to break Mike Tyson's record of becoming the youngest world heavyweight champion at 20 years and 145 days old. That milestone may have proven out of reach, but he is now on the cusp of challenging for world honours despite turning professional only in 2023.
The Herald Scotland
3 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Moses Itauma claims devastating first-round KO against Dillian Whyte
Former WBC interim heavyweight champion Whyte, 37, was not given any time to settle as Itauma – who had been made to wait in the ring by a delayed walk-in from his British rival – immediately went on the front foot. Done in ONE 😯 Moses Itauma finishes Dillian Whyte in the FIRST ROUND 😮💨#WhyteItauma | @DAZNBoxing — Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) August 16, 2025 Chatham southpaw Itauma tested Whyte with a flurry of early jabs before more precision shot combinations sent him back onto the ropes. Another powerful right hook sent Whyte crashing to the floor and although he stumbled back onto his feet, the referee stepped in to wave off the contest with just over a minute left of the first round. On the back of another hugely impressive display, the calls will continue to grow for Slovakia-born Itauma to be handed a world title shot in 2026. 'That's what I've been drilling for 12, 13 weeks,' Itauma said on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra. Told you he was good. — Frank Warren (@FrankWarren) August 16, 2025 'I have trained hard for this (so) I didn't want it to be over in the first round. 'I put on a performance for you guys, so it's now who's next? 'I don't want to call out (undisputed world heavyweight champion) (Oleksandr) Usyk because I don't believe I deserve the opportunity – but guys that do deserve the opportunity, I want to fight those lot. 'So maybe Agit Kabayel, maybe Joseph Parker. Maybe them type of names. '(But) as of right now, I am going to rest and then maybe be back in the gym.'
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Nick Ball holds on to world title with points win over Sam Goodman to stave off unwanted British boxing record
All recommendations within this article are informed by expert editorial opinion. If you click on a link in this story we may earn affiliate revenue. Judges had the horrible job of picking a winner PLAYING BALL Nick Ball holds on to world title with points win over Sam Goodman to stave off unwanted British boxing record Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NICK BALL - Britain's last standing male world champion - stopped his WBA featherweight title going Down Under with a magnificent win over Sam Goodman. A few years ago we were in double digits of gold holders across the men's divisions. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Nick Ball beat Sam Goodman on points Credit: Getty 5 Ball retained his WBA featherweight title Credit: Getty 5 Ball remains Britain's only male world champ Credit: Getty But now the Liverpool pocket rocket is the only bloke flying the flag and the 28-year-old did it brilliantly against a worthy challenger. The three judges - who had the horrible job of picking a winner when both men deserved the victory and every Riyal - called it: 117-111, 118-110 and 115-113. The undefeated Scouser tried to live up to his 'Wrecking' nickname from the bell but Aussie Goodman, 26, wisely used his height and reach advantages to keep the pitbull at bay. The 5ft 2in mini-Mike Tyson kept crouching low and launching uppercuts and hooks at the challenger. But Goodman was tough and happy to take-one-to-give-one when the time called for courage, Goodman enjoyed more success in the second, putting his long levers to work against Ball's little pistons. The only noise in the silent Saudi arena was a thick West Coast Australia accent booming 'good boy!' with every scoring shot their lad landed. By the third, Goodman was the leading man and the matador against the Raging Ball, even whipping into hooks to the Brits ironing-board abs. 5 ITAUMA VS WHYTE LIVE BLOG - FOLLOW UPDATES FROM HUGE HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHT CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Ball's face was reddening from regular accurate digs and missed wildly and bounced off the ropes when frustration got the better of him. Ball kept hurling haymakers but Goodman was the little grasshopper always dodging the swinging scythe at the last second. Filip Hrgovic survives horror cut and floors David Adeleye to win thriller on Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte undercard Ball enjoyed some success early in the fourth but Goodman, who was up from super-bantam for the title challenge, ate the servings of scouse up happily. In trademark fashion, Ball refused to sit between rounds and he raced into the fifth with a couple of smashing right hands. Goodman was replying with plenty of accuracy but blatantly lacking power to trouble the Brit. Ball wisely abandoned the desperate search for a one-punch KO by the sixth and started connecting with more combinations. The seventh was another even affair with neither man willing to take a backward step and both landing scoring shots to impress the judges. Ball reverted to his wild haymakers in the eighth and missed by miles with a pair of left hooks. His right hand was far more effective and might have banked him the round as Goodman never got off the back foot. The ninth was another razor-tight stanza to try to split them. Both warriors were boxing with as much guts as guile and missing as many as they landed. Ball earned a rare cheer from the crowd in the tenth he slashed a couple of uppercuts and hooks through Goodman's guard. But Goodman matched him punch-for-punch in a bout that was running away with our fight-of-the-night award. Ball still had the tenacity to hurl himself in Goodman's direction in the 11th but the underdog was fresh enough to bounce off the ropes like a kangaroo and away to safety. Goodman met the deck in the final session but it was rightly ruled a slip after a rough clinch. Ball finished the humdinger bleeding from his right eye but still landing crackers and Goodman confronted the tiny terror, at every opportunity, until the final bell closed off a superb advert for 9st - and all of - boxing. In the show's main event, Moses Itauma went on to beat Dillian Whyte via a devastating first round KO. The 20-year-old rising superstar went on to call for a shot at Oleksandr Usyk, revealing that he will "definitely" be back in action before the end of the year.
