TEENAGER Matthew Foster starred in the national hovercraft championship round held at Gang Warily.

The 15-year-old, from Plaitford near Romsey, triumphed in the Junior Formula event after winning five of his six races.

The Mountbatten School pupil could also have won the final race but he changed craft to allow his brother Colin to race for the first time.

Colin started at the back of the grid but did well to finish fourth.

Fareham's Peter Dawson, 15, won that last race - his first win at such a level - and he was second overall.

Matthew Gifford, from Woodlands near Southampton, is the reigning Formula Junior champion and, with one second and four fourth places over the three days of racing, was fourth overall.

Event organiser Bob Beech said Gang Warily "is an absolutely superb racing venue.

"It offers drivers a short yet very demanding half-a-mile course with changing levels, fast sections, challenging transitions from land to water and more."

In the Formula One section, Alton's Matthew Drake finished second overall after winning one race.

Portsmouth's Rob Trussler, competing in Formula One for the first time as well as Formula Twenty Five, won his first race despite starting at the back of the grid.

In his next race his craft cartwheeled in the wind and the resulting damage prevented him competing further.

In Formula Three, Kevin Foster - father of Matthew and Colin - experimented with two craft he built for his sons over the winter.

Without pushing them to the limit, he finished 12th out of 19 in that section.

Mark Allman, from Hedge End, competed in a new craft powered by a 250cc Yamaha engine. He won his first race but suffered a collision in his second which forced him to retire.

Event organiser Beech, from New Milton, returned to racing after a seven-year gap. Despite having the lowest powered craft in the event and starting from the back of the grid, he still finished second in all four races and earned enough points to finish third overall in the Formula Three novice class.

Formula Three winner was Buckinghamshire's Lewis Webb, who won five of his six races.

Formula Twenty Five was dominated by Southern Area drivers. Team Tizzler, driven by Trussler, won the event from Southampton's Rachael Gifford, the Formula champion for this event in 2002.

Beech said the three-day event was "a tremendous success - we had good crowds to watch and everyone who came said they had a fantastic time."

The third round of the championships take place on July 5/6 near Bridgwater in Somerset.