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Offshore powerboat racing is racing by large, ocean-going powerboats, typically point-to-point racing.
Probably the largest, most dangerous, and most powerful racing machines of all, the extreme expense of the boats and the fuel required to participate make it an expensive and elite sport.
Many different classes of boats, can compete in individual races, on the same course, at the same time. This may include single or twin piston engine V-bottom boats, single or twin piston engine catamaran style boats, four piston engine boats, and turbine boats.
In Europe, Middle East & Asia, offshore powerboat racing was led by the UIM regulated Class 1 but this category is no longer recognized by the sports governing body. It has re-organised itself and is instead regulated by the Dubai based WPPA, which now allows the sport to have a bigger variety in engines and props.
In the USA, offshore powerboat racing is split between the OPA Races, SBI/APBA/UIM races and the OSS races.
Although there are team sponsors, the sport is still an amateur sport financed by a mixture of private funding and commercial sponsors. One of the benefits of sponsoring an offshore powerboat team, as stated by team owner and driver Bjørn Rune Gjelsten, is that in Formula One motor racing, 1 million will only allow a small space, whereas in offshore powerboating, this covers the whole of the boat.[1]
Depending on the class, speeds varies from 65 mph (105 km/h) to 190 mph (310 km/h).
The sport is moving more to a circuit racing style also known as "run what you brung", which makes for a better TV & spectator experience, though there are still old fashioned endurance offshore racing classes.
Powerboat P1 , the UIM sanctioned world championship is the fastest growing powerboat series in the world. Founded in 2003 with 5 boats it now has 20+ teams from 11 countries and will race in three continents in 2008.
It caters for monohull boats with twin inboard engines in two classes: Supersport, for open top production models which are limited to 85 mph (137 km/h) for safety reasons and Evolution, fully canopied prototype boats with no speed limit.
Engines can be either petrol or diesel depending on the team choice or the manufacturer's recommendation.
A P1 grand prix consists of two races, the Sprint, 50 nautical miles (93 km) and the Endurance over 80 nautical miles (150 km).
The teams with most points over two races win the overall Grand Prix and take the prize money and the championship points.
2008 races
2008 races will take placee in:
- 9 - 11 May San Benedetto del Tronto Italy
- 23 - 25 May Marseille France
- 6 - 8 June Valletta Malta
- 11 - 13 July Hammamet Tunisia
- 12 - 14 September Vigo Spain
- 26 - 28 September Portimão Portugal
- 23 - 25 October Bahrain Middle East
Manufacturers involved in 2008 include; Ilmor, Seatek, Mercury, Sterling, Yanmar and Rizzardi engines and Fountain, Outerlimits, Cigarette, Hustler, Sunseeker, Dragon, and Metamarine hulls.
The Powerboat P1 World Championship was managed in 2007/2008 by CEO, Jim O'Toole. O'Toole left the company in February 2009 to establish a sports and entertainment marketing consultancy called Armstrong Kennedy Consulting LLP , www.armstrongkennedy.com
References
- ^ Jeremy Clarkson's Extreme Machines supplement, December 1997
External links
- Class 1 World Powerboat Championship
- U.I.M Powerboat P1 World Championship
- The 2008 Round Britain Offshore Power Boat Race
- Offshore Boats
- Cigarette Racing Team offshore boats
- Offshore Only
- Scream And Fly Powerboating Magazine
- Offshore Down Under
- BoatFreaks
- AMF Offshore Racing
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