CLASS 1 & V1
SET FOR SIZZLING
SEASON-OPENER
IN IBIZA
The 2014 UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship will
kick-start its season with a spectacular sporting double-
header in the world-acclaimed tourist destination of Ibiza
renowned for its influx of affluent international celebrity-
visitors, legendary nightlife and music scene, and will share
the waters with the elite riders of the UIM-ABP Aquabike
Class Pro World Championship.
A
s the sport embarks on its 51st
year of racing since its sanctioning
by the sports’ World Governing
Body, the Union Internationale
Motonautique (U.I.M.) in 1964, it will undergo
a strategic restructuring with the addition
of Class V mono-hulls joining the tour and
running in tandem with their ‘catamaran’
cousins.
Despite the events market becoming
increasingly more and more competitive,
recent years have shown by the
overwhelming successes of recent new
events in China and Italy, that Class 1 is still
regarded as a premium lifestyle and sporting
must-have brand that delivers added value
in terms of spend versus a viable commercial
return for investors. “I firmly believe that the
future is positive but with the right strategic
approach and that is to place Europe centre
stage at the heart of the Championship to
compliment activities in the Middle East and
Asia, as well as revisiting the original format
of the sport when catamarans and mono-
hulls were competing at the same events.”
said promoter Nicolo di San Germano.
Last year Terracina [Italy] emerged as a
sparkling new jewel in the Class 1 crown and
the strategy to bring in new and exciting
venues continues this year, the addition
of Spain with on-going talks in place for a
second event in Italy and further afield.
The ‘new look’ World Championship events
format ‘ClassOne’ with Catamarans and
V-hulls, the undisputed goliaths of world
powerboat racing, sharing centre stage
was given a unanimous seal of approval
following a meeting of powerboating’s
hierarchy.
The meeting of UIM officials and drivers’
representatives was chaired by H2O
Racing president and World Championship
promoter Nicolo di San Germano to confirm
the green light for the new format which has
already been endorsed by UIM president
Dr. Raffaele Chiulli, the technical criteria and
the all-important safety aspects for two UIM
World Championships, Class 1 and V1 to run
in tandem at each event, with the first event
double-header taking place in one of the
H20 MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2014 | 31
h2oracing.net
