Class 1 World Powerboat Championship

The UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship (also known as Class 1) is an international motorboat racing competition for powerboats organized by the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM). It is the premier class of offshore powerboat racing in the world.

Class One USA
CategoryTwin 1100hp engine Catamaran
CountryWorldwide
Engine suppliersMercury Marine Racing division
Teams' championUnited Arab Emirates 2019 Champion Team Victory Team

Driver: Eisa Al Ali

Throttle-man: Salem Al Adidi
Official websiteP1Offshore.com

Class 1 is considered one of the most spectacular marine motorsports. A Class 1 race-boat has twin inboard 1100hp engines and can reach speeds in excess of 257 km/h (160 mph). All boats are limited by a minimum weight of 4950 kg.

The sport of powerboat racing has undergone unprecedented changes since the earliest recorded race in 1887 in Nice, France, organized by the Paris Sailing Club. The French also claimed the next two recorded races in 1903, a 62-mile race in Meulan on the River Seine organized by the Poissy Sailing Club and a 230-mile race from Paris to Trouville. But the first officially recognized international offshore powerboat race was a 22-mile event from Calais, France to Dover, England.

The modern-era of offshore powerboat racing was kick-started on 6 May 1956 with the first running of the famous Miami-Nassau race, which would ultimately lead to the introduction of the Sam Griffith Memorial Trophy and a UIM sanctioned World Championship in 1964. From 1964 to 1976 the winner of the World Championship was decided by points gained from multiple races held at venues around the world. From 1977 to 1991 the winner was decided by series of races at a single event at the end of the year. The World Championship reverted to a multi-event format in 1992.

As of 2019, APBA sanctioned Class One racing is being held by Powerboat P1 under the name Class One USA, with catamarans racing strictly regulated sterndrive Mercury Racing 9.0L 1100 hp twin turbocharged V8 motors, and unlimited power for mono-hulls. The Victory team from the UAE is the current defending championship team.

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History

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Class 1 Grand Prix Dubai 2012

[2]

The Boats

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Weighing in at around 5 tonnes, each catamaran in the Class 1 fleet is approximately 12-14m in length, 3.5m wide, and constructed using composite materials.

Over the years, safety has become a key concern and today's Class 1 boats are the safest they have ever been.

Inside the cockpit, satellite GPS systems, trim indicators, engine data dashboards and instrument panels and warning lights keep the crew aware of the boat's progress during a race.

The cockpit is reinforced to withstand enormous impacts that may occur if a boat crashes at speeds in excess of 150 mph, with an escape hatch in the hull as an added safety feature in the event of an accident.

While a Class 1 race-boat is highly technical and state-of-the-art, and its overall performance is dependent on design, aero and hydro dynamics, choice of propeller and gear ratio selection, the relationship between driver and throttle-man, who navigate and control the power, must provide direct input to adjust trim and drive settings during a race or official qualifying, is ultimately the defining factor and crucial to performance.

The Crews

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Each boat has a two-man crew: a driver who navigates and steers the boat, and a throttle-man who controls the speed by managing the throttles and trim.

This combination requires total trust—imagine driving a car while the person beside you controls the accelerator—and a close working relationship. Spectators may think that the crew simply jumps into the cockpit and that the fastest drivers win. However, this simplistic view overlooks the skills and professionalism of pilots who regularly race across waves at over 160 mph (250 km/h).

Both pilots work closely with their pit crews to determine the race setup: the type of propeller required for the conditions, gear ratio settings, the amount of fuel needed, and race tactics. Propeller choice is critical and can determine not only the outcome of a race but also a championship.

The Championship

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A Class 1 season consists of a series Grands Prix, made up of three official practice sessions, one official qualifying session which is also known as Pole Position and two races. The results of each race are combined to determine the winner of the World Championship. The European Championship and the Middle East Championship are defined by specific events in those geographic regions. The results in official qualifying determine the winner of the Pole Position Championship.

Eight races at four venues make up the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, with races run over approximately 55 or 75 Nm of multiple laps of approximately 5 Nm (including one or two mandatory long laps).[citation needed]

The World Championship is awarded to the team with the most accumulated points throughout the season. A winning crew collects 20 points, the runners-up 15, with the third-placed team awarded 12 points.[citation needed][citation needed]

A Grand Prix weekend is run over three days, with registration, technical scrutineering and the first practice session and driver briefings taking place on day one.[3]

On day two a practice session is run in the morning, followed immediately by the Edox Pole Position (qualifying), also counting as a separate championship, and Race 1 in the afternoon.[4]

The Edox Pole Position, like the practice sessions, is run over the Grand Prix course, giving the crews a further opportunity to familiarize themselves with circuits and conditions, and to decide on set-up. It acts as the qualifier for the line-up for Race 1, with the Pole-sitter (fastest time) lining-up closest to the official start boat. The Edox Pole Position lasts for 45 minutes, with teams having to complete a minimum of one timed lap and allowed to return to the wet pits to make adjustments to set-up, but limited to a total of 10 minutes under the crane.[5]

On day three, a final practice session in the morning is followed in the afternoon by Race 2. Each race is started by a Nor-Tech 3600 supercat official pace boat, running at a controlled speed, which lead the boats from the wet pits and into a line-abreast under a yellow flag or amber flashing light, a green flag denoting the race start, with the finishing order of the Edox Pole Position dictating the line-up of the boats for Race 1 and the finishing order of Race 1, the start order for Race 2.[6]

Each race consists of approximately 11–15 laps and is 55–75 Nm in length, including one or two mandatory long laps.[7]

Winners

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[8]

Edition Year Driver Hull Motor
1 1964   Jim Wynne Wynne Daytona
2 1965   Richard Bertram Bertram Detroit Diesel
3 1966   Jim Wynne Wynne Daytona
4 1967   Don Aronow  Norris House Magnum Mercruiser
5 1968   Vincenzo Balestrieri  Don Pruett Magnum Mercruiser
6 1969   Don Aronow  Norris House Cary Mercruiser
7 1970   Vincenzo Balestrieri –   Jack Stuteville Cary Mercruiser
8 1971   William Wishnick –   Robert Moore Cigarette Mercruiser
9 1972   Bobby Rautbord –   Robert Moore Cigarette Mercruiser
10 1973   Carlo Bonomi  Richie Powers Cigarette Aeromarine
11 1974   Carlo Bonomi –   Richie Powers Cigarette Aeromarine
12 1975   Wallace Franz –   Robert Moore Bertram Aeromarine
13 1976   Tom Gentry  Richie Powers Cigarette Aeromarine
14 1977   Betty Cook  John Connor Scarab Mercruiser
15 1978   Francesco Cosentino  Alberto Diridoni Picchiotti Mercruiser
16 1979   Betty Cook  John Connor Cougar Mercruiser
17 1980   Michael Meynard –   Robert Idoni Cougar Mercruiser
18 1981   Jerry Jacoby  Keith Hazell Cigarette Hawk
19 1982   Renato Della Valle  Gianfranco Rossi CUV Mercruiser
20 1983   Tony Garcia –   Keith Hazell Cougar Rahilly Grady
21 1984   Alberto Petri  Franco Statua CUV Mercruiser
22 1985   A.J. Roberts –   Steve Curtis Cougar KS & W
23 1986   Antonio Gioffredi  Giovanni di Meglio Buzzi Aifo Iveco
24 1987   Steve Curtis  W. Falcon Cougar KS & W
25 1988   Fabio Buzzi  Romeo Ferraris Buzzi Seatek
26 1989   Stefano Casiraghi  Romeo Ferraris Buzzi Seatek
27 1990 not awarded
28 1991   Angelo Spelta  Maurizio Ambrogetti CUV Isotta Fraschini
29 1992   Walter Ragazzi  Jukka Mattila Skater Lightning
30 1993   Khalfan Harib –   Ed Colyer Victory Sterling
31 1994   Norberto Ferretti  Luca Ferrari Tencara Lamborghini
32 1995   Saeed Al Tayer –   Felix Serralles Victory Sterling
33 1996   Saeed Al Tayer –   Felix Serralles Victory Sterling
34 1997   Laith Pharaon  John Tomlinson Tencara Lamborghini
35 1998   Bjørn Rune Gjelsten  Steve Curtis Tencara Lamborghini
36 1999   Ali Nasser –   Randy Scism Victory Sterling
37 2000   Ali Nasser –   Khalfan Harib Victory Steak
38 2001   Mohammed Al Marri –   Saeed Al Tayer Victory Lamborghini
39 2002   Bjørn Rune Gjelsten  Steve Curtis Tencara Lamborghini
40 2003   Bjørn Rune Gjelsten  Steve Curtis Victory Lamborghini
41 2004   Bjørn Rune Gjelsten  Steve Curtis Victory Lamborghini
42 2005   Bård Eker  Steve Curtis Victory Lamborghini
43 2006   Bjørn Rune Gjelsten  Steve Curtis Victory Lamborghini
44 2007   Arif Saif Al Zafeen  Jean-Marc Sanchez Victory Lamborghini
45 2008   Mohammed Al Marri –   Nadir Bin Hendi Victory Victory
46 2009   Arif Saif Al Zafeen  Nadir Bin Hendi Victory Victory
47 2010   Arif Saif Al Zafeen  Nadir Bin Hendi Victory Victory
48 2011   Arif Saif Al Zafeen  Nadir Bin Hendi Victory Victory
49 2012   Arif Saif Al Zafeen  M. Al Marri Victory Victory
50 2013   Arif Saif Al Zafeen  M. Al Marri Victory Victory
51 2014   Arif Saif Al Zafeen  N. Bin Hendi Victory Victory
52 2015   Gary Ballough  John Tomlinson MTI Mercury Racing
53 2016   Arif Saf Al-Zafeen  Nadir Bin Hendi Victory Team Victory V12
54 2017[9]   Eisa Al Ali  Salem Al Aldidi Victory Team
55 2018   Shaun Torrente  Faleh Al-Mansoori Team Abu Dhabi 4
56 2019   Eisa Al Ali  Salem Al Aldidi Victory Mercury Racing
57 2021   Arif Saif Al-Zafeen  Nadir Bin Hendi Dubai Police
58 2022   Travis Pastrana  Steve Curtis Huski Racing

References

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  1. ^ "F1 over Tejo waters" (in Portuguese). Publico. Publico. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  2. ^ "UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship Official Website". Archived from the original on 8 September 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  3. ^ "Union internationale motonautique". www.uim.sport. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  4. ^ "Union internationale motonautique". www.uim.sport. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  5. ^ "Union internationale motonautique". www.uim.sport. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  6. ^ "Union internationale motonautique". www.uim.sport. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  7. ^ "Union internationale motonautique". www.uim.sport. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  8. ^ "UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship Official Website". Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  9. ^ "XCAT Dubai: no surprises in the end, as the title goes to same old Victory Team". 6 December 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2020.