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

Category	Twin 1100hp engine Catamaran
Country	Worldwide
Engine suppliers	Mercury Marine Racing division
Teams' champion	2019 Champion Team Victory Team Driver: Eisa Al Ali Throttle-man: Salem Al Adidi
Official website	P1Offshore.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.

History

Class 1 Grand Prix Dubai 2012

The Boats

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

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

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Winners

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	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