Malta will once again host the inaugural Powerboat P1, of the UIM Powerboat P1 Championship. Pilots, crew, organisers and media will descend upon the Viset Waterfront in Valletta, along with at least 16 of Europe’s sleekest and most powerful racing crafts for the Grand Prix of Malta, which will take place between 13 and 14 May.
This was announced yesterday during a press conference organised by KBL Powerboat Management Ltd.
Following last year’s success, apart from top class motorsport, there will be more entertainment including a Saturday night firework display and additional race action from Thundercats, Jet Skis and Cyber 360 powerboats.
The Powerboat P1 Grand Prix of Malta will take place over two days, with an endurance race on Saturday 13 May, and a Rally race on Sunday. Both races will start outside Grand Harbour, with the Sliema Promenade providing one of the best vantage points, with racing taking place close to the shoreline.
The Grand Prix of Malta is supported by the Malta Tourism Authority, Go Mobile, and Air Malta, with other sponsors being Sign-it and Meridian Enterprises. It is estimated that the event will be followed by a TV audience of 200 million viewers with over 70 countries connected worldwide.
The deal concluded recently with the Malta Tourism Authority, ensures that the Powerboat P1 will be present in the Maltese islands until the year 2008.
One of the teams in the SuperSport category will be local team Chaudron, with Aaron and Audrien Ciantar introducing their new 33 foot powerboat designed and built by the family business. There will be other teams from Britain, Italy and Austria.
The programme of events will start on Thursday 11 May with the arrival of the race trucks to Dry Pits, followed by a press conference and a boat parade. The following day will see the first of two official testing sessions, followed by the Malta Championship for Cyber 360 powerboats. In the evening the dry pits will be open to the public.
On Saturday 13 May there will be the second official testing session between 9.30am and 11.30 am. At noon, the splendid Grand Harbour setting will provide the perfect scenario for the Thundercats and Jet Skis display. At 3pm the Powerboat P1 GP of Malta will start with the endurance event.
The endurance course for the Evolution Class will be over six laps of the race course of 5.6 nautical miles each, plus a circumnavigation of the Maltese islands for a total of 80 nautical miles. The SuperSport class will cover five laps plus the circumnavigation lap for a total of 74 nautical miles.
The events will come to an end on Sunday 14 May with a testing session in the morning, followed by the Thundercats and Jet Skis display. The Rally event for the P1 powerboats starts at 2pm, where the rally course for Evolution class will consist of ten laps round the race course with the SuperSport Class covering nine laps of the race course.