The Powerboat P1 world championship this year is to get underway with the Maltese event scheduled to be held in the first weekend of May from the Viset Valletta Waterfront in Grand Harbour.
The event will kick start the new season which is expected to be exciting as were the past seasons, perhaps even more, due to the fact that there will be more than 20 boats taking part, many of them with new hulls, new engines and supported by their manufacturers.
Addressing a news conference at Valletta Waterfront yesterday, Nathan Knight, Chief Executive Officer of UIM, said Malta had become a favourite destination where the teams are always warmly received and with local businesses strongly supporting the event.
He said the close collaboration of The Malta Tourism Authority, the Valletta Gateway Terminal and Viset Waterfront as well as Air Malta, makes it possible to organise a very successful event here.
He said the Evolution Class will include teams from Austria, Belgium, Britain and the United States who will be challenging the now established strong Italian teams that include Fainplast, Kerakoll, Kiton, Donzi and Thuraya.
In the SuperSport category, along with Maltese boat Chaudron, to be driven again by the brother and sister team of Aaron and Audrienne Ciantar, there will be Jackie Hunt, the first female powerboat world champion, as well as Sunseeker, US boat Hustler, and the Angelo Tedeschi team, who will be competing in a Maltese-built Chaudron hull.
Knight said the 2007 championship should again be a competitive event. He added that last year, the championship was so keen that it had been decided over the last Grand Prix.and that was confirmation that the sport had made a lot of progress during the last five years, since it was introduced.
It is the fourth time that the Maltese Grand Prix is being included in the programme, which is similar to that of last year.
Programme
The Malta weekend will start on Thursday 3 May with the arrival of the trucks and boats. On Friday there will be race scrutineering, support event practice in the morning and afternoon and P1 testing on a short course in early afternoon.
Saturday’s programme includes the first round of the championship at 3pm to be followed by a demonstration and the podium presentation at 4.45pm.
Sunday morning at 11, there will be the boat parade. Round 2 of the championship will be held at 3pm to be followed again by the podium presentation at 4.45pm.
Also planned is the round Malta race which should be held on Saturday, weather permitting.
The championship is contested over 12 rounds, ending in the Algarve in Portugal. The races are expected to be fiercely contested as well as being spectacular.
In just four years, this sport has become a world class racing series which is attracting a television audience of around 100 million. Apart from the TV audience, last year, an estimated 300,000 people attended a Powerboat P1 event and it is not surprising that long-term franchise arrangements are being established with aspirational marine venues across Europe looking to raise profiles and attract new audiences.
The calendar’s events are in Naples, Italy (26-27 May), Travemunde, Germany (30 June-1 July); Cowes, UK (25-26 August), Spain (15-16 September) and Portimao, Portugal (29-30 September).
Knight said the world organisation was trying to build its home here in Malta’s fantastic Grand Harbour. Last year we had met the Prime Minister, Dr Lawrence Gonzi, and discussed together at least two important points. “Some locations are being studied, among that of the old grain terminal. The Waterfront cannot be made use of as a home because of the frequent visits of cruise liners.
“Another issue which we discussed was what we have become accustomed to call ‘the Malta tax’. It is quite expensive to bring the boats to Malta and it is perhaps the only European Union country which levies such a ‘tax’.
“We also want the public to feel part of the event. At the Waterfront, during the three days of the event, there will be an exhibition including a mini boat-show and entertainment.”
Aaron Ciantar, speaking on behalf of the Ciantar family, that includes his sister driver Audrienne and their father Charles, said their target this year was to do better than last year. “We hope to build on what we achieved last year. We are confident that the modifications made to the engine will enable us to overcome last year’s obstacles. We have already made progress due to the fact that we have managed to sell a boat to one of our competitors, Angelo Tedeschi. We hope to continue promoting our boat during this year’s championship. We feel that we have all the ingredients to be competitive,” he said.
Also speaking at the press conference were Jimmy Attard of Air Malta, Paul Abela of the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre and Leslie Vella of the Malta Tourism Authority. They all said they supported the event which gives Malta a very good image abroad and they all wished success to the organisers.