Ocean Grand Prix World Powerboat Championship countdown

by Powerboating.be on 7 Jun 2011 Ocean Grand Prix World Powerboat Championship 2011 season will be underway next weekend in Malta with teams from Europe and North America set to compete in the historic first event.

Formerly the Powerboat P1 World Championship, the event will now get started under new management and an improved global TV deal that will see some of the most powerful boats in the world with top speeds reaching up to 110mph take to the waters around Valletta.

The action promises to be fast, competitive and spectacular. With the historic walled Citadel, a world heritage site, providing one of the most stunning backdrops of any major sporting event, the new season is keenly awaited by the teams, the public and Dr. Pio Valletta, Chairman of Championship promoters, International Sea Racing Ltd.

'After more than a year of planning, the first-ever Ocean Grand Prix event is now just a week away,' explains Dr. Valletta.

'It has been a difficult process, picking up the pieces and rebuilding confidence, but we are heading in the right direction, supported by the Maltese Government and powerboating's world governing body, the UIM. Now that we have secured the future of this much-loved sport, our aim is to establish the OGP World Championship as one of the world's great sporting spectacles. Next weekend the Malta Ocean Grand Prix will mark the first real step on this path.'

For a decade Malta has played host to international endurance racing with large enthusiastic crowds a feature of the racing along with unpredictable seas that create the most demanding conditions for boats and pilots. The first action starts on Friday 10th June with a sprint for pole into Valletta harbour, the first two rounds of the inaugural Ocean Grand Prix World Championship take place at 4:00pm local time on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th June 2011.

Ocean Grand Prix World Powerboat Championship Event website