Powerboat racing in Macau - inaugural event

Macau Powerboat Championship 2019 © Lowell M

The inaugural Asia Powerboat Championship event will be held from 3-5 May 2019 in Macau at Fisherman’s Wharf and the Rocks Hotel, where a Race Village will be based.

Twelve world-class drivers will be competing in this thrilling high-speed sporting event that features the all-new Shakespeare T750 racing boats. Martin Lai, the world’s only Chinese powerboat racing champion, is heading up the programme along with his team of professional race organisers and pilots.

Organised by the Asia Powerboat Association (APA) and sponsored by the Macau Legend Development Group, admission to the three-day event is free to the public, and racing will be held in the open water just off the point from the Rocks Hotel - with the best spectator viewing point being in front of the Macau Science Centre.

One of the top guns racing is Miles Jennings from the UK who has won more than 50 National titles, and is a four-times World Champion and two-time Harmsworth Trophy winner. Other international competitors include Mette Brandt Bjerknæs (Norway), the first female winner of the Endurance World Championship in Circuit Class 2, Campbell Jenkins (Australia), Erko Aabrams (Estonia), Maurizio Carando (Italy), along with David Sheldon, Andy Wilby, Barry Culver, Ricky Hill, and Glynn Norvall - all from the United Kingdom. Local racing fans will be able to support CK Siu, who was part of the Asia team that competed in the A Class Marathon World Cup in 2011. A wild-card Macau driver will also compete.

At the event presentation press conference last week, Officer of the Day, Rory Power, acknowledged Macau’s rich history of motorsports, and noted that Macau “will be a key player in the future development of powerboat racing in Asia”.

The competition will be raced in T750 class powerboats, known as ‘go-karts on water,’ powered by Japan’s famous Tohatsu 50hp outboard engines, and capable of taking the ultra lightweight boats to an average speed of 56mph (90kph). “Safety is always our no 1 priority, and we are committed to promoting and developing powerboat training and racing around the region,” said Power.

The Championship kicks off at 11.00am at the Race Village on Friday 3 May with an Opening Ceremony, VIP Reception, Lion Dance and Introduction to the Racers. Qualifying laps and pole position competitions will be held on the Friday afternoon. Racing starts in earnest at 11.30am on Saturday morning, with two more races in the afternoon along with a Powerboat Beauty Pageant and Prize-giving. Sunday’s programme includes three more races, each race is 20 minutes, and the 12 competitors score cumulative points to determine the winner of the Macau Asia Powerboat Championship. The Overall Prize-giving will take place on Sunday at 3.30pm at Fisherman’s Wharf.