Class 1 World Powerboat Championship

The fabled Miami-Nassau races were hailed as ‘the world’s most rugged ocean races’ and brought powerboat racing to the attention of the general public and signaled the beginning of modern offshore racing. These races also provided the sport with its first hero – Sam L. Griffith.

Class 1 Grand Prix Dubai 2012

The first Miami-Nassau race, run on 6 May 1956 was the brainchild of American race car promoter Capt. Sherman ‘Red’ Crise and yacht designer, "Dick" Richard Bertram. Of the eleven intrepid pioneers who entered this now famous 184-mile race, eight went the distance to complete the race. The first boat home after nine hours 20 minutes, at an average speed of 19.7 mph, was the Griffith-Bertram entry, Doodles II, a 34 ft wooden Chris Craft with two 215 hp Cadillac Crusader engines.

Griffith was a larger than life character who made the sport his own in those early years. He was regarded as ‘the man’ and before his untimely death in 1963 he would win four Miami-Nassau races, break Gar Wood's 41-year-old Miami-New York powerboat record and capture the Around Long Island Marathon. Many have since sought to emulate his skills and when Class 1 came of age in 1964 with a UIM sanctioned World Drivers’ Championship it was his name that was selected to adorn the trophy that is today the sport's biggest prize.

During the 1950s the Americans had the sport to themselves laying claim to the three major offshore races in existence, the Miami-Nassau, the Around Long Island Marathon and the Miami-Key West. But in the early 60s Europe entered the fray to challenge the Americans. Publisher Sir Max Aitken, inspired by the Miami-Nassau, established the Cowes-Torquay in the English Channel on August 19, 1961, with victory in the inaugural 179-mile race going to Tommy Sopwith in Thunderbolt.

A year later the Italians added their challenge with the staging of the 198-mile Viareggio-Bastia-Viareggio, which was won by an Italian ex-navy submarine commander, Attilio Petroni, in A’ Speranziella. Over the next thirty years an enduring struggle ensued between the three founding nations for racing supremacy.

In the 20 years following its recognition by the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) and the inception of the Sam Griffith Trophy in 1964, the Americans were at the forefront of the sport's technological development.

Jim Wynne, Dick Bertram and Don Aronow led the way with the Daytona, Mercruiser and Aeromarine powerplants reigning supreme. During this period the Americans posted thirteen champions and the Italians six. Count Vincenzo Balestrieri Cosimelli, from Rome, Italy, was the first non-American to win the coveted trophy in 1968. Balestrieri repeated in 1970, winning his second title. Wally Franz, a Brazilian, won the title in 1975 with an American boat, engine, transmission and throttleman. In 1978 Italy's Francesco Cosentino took the title in a boat designed by Don Shead and built on the Mediterranean at Viareggio, the spiritual home of Italian offshore powerboat racing, marking the first time that a Class 1 World Champion won the title in equipment not of American origin, nor assembled and tended by American engineers.

In the 1970s the pendulum swung to witness a period of European design dominance. Don Shead's aluminum monohulls from Enfield, Italian manufacturers Picchiotti and CUV and the James Beard – Clive Curtis Cougar catamarans set the pace. The European resurgence was completed by the genius of Fabio Buzzi, whose quantum leap into fiberglass hulls, turbo-charged Aifo Iveco and Seatek diesel engines, and integral surface drive transmissions through his FB Corse concern proved unbeatable.

The decade of the 90s witnessed the emergence of the Michael Peters-designed, Tencara and Victory built hulls that dominated the honors lists with the American Sterling, the Italian Lamborghini petrol and the Seatek diesel engines sharing the power battle.

In 1992 the Championship reverted to a multi-event competition and in the following years the diversity of nationalities claiming the World Drivers’ Championship swelled in numbers including America, England, Italy, Monaco, Norway, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Thirty three titles have been won by Americans, 19 by Italians, 15 by competitors from the UAE, eight by Britons, six by Norwegians, two by competitors from Monaco and Puerto Rico and one each by representatives from Brazil, Finland and Saudi Arabia. Five champions have taken their titles as novices in their first season in Class 1 racing and four driver/throttleman partnerships have managed back-to-back titles: Bonomi/Powers in 1973/1974, S Al Tayer/Serralles in 1995/1996, Gjelsten/Curtis in 2002/2003 and Al Zafeen/Bin Hendi in 2009/2010.

Gjelsten and Curtis are the only partnership to win the title five times – including the hat-trick 2002/2003/2004 – and Steve Curtis the only man to clinch the world title eight times. Nadir Bin Hendi is the only other racer to win a hat-trick of World titles. The world title was not awarded in 1990, as a mark of respect for Stefano Casiraghi who died while defending his title in Monaco.

Twenty-three titles have been won in monohulls and 24 in catamarans. Of these winning boats, 35 have been built out of fiberglass, eight in aluminum and four in wood. Petrol engines have powered 40 winners and diesels the remaining seven.

Three early titles went to boats using conventional propeller shafts but the more efficient, fully trim-able Mercruiser stern drives have accounted for twenty titles while the more recently introduced surface drives make up the remainder.

Propeller design has seen the early three-bladed bronze wheels superseded by stainless steel props of up to six blades for maximum efficiency and a top team might carry twelve pairs of props of differing pitches and diameters to accommodate differing sea conditions, fuel loads and handling characteristics.

Speeds have altered beyond all recognition. In the early 1960s, races were regularly won at averages of below 30 mph (48 km/h) but it was the advent of catamarans in the 1980s that allowed the magic barrier of 100 mph (160 km/h) to be regularly exceeded and now, winning averages of 125 mph (200 km/h) or more are not unusual.

This quest for speed has produced boats, engines and transmission systems which are more sophisticated and the use of Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) with advanced composites using Kevlar and carbon fibre has made them safer.

The crews of yesteryear stood up to the elements as they struggled with navigation, throttles and the wheel, taking a battering from the elements with little protection. Today's drivers and throttle-men enjoy the advantages of being strapped securely into body-hugging race seats within safety cells beneath lexan canopies borrowed from the aerospace industry, while monitoring their progress on equally advanced Global Positioning Systems (GPS).

Yesterday's racers were amateur sportsmen and women, pioneers who looked the part. Today's crews wear fireproof overalls, driving boots, have helmets plumbed with intercommunicating radios and compete in boats that only go afloat to test or race and are prepared and maintained by a crew of professional engineers. [2]

Weighing in at around 5 tonnes, each boat 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. The quest for speed has produced boats, engines and transmission systems which are inevitably more sophisticated, and the use of Fiber reinforced polymer(FRP) with advanced composites using kevlar and carbon fiber has made them safer.

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.

Each boat has a two-man crew; the driver who navigates and steers the boat and a throttle-man who dictates the speed by controlling the throttles and the trim.

It is a combination that requires total trust – imagine driving a car and the person beside you has control of the accelerator – and a close working relationship. Spectators may imagine that the crew simply jump into the cockpit, and it's the guys who drive quickest that can win. A simple enough theory, but one that doesn't take into account the skills and professionalism of pilots who regularly hurtle across the waves at over 160 mph/250kmh.

Both pilots work closely with their pit crews to determine the race set-up: 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 win or lose not only a race, but also a 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.[3]

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.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6]

Each race consists of approximately 11–15 laps and is 55–75 Nm in length, including one or two mandatory long laps.[7]

[8]

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	Michel 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[9]	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