scotty uk

the word is in a meeting today in london that p1 have cancelled all p1 races ,the end of supersport and evo is a crying shame

scotty uk

raceboatinternational.com/index. April 2010 – At an extraordinary meeting on the outskirts of London today, Powerboat P1 promoter Asif Rangoonwala announced that as from today, the UIM World Powerboat P1 Championships for Evolution and Super Sport has been cancelled. We do not know the full reasoning behind Mr Rangoonwala’s decision but it was almost certainly financial but he has assured all those team owners who have invested heavily in P1 that he will do everything possible to assist them as long as it does not involve money

Pierre Colpin

http://www.powerboatp1.com/news/en/679/article.aspx

Powerboat P1

The Changing Face of the Powerboat P1 World Championship

Racers and Fans,

As often happens in this sport, speculation and rumors tend to dominate the communications channels, so I believe that it is important to give you as much information as possible from the source.

Today the Powerboat P1 World Championship held a meeting with the European teams outlining a restructuring of the business and the championship platform for the 2010 season in Europe. The meeting detailed changes to the event schedule for the season, and laid out a direction for the future growth of the sport.

Asif Rangoonwala, Chairman of Powerboat P1 Management, arranged the meeting and flew in the teams for what was described as a Teams “Extraordinary” Meeting. Eighteen race team members were present in London for the announcement, and the subsequent discussion session. There they learned the details and reasoning for the re-direction of resources, stemming largely from internal and external economic circumstances. Rangoonwala cited issues with the general economic climate worldwide, event promoter contractual commitments, and the commitments of some teams.

“I am fully committed to continuing the development and growth of the sport, but we need to take a step back before we can take a leap forward,” said Rangoonwala. “We have made an investment of over €30m over the past 7 years, with an additional investment of over €2.2m this year alone. We need a new strategy, and to build the foundation of the business so that it is sustainable with long term stability.”

A key element of that direction and strategy moving forward is the expansion into the North American market, where there are greater commercial and racing opportunities

The simple fact is, the USA and European markets are substantially different, particularly in the marine industry. Europe, a year behind the US, is now experiencing what the US did in 2009. The US also has a great advantage as we have the venues, the racers and the fan base.

The technology of the US manufacturers has revolutionized the sport, and is proven by the competition in both classes for the past several years. Donzi, Outerlimits, Fountain, Cigarette…they are indeed dominant in the sport and have seen their numbers in European sales grow as a result. The US changed the face of European racing and European racing impressed the Americans involved.

From a practical point of view, there are far more offshore racers, fans, and marine manufacturers in the USA, and that makes the Powerboat P1 race model a viable and sustainable platform. That is especially true when the additional Powerboat P1 principles of parity and competition rules are incorporated.

Powerboat P1 Management will continue to invest in the growth and development of powerboat racing in Europe and is projected to invest significantly in the USA this year; working toward the plans that we have discussed with teams and organizations for 2011 and beyond.

Powerboat P1 USA will continue to work with teams and organizations to expand the Powerboat P1 race platform, focusing on limited classes, professional teams, and an event format that is world class in nature. It will also work to incorporate the other platforms outlined in the statement provided by Rangoonwala, including SuperStock and Aquabike, providing event producers and organizations opportunities to benefit from multiple disciplines and an ocean-friendly festival format over multiple days.

We look forward to a great season of racing with the SVL class, and hope to be able to incorporate a similar contingency prize program for the twin engine boats as well.

As Asif said in his announcement, “…Powerboat P1 remains fully committed to the Championship.” His statement is supported by the fact that no one in the recent or distant past has ever invested as much in this sport.

Powerboat P1 has a huge stake in the future success of Powerboat racing, and it is going to protect that investment by directing resources where they can have the maximum impact. They are making decisions that have long-term business implications with specific strategic objectives. This is great news for US teams and fans since the US market and direction is pivotal to the overall business objectives.

Don’t let the European announcement dissolution you or dampen your enthusiasm for racing! The Powerboat P1 community is pulling together to address pressing business issues overseas but continues its confidence in the overall sport, the North American market and racers.

I encourage you to read the announcement from Powerboat P1 www.powerboatp1.com, and watch for future updates. We will keep you in the loop and look forward to your continued involvement.

Martin Sanborn
Director, North American Operations

JohnnyStingray

So, said with only a few straight words; the european Evo & SS races is cancelled for 2010, and it will be moved to the US? Right???

Too bad... Absolutly TOO BAD... And I`m just a powerboat racing fan, from Europe, who loves to go to see these boats race...
Wonder how the european teams feel right now...

Well...we still have the Class1 to go see...with 6-7 boats...for now...

ufix1

Both fans and teams are pissed off, trust me I know what i'm saying....

ufix1

Both fans and teams are pissed off, trust me I know what i'm saying.... butt ............ well..

Xtremeracing

I know a lot of US teams ran the series for yrs. maybe now some of the European teams will run the US series. I'm sure the equipment is ready to go. Not like we have a shortage of races . Be awesome to see all the V bottoms running together.

liam

The bad PR in all this, it is like left less to month before the season started. Many teams have been preparing the boats some also buying new or building a new boat.
And then if you are in financial trouble why buy the Superstock championship? Why make a deal to do the Syracuse race on Eurosport live?
Dont get me wrong both of these are great ideas, but when things turn ugly you just have to put a cruise control to your spending and may be slowing it down, kinda like they did last year. In the end we still had a great P1 championship in 2009. Maybe one of the best in the last three years considering how both the classes where decided.

Pierre Colpin