Editing Offshore powerboat racing (section)

==British offshore powerboat races==

===The Needles Trophy===
The Needles Trophy was first presented in 1932 and every year until 1938. A break until 1951, 1952, 1954, 1956. Then another break until 1967 until 1989 inclusive.

===Cowes Torquay Cowes===
The Cowes-Torquay was launched by [[Sir Max Aitken, 2nd Baronet]], as the first Offshore Powerboat race in Europe in 1961.

It is the longest-running offshore powerboat race in the world.<ref name=CTC>{{cite web| url=http://cowestorquaycowes.co.uk/cowes-winners/|publisher=Cowes Classic| title=Cowes Classic Winners| access-date=4 October 2015}}</ref>

Initially sponsored by the [[Daily Express]] newspaper, its success encouraged several countries in Europe and the Middle East to follow suit. Hence it can rightly claim to have introduced offshore powerboat racing to the rest of the world outside the United States where the modern sport was launched with the first Miami-Nassau Race in 1956.<ref name=CTC />

In 1964, the Union Internationale Motonautique, the world governing authority for powerboat racing, introduced the World Championship and a Sam Griffith Memorial Trophy''',''' a memorial to Sam Griffith, the American founder of modern offshore racing.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sam Griffiths Cup Winners 1964 - Present |url=https://class1world.com/Sam-Griffiths-Cup |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=Class1World.com}}</ref>

In order to qualify as a championship heat, the race format was therefore changed and instead of finishing at Tor-quay, the fleet returned to Cowes, a pattern that remains to this day.

The race is organised by the British Powerboat Racing Club.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishpowerboatracingclub.co.uk/|title=British Powerboat Racing Club}}</ref>

Event Director Martin Levi, son of powerboat designer, [[Sonny Levi]] took over the running of the event in 2016.

=== The Cornish '100' === 
A Class 3, Offshore, open Cockpit race, held between 1964 and 1968. The course ran between Falmouth and Plymouth. In the 1966 race only four of eighteen boats finished the course. Originally, the course started at Black Rock, [[Falmouth, Cornwall|Falmouth]], to [[Plymouth]] and back with marks at the [[Manacles]] rock and [[Looe Island]]. From 1967, the course started in Plymouth. It was a straight run from Plymouth to the Black Rock, Falmouth, and then a return to Plymouth, an approximate distance of 100 miles. Notable winners include [[Tommy Sopwith (racing driver)|Tommy Sopwith]] in 1965 and [[Fiona Gore]] in 1968.

=== The Round-Britain Powerboat Race ===
The Round-Britain Powerboat has been run on three occasions.
*Winner 1969: [[Timo Mäkinen]] – Avenger Too
*Winner 1984: [[Fabio Buzzi]] – White Iveco
*Winner 2008: [[Pateras Vassilis]] – Blue FPT

==== 1969 Daily Telegraph – B.P. Round Britain Powerboat Race ====
1459 miles, divided into 10 racing stages and one slow cruise; flat calm seas under blazing skies, a thick pea-souper fog, and a rough coastal run; 42 assorted boats ranging in power from 100&nbsp;hp to 1,000&nbsp;hp.{{Citation needed|date=September 2015}}

The most outstanding feature of this marathon race was undoubtedly the freak weather, it was called by most participants, for the first 700 miles to Oban the conditions were as near perfect as they could be, and the fog on the Inverness-Dundee run, and the rough seas of the Dundee-Whitby leg were greeted almost with glee.

Avenger Too, crewed by [[Timo Mäkinen]], Pascoe Watson and Brian Hendicott, the Round Britain race was a success story from start to finish. They won the first leg to Falmouth and the second leg to Milford Haven; on the run to Douglas they were third, but still retained their overall lead. Only once during the entire race were they pushed from that leading position, and they had such a handsome lead that they could afford to tuck in behind a slower radar-equipped boat on the foggy run to Dundee, and still emerge the leaders by two hours.

Their final victory, in a total time of just over 39 hours, represented an average speed, sustained over 1,381 nautical miles of racing, of 37.1 knots.

==== 1984 Everest Double Glazing – Round Britain Powerboat Race ====
Once again the course for this great race was going to imitate the 1969 version. Organised by ex Powerboat Racer Tim Powell and after two years in concept and design Tim managed to obtain sponsorship from Everest Double Glazing which ensured the success of the race. With famous racers such as Fabio Buzzi, Lady Arran, Colin Gervase-Brazier, Peter Armstrong, Ted Toleman and Renato DelaValle and many others the fleet set off on 14 July 1984, once again from Portsmouth on its 1,400 journey around the British Isles.{{Citation needed|date=September 2015}}

The two main contenders were Buzzi cruiser-based White Iveco, raced by company owner Fabio Buzzi, and Renato della Valle's Ego Lamborghini. White Iveco was a single-step monohull powered by four Iveco diesels, while Ego was a Don Shead designed 38&nbsp;ft (11.6 m) hull powered by a pair of 7-litre, marinised V12 Lamborghini petrol engines. Weather conditions for the first leg were poor and of the 28 starters at Portsmouth, only 18 boats reached Falmouth. By the end of the second leg only 12 remained. By the halfway stage, White Iveco led on elapsed time with Ego Lamborghini behind.

British hopes lay in the hands of Double Two Shirts, a 40&nbsp;ft (12.1 m) Shead-designed, Planatec-built racer with Sabre Diesel power, lying two hours back. An indication of the performance of these powerboats can be gauged from the Dundee to Whitby leg. Over a distance of 157 miles White Iveco averaged 69 knots, though Buzzi dismissed this with a typical Italian shrug saying, "In Italy this is just a cruising boat." However, at Ramsgate, while White Iveco was being craned out of the water for an overhaul she slipped from her cradle, landed on a bollard and gashed her hull. A feverish 36 hours followed while repairs were made so that she could complete the final leg. At the finish she was in first place with Colin Gervase-Braziers "The Legend" second and Ego Lamborghini third.

Significantly, Motorboats and Yachting commented that the number of retirements demonstrated that though undoubtedly fast, some Class I craft had proved themselves to be unsafe in anything other than calm waters.

==== The Fiat Powertrain 2008 Round Britain Powerboat Race ====
{{tone|section|date=October 2024}}
After a period of 24 years another ex-powerboat racer and businessman now retired, Mike Lloyd, made the decision in 2006 that this great race should be brought back to life. He and his small team, including Peter Myles, fought for two and half years against strong opposition by environmentalists to ensure it did take place. The race very nearly didn’t happen as at the time no sponsors were forthcoming but at a meeting of many of the proposed racers in September of 2007 it was agreed to double the entry fee which guaranteed that the race would take place. Supported by this fleet of forty-seven extremely keen competitors, Mike Lloyd and his team, with the help of Fiat Powertrain flagged the fleet away from the start line off Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth at 09.30am on 21 June 2008 on this eight leg ten day race.
<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mby.com/news/2008-round-britain-results-11039|title=2008 Round Britain Results|date=23 June 2008}}</ref>

Fabio Buzzi had decided to take part in his old but famous four engined Red FPT as had the famous racer Hannes Bohinc in Wettpunkt. There was a strong contingent of three boats from Goldfish of Norway and competitors from Sweden, Greece, Germany, Scotland and Ireland.

As in the previous races the weather at the start was awful and once the fleet of 47 boats had negotiated the many excited support boats within the Solent and entered the serious seas off the Needles the fleet knew they were in for a tough leg. Before reaching the Solent Fabio Buzzi retired with damaged drives and the infamous Lyme Bay between Portland Bill and Torquay took out several more including Wettpunkt and also the German owned and driven Blue Marlin which actually sank in Lyme Bay in 50 metres of water. All crew however were rescued and returned to land safe. The leg to Plymouth was won by a British crew Silverline (owned and driven by offshore racer Drew Langdon with the Norwegians "Lionhead" second and the surprise of the day the Greek boat Blue FPT third. The 2nd leg next day had to be cancelled because of huge seas in the Bristol Channel so the Fleet made its way by road to Milford Haven in South Wales to be ready for their run to Bangor in Northern Ireland the following day.

This great race of some 1200nm’s, was eventually won by the Greek team of Vassilis Pateras in Blue FPT, with the Norwegian Goldfish boat Lionhead crewed by its captain PAl Sollie coming second and the Swedish boat Vilda owned and Captained by Mikko Oikari coming third overall. 

The prize giving party was held in the grounds of the ancient Royal Naval Club and Royal Albert Yacht Club in Portsmouth the evening of the final 200nm leg from Lowestoft in a huge tent which held some 800 racers and supporters who wined and dined the night away until the early hours.

The Round Britain Powerboat Race is the last remaining long distance offshore powerboat race of beyond 1,000 miles anywhere in the world and is a real test of strength, determination, speed and shows how the best results can be reached by boats that are well built, able to maintain consistently high performance levels, thanks to the reliability of their technical equipment.

It’s highly likely that the 2008 Round Britain Powerboat Race will in all probability be the last as the environmental lobby around the coast of the UK is now very strong. We can only hope that someone will pick up the mantle left by the only man alive to have organised one of these huge events, Mike Lloyd, and attempt another re-run of this great race sometime in the future.