Editing Offshore powerboat racing (section)

===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.