Offshore powerboat racing started in Europe back in 1961 when Sir Max Aitken, a former Battle of Britain pilot and the owner of the Daily Express ran a race from Cowes to Torquay.

62 years later the event is still going strong, and this weekend competitors will tackle an arduous 179.8 nm course from Cowes to Torquay and back.

The race will count as Round 5 of the 2023 UKOPRA Offshore Championship and will boast the biggest fleet of Class 1 boats (12) in the world.

Rob Lockyer’s Team 25 – Good Boy Vodka leads the championship with a 500-point advantage over Drew Langdon and Miles Jennings in Silverline.

For this race Lockyer will have his usual co-driver Scott Younger with him but has added 2 crew members from the US, Alex Pratt and Shane Franks.

Pratt the founder of Good Boy Vodka has raced in an MTI catamaran in the UIM Class 1 series this season, ironically with Jennings – His biggest rival this Sunday.

Entry lists, timings and other details can be found on https://cowestorquaycowes.co.uk/