Steve Curtis and Travis Pastrana are the 2022 UIM Class 1 World Champions.
The Huski Racing Anglo American pairing secured 90 points over the five-race series which were held in Cocoa Beach, Sarasota, Michigan City, St Pete and Clearwater.
It was expected that the series would also include 3 races at Key West.
Those races on November 9th (tomorrow), the Friday 11th and Sunday 13th will now be run as the Race World Offshore Class 1 Key West championship.
Azam Rangoonwala, the Powerboat P1 CEO explained:
The UIM Class 1 World Championship is run by us at Powerboat P1 and this has been year zero of a long-term plan with the UIM. We have viewed this season as a building year.
Key West is an amazing venue, and it should be an exciting one-off championship for fans and the competitors.
The decision was welcomed by the new World Champion Curtis:
Key West has been a standalone event for 40 years or so.
There is no reason for us to hold back for finishing places to take the championship.
We can now race and really have some fun!
Thomas Kurth, UIM Gen Sec told PRW :
After a series of “Test races organized in the United States last year, 2022 is the first year the new Promoter of the UIM Class 1, Powerboat P1, has organized the UIM World Championship since the last edition in 2015. With the exception of three boats, who have been racing under UIM Regulations in the past, other Boats participating in the 2022 UIM Class 1 World Championship at five Events to date have been struggling to fully meet all the regulatory requirements and in light of a series of questions that emerged after the Clearwater Event about rules and regulations, medical requirements, safety, licensing and more, the Promoter thought it was wise to end the UIM Class 1 season at this stage and to allow the participating Teams to have their boats and equipment reviewed in view of a successful World Championship in 2023, while racing in Key West for a special Key West Championship under APBA rules.