Paulo Ferreira, the president of the Portuguese Powerboat Federation is pressing ahead with the aim of hosting the opening rounds of the UIM F2 World Championship this season.

Ferreira told me today that his federation have lodged the required prize money with the UIM for the Vila Velha de Ródão and Ribadouro rounds of the championship.

We have made the payment to the UIM and are complying with all the rules they have set for this season.

The pilots will receive travel money for each round, and they will only have to travel to Portugal once as the races are back-to-back.

As President, I think of the best for the pilots, and I will always be on their side.

This news comes on the back of the Portuguese Powerboat Federation posting a profit of € 49,994 last year, bouncing back from a €129,000 loss in 2019.

Ferreira explained the turnaround:

This is due to the incredible support of our gold sponsors, Mercedes and Liqui Moly with the invaluable relationships with our partner municipalities.

Those partner municipalities this year, Vila Velha de Ródão will hold the UIM F2 season curtain raiser over the weekend of June 4-6 and Ribadouro will play host to the second round a week later.