On the shores of Mumbai’s Marine Drive on Friday, Powerboat P1 announced that the P1 SuperStock series is going to land in India for the very first world championship event—the NEXA Powerboat P1 Indian Grand Prix of the Seas. The news of the event, which was foreshadowed nearly four years ago when Powerboat P1 announced plans to bring an international race to India (read the story), comes just a month away from the actual race that is expected to feature the best SuperStock racers from both the P1 SuperStock UK and USA championships, along with some new faces to be announced on February 16 in Mumbai.

A 14-boat is set to compete at the inaugural NEXA Powerboat P1 Indian Grand Prix of the Seas next month. Photo courtesy Powerboat P1

A total of seven American powerboat racers already have their sights focused on winning the inaugural race in India, including F1 H2O driver Shaun Torrente of Cape Coral, Fla., Robert “RJ” West of Manteca, Calif., George and Jeannette Ivey of Jacksonville, Fla., Frank Silva of Fort Pierce, Fla., Anthony Iannotta of Tampa, Fla., and William Enrique of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

According to the London-based marine motorsport promoter, this event marks a major stride in Powerboat P1’s quest to build a global racing stage to complement the national championships already established in the UK and USA.

“A series of firsts makes the NEXA P1 Powerboat historic,” said James Durbin, CEO of Powerboat P1. “We are building a global structure to propel the sport to the next level, and it starts in Mumbai.”

Asif Rangoonwala, the longtime chairman of Powerboat P1 called the partnership with Procam International for the launch of the NEXA Powerboat P1 Indian Grand Prix of the Seas a grand achievement.

“This debut race is the culmination of six years of dedicated work in developing a new series that delivers a clear and logical structure, which celebrates the best powerboat racers in the world and redefines sport in the maritime ecosystem,” Rangoonwala said. “Having reached the launch stage, it was vitally important to secure a race venue befitting the scale of this achievement and we believe that Mumbai, a world-class city in so many ways, is the ideal base for the start of this new journey. I have always marveled at the splendor of Marine Drive and am glad that this natural amphitheater will be brought to life with our P1 boats racing center stage for millions of fans of this sport.”

On Friday there were 14 P1 Panther boats passing through the Suez Canal en route to India to compete in the Mumbai race, which starts with free practice and qualifying on Friday. The event will include two 15-lap races on Saturday building up to a 20-lap grand finale on Sunday.

“We are privileged to partner with Powerboat P1, where we are seeding a global sport structure from Mumbai,” said Anil Singh, managing director of Procam International. “We are thankful to the Indian and global institutions, federations, governments, agencies and sponsors that are partnering with us, and will be indebted to them for their support.”

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