The
weather is set fine for the World Offshore Powerboat Championship
in Plymouth Sound this weekend. The roar of the mighty engines is
back in the UK for the first time in six years and there'll be plenty
of thrills for the thousands of spectators.
Longer than a double decker bus and capable of travelling over the
water at 160 miles an hour.
These are the vital statistics of the powerboats which are in Plymouth
for Sunday's Grand Prix. This is the Formula One of the sea with costs
to match. Each of the boats and its back-up represents an investment
of around £2 million.
 |
|
The
spectacle of high speed racing will be in the waters off Plymouth
this weekend
|
The teams come
fresh from the last round in Norway, two weeks ago, when the British
triple world champion Steve Curtis crossed the line for his first
win of the season.
The crews, strapped tight into the tiny cockpits, have to put up with
the battering of the water and the high G-forces on the turns. With
the twin engines pumping out nearly 1,000 horsepower each boat will
consume over 200 gallons of fuel this weekend.
This whole thing is really is an environmentalist's nightmare. But
very spectacular. There's a chance to see the boats in action this
morning when practice gets underway. The race proper is due to start
in Plymouth Sound at 1.30pm tomorrow.
The
World Offshore Powerboat Championships
is just one of a number of events
taking place in Plymouth this weekend.
Find out what else is going on in and around
the city with BBC Devon Online.
This is a view of the races from one
of our webcams
|
|
