Powerboat P1 keeps focus on race budgets

12:18 PM Mon 19 Jan 2009 GMT

Class-1 World Powerboat Championship &copy

Powerboat P1 chairman Asif Rangoonwala has said that championship organisers are focused are keeping entry and running costs for teams and crews under control, even as the series expands to new venues outside of Europe. This follows the general trend of other motorsport championships in the current global economic downturn.

In an exclusive blog for PowerboatP1.com, Rangoonwala has talked about how new race venues in Bahrain, Turkey and Sweden are key to expanding the series outside of its traditional base in Europe and the Mediterranean.

But he explained that this expansion - and the potential for more exotic venues even further afield - had been balanced with the need to ensure that the costs of competing in Powerboat P1 were still effective for teams, manufacturers and sponsors when balanced with their marketing aims and potential audience.

'We've had a number of different opportunities to consider from countries as diverse as China, Ukraine, Libya, Brazil, Croatia and the Netherlands, so I'm sure the teams will appreciate just how complex a task it has been to make the right decisions on race venues with their and the championship's interests in mind,' he said.

'We are acutely aware that the series cannot outgrow the teams because, at the end of the day, we are in this together and need to grow at a sustainable rate. Obviously the ongoing financial crisis affects everybody - not just the teams. It affects the ability of people to go to races, the ability of the host cities to pay a race fee. It affects corporate hospitality and even affects our television viewers in various ways.

In the past few weeks the global financial crisis has impacted on the motorsport world with Honda in Formula 1, Subaru and Suzuki in World Rally and most recently Kawasaki in MotoGP all feeling the pressure and taking the decision to quit their respective series.

'We are at the mercy of the overall situation and the teams and Powerboat P1 must make sure we do everything possible to keep our costs under control. With this in mind, we've defined a package of benefits in the 2009 Team Agreement to assist entrants. This includes fuel at Grand Prix of the Sea events, flight and hotel rooms and hospitality, as well as assistance for the substantial costs to get all the teams from Europe to Bahrain for the season-opener in late March.

'We are all very much aware that 2009 is going to be a challenging year for all businesses, but I believe that Powerboat P1 is well placed to continue to grow on all fronts as we embark on the next exciting stage of our journey.'

www.powerboatp1.com/

by Powerboat P1 media

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