The mystery of the red and yellow balls bobbing over the waters off the Marine Drive promenade finally revealed itself to curious Mumbaikars on Friday when twelve P1 Panther Powerboats made their first competitive appearance on this specially designed water racetrack.
While the boulevard wasn’t exactly packed with people, dozens stood along the concrete stretch, their eyes trained on the racing vessels that had just commenced on their first leg of the three-day Nexa P1 Powerboat Indian Grand Prix of the Seas.
These were just the time trials. When the real action on Day Two begins, the bystanders will have a lot more to cheer for over the weekend. This is the first-ever international powerboat racing event to hit the city’s coastline.
Over the next two days, six teams and their internationally celebrated pilots and navigators will be zipping across the waters of the Arabian Sea off the Marine Drive promenade in two races of 15 laps each on Saturday , followed by the grand finale on Sunday comprising 20 laps. Each team, consisting of two P1 Panther Powerboats, manned by a pilot and a navigator, will compete on a 5.2km racetrack on water, a first in powerboat racing, that will be implemented across all Grand Prix of Seas events henceforth. The teams will be represented by team Ambassadors-women-who have left their impression across oceans in international pageants.
If the boat with the fastest qualifying lap on Friday starts Race 1 on Saturday at pole position followed by all subsequent boats in descending order, the grid position will be reversed for Race 2, with the boat that finished last in Race 1 taking pole position.Boats with the highest cumulative points from both races, will determine the start grid for the finale on Sunday .