Elite powerboat racing returns to the city after more than 30 years away

When it comes to sport, the streets of London have seen it all: Olympic Games, marathons, stages of the Tour de France, the Formula E championships. The capital’s roads have played host to them all. But when it comes to London’s river, the Thames, things have been a bit quieter, until now. But it is about to get very noisy indeed.

This weekend, for the first time in more than three decades, London will host top-class international powerboat racing, as the second round of the 2018 F1H2O championship takes place in Royal Victoria Dock in East London, with livestream coverage of the racing on China Daily’s social media platforms throughout Sunday.

The event is being copromoted by F1H20 and Chinese sports promotion company Tianrong Sports, which also backs the CTIC F1 Shenzhen China powerboat team. Speaking during London Tech Week from London’s ExCel Arena in Royal Victoria Dock, Li Haojie, the chairman of Tianrong, said he was delighted to be bringing the sport back to London after such a lengthy absence, and he said he hopes spectators will have a thrilling experience.

“London is the world’s sports capital, none of the high-level sports should be absent here, and having this event here improves awareness of the development of East London,” he said. “Like the ExCel Arena, the race is an important part of the development of this area for the future.”

Britain has a rich history and huge enthusiasm for motor sport on the track, and Li said he hopes the same audience will be attracted to powerboat racing.

“There are two F1s – one with cars, and one with boats. They both represent the highest level in their sport, but, on our planet, there is a lot more water than there is land,” he said. “Britain is a country with a rich history in sports like powerboating, but people might have forgotten that as it hasn’t been in London for so long, so, if we bring it back, hopefully people will get more interested and in the future, they will get more excited about it.”

The F1H2O championship consists of 20 drivers from 12 countries, competing for nine teams in eight races across three continents, with London being the second stop after the season opener in Portugal. There are two classes of boat – the junior F4-S and senior F1H2O, which features lightweight catamarans that have a top speed of around 140 mph.

The lead driver on the CTIC F1 Shenzhen China team is three-time world champion Philippe Chiappe, who has been competing in the sport for 15 years. He said coming to London and facing a new challenge on the narrow River Thames, as opposed to the open water and lakes the racers are more used to, will make for an intriguing race.

“For me, coming here to a new track and a new destination is very exciting –this is the first time I’ve driven on a track like this where you are doing sharp turns and laps round two buoys like this, so I’ll certainly push myself and do my best to go for pole position.”

Chiappe likens the physical demands of top-class powerboat racing to those of driving an F1 car, and at the age of 54, while he may feel the strain more than some of his younger rivals, he believes his experience will be vital.

“This track is new for all of us but being an experienced driver can make the difference,” he said. “I think it will be an extreme race, and definitely a difficult one – when you’re doing private testing on a lake, alone, it’s easy, every time you finish you’re the champion, but this will be a hard race for sure. The top six drivers are the top six because we are very close, but in conditions like this, in qualifying, experience will really make a difference.”

Chiappe has been part of the Shenzhen team, flying the flag for China, for 10 years. He described the set-up as “a dream”.

“At first, it was a bit difficult because of the language barrier, but now we have a great partnership – it’s one big, happy family,” he said. “My team is very strong, they have confidence in us, and we work together really well. And one of the best things is that when I go to China, everybody knows me, then when I go back home to France, no one does. For me, that’s perfect!”