Powerboating, the XCAT World Championship arrives in Fiumicino from 29 April to 1 May

The powerboating of excellence returns to Fiumicino with the XCAT World Championship, the queen category of the offshore, with catamarans powered by 800 horsepower outboard engines, capable of reaching speeds on the water of over 200km/h. Fiumicino will be the opening round of the 2023 Championship from 29 April to 1 May. 10 world-class teams from three continents will take to the water, ready to challenge the outgoing champions of the Australian 222 Offshore team of Darren Nicholson and Giovanni Carpitella. The UIM XCAT World Championship has the authorization of the Italian Powerboat Federation, which has assigned the Event to its Affiliate Assoservices. The local organization of this race will instead be the Naval League of Fiumicino of President Armando Fortini: “They will be wonderful days of sport where boating will dominate; in fact, beyond the two rounds of the World Championship, Fiumicino will be the ideal proscenium for initiatives also linked to sailing and the culture of the sea and its coasts. An appointment that the citizens of Fiumicino and the capital will follow with particular interest”.

For the first time, the passion of the teams goes beyond the pure sporting gesture and in fact the organizational costs will be borne by OPTA, the XCAT team association chaired by the Neapolitan champion Alfredo Amato, in the unprecedented double role of driver and promoter. The final phase will take place in December 2023 in Dubai, after another Italian stage in the waters of Marina di Pisticci, followed by the trials of Constanza in Romania and Varna in Bulgaria in June. Furthermore, during the event, the powerboat pilot Maurizio Schepici, group B endurance world champion and group A vice world champion, will attempt to establish the new offshore world record on the Fiumicino-Civitavecchia-Fiumicino section, traveling with his Tommy One the track of about 60 nautical miles in less than 50 minutes.

The departure of the pilot from Messina is scheduled from the Levante pier of Fiumicino, which will also be the arrival of the track. Co-pilot will be the expert Mario Petroni, who boasts a rich motorboating career at world level and has played for many years in the Class 1 world championship, winning several titles. The Tommy One boat, weighing 7,000 kg and 14.60 meters long, was built in the Metamarine shipyards with a Kevlar and expanded PVC structure. Power is provided by two Seatek twin-turbo diesel engines of 10,300 cubic capacity each, with a development of approximately 1,000 horsepower. As for the Fiumicino Grand Prix, however, the program includes qualifying on Saturday 29 April, Race 1 on Sunday 30 April and Race 2 on Monday 1 May. “They will be days of sport – said Raffaele Chiulli, UIM World President – I invited the Minister of Sport Andrea Abodi to share with him the value of our teams and of Powerboating which returns to the large seaside cities to give a greater impetus to development of our boating”. For the lawyer Vincenzo Iaconianni, president of the Italian Powerboating Federation: “Returning to Fiumicino fills me with joy and will be an opportunity to enhance our sports managers such as Sebastiano Pellecchia who has been a true expert of major sporting events linked to national and international powerboating for years”.