Rouen Inshore Racing has told teams that the 2027 24 Heures de Normandie will run as a single continuous 24-hour race on April 30 and May 1, 2027, and is asking prospective entrants to register their interest now, six months out.
It is a change of format. The 2026 edition at Poses covered its 24 hours in three separate heats of 12, 7 and 5 hours across three days, the first of them running into the night. The 2027 race, as the organisers describe it, runs the full distance in one go.
Not Yet Sanctioned
The event is not yet sanctioned. Rouen Inshore Racing says it has completed and submitted all official applications, lodged the advance programme and reserved the calendar date, and is now waiting on final answers from the UIM, the Fédération Française Motonautique and local authorities.
Nothing is confirmed until those come back, though the organisers say every discussion so far has been positive and that the authorities are giving them more support than they did last year.
Why the Organisers Are Going to Teams Now
The reason for approaching teams before the paperwork closes is practical. Crews need to fit UIM-compliant crash boxes and close out their budgets, and neither is a job that can wait for a confirmation that may not land until the new year.
The organisers say they want to identify potential teams without delay so that crews can start preparing now, and that teams who come forward will receive the 2027 information and updates within a few days.
The Information Request Form
The form asks for the team manager and up to four drivers with contact details, the team’s nationality and the boat builder. It also asks whether the crash box will be ready to the UIM’s 2027 requirement, with a date if not, and how far along the team’s project is, on a scale running from 100 per cent down to zero.
Download the 24 Heures de Normandie 2027 information request form (PDF). Completed forms go to [email protected].
From Rouen to Poses
The race carries a particular history. The 24 Heures Motonautiques ran on the Seine at Rouen from 1964 until 2019, the city withdrawing the Rouen Yacht Club’s authorisation in August 2022 on climate and energy grounds. It resurfaced as an issue in the city’s municipal elections four years later.
The event returned in 2026 at Poses, further up the river in the Eure, with Mercury Racing joining as co-organiser alongside the FFM and the Cercle Nautique Rouen-Poses. That edition drew fifteen international teams and a field that included Peter and Nelson Morin, Tullio Abbate and the Swedish pair of Hilmer Wiberg and Adam Wrenkler.
Powerboat News will carry the full details, and the new features the organisers are holding back, once the authorisations are confirmed.
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
Cite as: John Moore, "24 Heures de Normandie 2027 Will Run as a Continuous 24-Hour Race", Powerboat News, 1 November 2026. https://powerboat.news/24-heures-de-normandie-2027-continuous-24-hour-race/
