Tiff Needell has criticised the UIM E1 World Championship on social media, stating the electric racing series lacks the excitement of traditional powerboat racing.
The 73-year-old television presenter, best known for his work on Top Gear and Fifth Gear, posted on X that he grew up watching exciting powerboat racing and competed in inaugural racing for youngsters. His assessment of the E1 Series was blunt.
I grew up watching exciting powerboat racing and raced in the inaugural Junior Runabout series and believe me this is not exciting.
I grew up watching exciting powerboat racing and raced in the inaugural Junior Runabout series and believe me this is not exciting … https://t.co/5oFngnuDCV
— Tiff Needell 🏁 (@tiff_tv) November 18, 2025
In a follow-up post, Needell clarified what he considers exciting powerboat racing, pointing to F1H2O.
Yes, it would look like this 160mph Formula One Powerboat!
Yes, it would look like this 160mph Formula One Powerboat! https://t.co/WrEsfrlokX pic.twitter.com/7cuTngCHj3
— Tiff Needell 🏁 (@tiff_tv) November 20, 2025
Heritage in Powerboat Racing
Needell’s connection to the sport runs deeper than most. His father, Tony Needell, was a naval architect who became one of the founding figures of British offshore powerboat racing.
Tony Needell served as a rule-maker for the inaugural Cowes to Torquay race in 1961, the event that established offshore racing in Britain. Many of his original rules are still in the UIM offshore rule book today.
The young Needell competed in junior powerboat races and the regulations required racers to wear orange helmets, a colour Needell retained throughout his subsequent 40-year career in motorsport and television.
He switched to cars at 17 after his father kept taking him to Goodwood, where he watched Stirling Moss and Mike Hawthorn race. A magazine competition win in 1971 landed him a Formula Ford Lotus 69, launching a racing career that included two Formula One attempts, 14 Le Mans appearances, and a third-place finish in 1990.
The criticism reflects a broader debate within powerboat racing about the sport’s future direction.
Traditional racing has relied on petrol and diesel engines and perhaps electric racing will be “the undiscovered country” for combustion engines.
However.
Needell’s position is clear.
For someone who grew up with European offshore racing’s founding rule-maker and raced junior circuit boats as a teenager, the E1 Series represents a different sport entirely.
John Moore’s 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 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
