Blu Banca, the reigning UIM Class 3D World Champions, did not start Race 1 of Round 1 at Rodi Garganico on Friday. Driver Joakim Kumlin, speaking to Claude Sammut of KCS Photography, said the decision was a protest against a course format that gives the class’s new four-stroke engines a shorter race distance than the established two-stroke boats.
D20 Blu Banca, crewed by Serafino Barlesi and Kumlin, is listed as a Did Not Start on the official Race 1 results. Barlesi is the back-to-back Class 3D World Champion, winning in 2024 with Tomaso Polli and in 2025 with Kumlin.
Race 1 Result
| Pos | Boat | Team | Time | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D96 | Foresti & Suardi | 34’51.9 | 12 | 400 |
| 2 | D55 | Energima Racing | 35’31.4 | 12 | 300 |
| 3 | D8 | Marco | 35’45.4 | 12 | 225 |
| 4 | D6 | Tessilmare | 36’26.6 | 12 | 169 |
| 5 | D101 | Johnsson Racing | 37’10.9 | 12 | 127 |
| 6 | D5 | Groth-Fyro Racing | 37’25.3 | 10 | 95 |
| DNF | D10 | Gasbeton | — | 9 | 0 |
| DNF | D17 | Hoses Technology | — | 5 | 0 |
| DNS | D20 | Blu Banca | — | — | 0 |
Fastest lap of the race went to D6 Tessilmare, Giampaolo Montavoci, in 3’04.7.
A Course Split By Engine Type
Rodi Garganico’s Round 1 course is split by engine type. Two-stroke boats run the longer lap via marks D and D1, measuring 3.58 nautical miles. Four-stroke boats run a shorter lap cutting the corner via marks SL and SL1, measuring 3.15 nautical miles, a difference of 0.43 nm per lap. Both engine types are scored together in a single Class 3D classification.
The format was set by the Race Committee under the authority the event’s advance programme grants it. It is not a provision found in the UIM Offshore Rulebook, which fixes Class 3D race distance by class rather than by engine type.
“They reduce the distance of the four-stroke engines. The boats that had the four-stroke engines, which was three boats in this case, had four percent shorter distance on the race course.”
Kumlin told Sammut.
The top three finishers in Race 1 were all four-stroke entries.
“At the second lap, they all were in front, and I think it was around 30 seconds faster when they did the short lap. For the two-strokes, they don’t have a chance.”
“On Paper, Not In Reality”
Kumlin’s central objection is that the four percent reduction was calculated rather than tested. He argued the fairer approach would have been to run Race 1 on equal terms for both engine types, then adjust the format using data from the race itself.
“There is no data backing up the four percent less power on the four-strokes. The official reason, where this four percent came from, I think that’s in the theory, behind the computer, on paper. And I mean, it can be the case, but in reality it’s another story.”
He also said the equivalency format was never communicated to teams before they arrived at the venue.
“My opinion is that someone should tell us before we arrive, or when they did a rule with the new engines, that if you buy the new engines, you drive four percent less on the race course than the two-strokes. Then maybe more boats have bought the engine, I don’t know. But to arrive here and get this information and have no chance to have a discussion, that’s ridiculous and it’s not fair.”
Kumlin pointed to the UIM XCAT class, which has previously navigated a two-stroke to four-stroke transition, as a precedent the Class 3D format could have drawn on.
Protest Lodged, Sunday Undecided
Kumlin confirmed a formal protest has been lodged against the course format, with more than one team involved.
“We are a couple of boats that protest. We will see what happened after that.”
By not starting Race 1, Blu Banca scored zero points from the opening race of their title defence, against 400 points awarded to the winning four-stroke crew under UIM scoring rules. Whether the team will start Sunday’s Race 2 (long course) remains undecided.
“It’s not my decision to take, but we will see.”
Kumlin said, on whether Blu Banca will start Race 2.
UIM Offshore World Championship Coverage
Powerboat News covers all four rounds of the 2026 Class 3D World Championship.
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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.
