The GT15 World Championship, GT30 European Championship and GT10 European Cup are decided together at Kotka, Finland, from Friday, July 31 to Sunday, August 2, 2026. The Finnish Sailing and Boating Federation runs all three UIM titled classes across the same weekend, alongside a Finnish Championship round for the F4 class. Spectator entry is free throughout.
Powerboat News reported the addition of the GT30 European Championship to the Kotka weekend back in February, and later profiled Filip Roms’ F1LIP Junior Team ahead of the event, with three of the squad’s four drivers on the Kotka entry list.
What Spectators Will See
GT10 is the UIM’s entry class, small boats built for young drivers still learning race craft, with a race speed of 45km/h. GT15 sits a step above it, and GT30 above that again, the natural progression route that has already taken Finnish drivers through to F4, F2 and F1H2O.
All three classes race on the same short circuit off Vasikkasaarentie, with the pit area and start jetty close enough together that spectators can watch boats and crews prepare between heats. Every class runs four heats across the weekend, with all four counting toward the final result.
Event Timetable
| Session | Local time (EEST, UTC+3) | Your time |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, July 31 | ||
| Pit area open | 15:00 | |
| Scrutineering | 17:00 – 21:00 | |
| Pit area closed | 21:00 | |
| Saturday, August 1 | ||
| Office and pit area open | 08:00 | |
| Drivers’ briefing | 08:30 | |
| GT10 free practice and time trial | 09:15 – 09:45 | |
| GT30 free practice and time trial | 09:50 – 10:20 | |
| GT15 free practice and time trial | 10:25 – 10:55 | |
| F4 free practice and time trial | 11:00 – 11:30 | |
| Heat 1 (GT10, GT30, GT15, F4) | 12:30 | |
| Heat 2 (GT10, GT30, GT15, F4) | 15:00 | |
| Office and pit area closed | 20:00 | |
| Sunday, August 2 | ||
| Office and pit area open | 08:30 | |
| Drivers’ briefing | 09:00 | |
| GT10 free practice | 09:30 – 09:45 | |
| GT30 free practice | 09:50 – 10:05 | |
| GT15 free practice | 10:10 – 10:25 | |
| F4 free practice | 10:30 – 10:45 | |
| Heat 3 (GT30, GT10, GT15, F4) | 12:30 | |
| Heat 4 (GT30, GT10, GT15, F4) | 14:30 | |
| Prize giving ceremony | 17:30 | |
Times shown in Eastern European Summer Time (EEST, UTC+3). Your local time is calculated automatically above.
Venue and Getting There
The race venue is at Vasikkasaarentie 25-51, 48200 Kotka, on Finland’s south coast. The pit area and race office open to the public from 15:00 on Friday, July 31, with the course laid out for scrutineering that evening. Racing runs across both Saturday and Sunday, with two heats per class each day and the prize giving ceremony closing the weekend on Sunday afternoon.
The three top drivers in each class are awarded trophies, and in the entry-level GT10 and GT15 classes every participant goes home with a trophy or prize. UIM medals are presented to the World and European Championship winners in GT15 and GT30.
Follow GT15 and GT30 Coverage
Powerboat News covers the UIM GT15 World Championship and GT30 European Championship throughout the 2026 season.
See GT15 Coverage
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.
