A Turkish-American aerospace dynasty has entered the UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF, with Team Sierra set to join the all-electric raceboat series for the 2026 season as the championship’s international roster expands to 10 teams.
Majority-owned by the Ozmen family through their Sierra Enterprises holding company, Team Sierra brings aerospace innovation and space technology heritage to powerboat racing. The family’s flagship business, Sierra Nevada Corporation, stands as one of America’s leading aerospace and defense contractors with more than 5,000 employees across 40 locations.
The announcement follows Team Monaco’s recent entry into the championship, continuing E1’s rapid expansion across teams, continents, and broadcast territories. The series now reaches audiences in more than 140 territories worldwide following a 2025 season that spanned four continents.
Aerospace Empire Meets Marine Racing
Fatih and Eren Ozmen acquired Sierra Nevada Corporation in 1994 when the company employed just 20 people. Three decades later, their aerospace and defense enterprise develops everything from military aircraft modifications to space transportation systems, with the couple recognised as Forbes billionaires and Living Legends of Aviation.
Fatih Ozmen, a former Turkish National Cycling Champion who rode in the 1977 Tour de L’avenir, arrived in America to pursue graduate studies in electrical engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno. He started at Sierra Nevada Corporation as an engineering intern in 1981 before acquiring the company with wife Eren, who had earned her MBA from the same university in 1985.
Their son Kerem Ozmen will lead Team Sierra as principal, bringing experience from his role as Managing Director of Ozmen Ventures, the family’s investment office focused on seed and early-stage technology companies.
Space Technology Inspires Launch Livery
Team Sierra’s initial livery draws inspiration from Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane, a reusable spacecraft designed to transport cargo to low-Earth orbit and return with runway landings. The spacecraft, currently undergoing final testing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, is scheduled to begin International Space Station resupply missions in 2025.
At 30 feet in length, the Dream Chaser represents Sierra Space’s commercial space ambitions, capable of carrying more than 5,000 kilograms of pressurized and unpressurized cargo. The spacecraft launches vertically aboard a Vulcan Centaur rocket before returning to Earth like an aircraft, landing on conventional runways at less than 1.5g.
Sierra Space operates as a subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corporation, focusing on space transportation, orbital destinations, and commercial space infrastructure. The Dream Chaser programme secured NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract, with the spacecraft designed for at least 15 missions each.
Global Investor Joins as Co-Owner
Dominik Madani joins as Team Sierra co-owner, bringing international business expertise and strategic advisory experience across emerging technologies, finance, and innovation-driven sectors.
The Iranian-German entrepreneur founded and leads DOMAD Capital, an investment and advisory group focused on transformative industries and strategic capital deployment. Based in the United Arab Emirates, Madani serves as Senior Advisor to 8090 Industries, a New York-based industrial fund focused on decarbonisation, aerospace and defense.
Madani studied at Stanford University Graduate School of Business and has advised companies, financial institutions, and governments across technology, renewable energy, mobility, and entertainment sectors. An early mover in financial innovation, he was among the first investors in blockchain and energy infrastructure company Digi Power X, which now trades on Nasdaq, and served as an advisor to Polychain Capital.
From 2021 to 2022, Madani held positions as Partner and Co-CEO at Geneva-based investment firm Caravelle Investments, whilst earlier in his career he led Legion Sports and Media, a firm specialising in career management and financial advisory for elite athletes.
The E1 platform provides an opportunity to lead the transformation of marine mobility through advanced industrial technology, in a competitive ecosystem that accelerates research and development and commercial adoption.
Our vision is to leverage the championship’s technology incubator role, pushing boundaries in electrification and demonstrating how sustainable innovation can deliver superior performance, operational efficiency, and a new standard for the industry. Building this team is about pioneering industrial solutions that have measurable impact.
Madani articulated his perspective on the championship’s potential.
I see E1 as a Championship with exceptional potential, combining sport, sustainability, and social influence to raise global awareness and accelerate progress in marine mobility and ocean preservation.
As owners, we’re dedicated to innovation and long-term value creation, driven by a shared passion for boating and the ocean, and committed to shaping the future of sports whilst making a positive impact on the world.
Championship Growth Accelerates
Alejandro Agag, founder and Chairman of E1, welcomed Team Sierra’s arrival.
E1 is expanding with remarkable momentum, and each new team brings a fresh story, a new audience and a shared belief in our mission of sustainable innovation. Team Sierra embodies that momentum perfectly as we prepare for another season that will showcase the power of electric racing to inspire change.
Rodi Basso, founder and Chief Executive Officer of E1, highlighted the team’s alignment with the championship’s mission.
Team Sierra represents the kind of ambition, innovation and perspective that continues to drive E1 forward. Every addition to the grid strengthens our collective mission to advance clean technology and redefine competition on the water. Their arrival underscores how fast the Championship is growing across teams, continents, audiences and broadcast partners.
Team Details To Follow
Team Sierra will announce its figurehead, pilots, race livery, and team principals in due course ahead of the 2026 season. The team joins an expanded grid featuring celebrity-owned teams backed by Tom Brady, Rafael Nadal, Will Smith, LeBron James, Virat Kohli, Didier Drogba, Steve Aoki, and Marc Anthony, alongside the newly-announced Team Monaco.
The Ozmen family’s entry brings Sierra Enterprises’ portfolio of pioneering companies dedicated to advancing technologies that improve life on Earth and beyond to the all-electric racing championship. Through Ozmen Ventures, the family has invested in aerospace, artificial intelligence, healthcare, advanced computing, and other transformative sectors.
Fatih and Eren Ozmen have received numerous honours for their contributions to American aerospace and defense, including the BENS Eisenhower Award for advancing national security and honorary doctorates from the University of Nevada, Reno. The couple established the Ozmen Center for Entrepreneurship and the Ozmen Institute for Global Studies at their alma mater.
Team Sierra will compete in the 2026 UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF, racing the RaceBird all-electric hydrofoiling raceboat across the championship’s global calendar.
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.
