Honda Marine UK is backing Tonto Marine’s sponsorship of 66 Racing for the rest of the 2026 offshore season, providing technical support for the team’s twin Honda BF350 V8 outboards.
The BF350 is Honda’s flagship four-stroke marine outboard, a 5.6-litre V8. Malc Dopson’s 66 Racing switched to Honda power on the Berserk hull after losing an engine at the Round the Island race in May, and has run the BF350s since in UKOPRA Class 2 as boat 2-66.
Honda said its technical team was involved from installation through to testing and setup, with propeller selection and engine height still being optimised as the season continues.
Poole Bay 100: First Signs
The BF350s ran at speeds of up to 70mph during the Poole Bay 100 in June. Honda’s estimate put fuel consumption at half that of the boat’s previous engines over the race.
Mick Horsfall, Head of Business Planning at Honda Marine UK, said:
Our relationship with Tonto Marine goes back many years, so we are delighted to take this first step back into racing with a trusted partner. What this collaboration gives us is genuine race data, real-world feedback on durability and performance, and an opportunity to benefit from the valuable learnings that can arise from these challenging situations where the engines can take a real battering.
Honda last raced competitively in offshore powerboats through the Formula Four Stroke Association series, which it left in 2009.
Building to Cowes-Torquay-Cowes
The campaign’s target is the Cowes-Torquay-Cowes on Sunday 30 August 2026, the oldest offshore powerboat race in the world, first held in 1961. The 210-mile course runs from Cowes on the Isle of Wight to Torquay and back, part of the GoGPS Cowes International Powerboat Festival.
66 Racing is back on the water before then. The team races at the MDL Marinas Ocean Village Cup, Round 3 of the 2026 UKOPRA Championship, on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 July in Southampton.
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.
