The United Kingdom Offshore Powerboat Racing Association has confirmed a five-round championship for 2026 featuring offshore classes 1, 1L, 2, 3B, 3C, 3D and 3E.
The season opens with the MDL Marinas Shamrock Round The Island race at Southampton’s Shamrock Quay on 15-17 May.
UKOPRA has staged the UK Offshore Powerboat Championship since 2018, running races along England’s south coast. The organisation sets safety standards, manages race rules, procures insurance, and oversees the annual championship across multiple offshore classes.
Royal Southern Speed Trophy Returns
The Royal Southern Speed Trophy will return to the British offshore racing calendar hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club in Hamble on 24-26 July.
The race weekend forms round four of the five-race championship and the trophy represents a revival of silverware.
The Royal Southern Yacht Club played a significant role in British offshore powerboat racing since the sport’s modern era began. The club hosted rounds of Offshore World and National Championships.
Based at Rope Walk in Hamble, the venue hosted offshore racing as recently as 2022 when it formed part of the UKOPRA championship calendar. Drew Langdon and Miles Jennings won the Hamble round that season in their Outerlimits – Silverline, part of their perfect 2022 campaign that saw them win all five UKOPRA championship races.
The club was founded in 1837 as the Royal Southampton Yacht Club before relocating to Hamble and changing its name. It received Royal patronage from Queen Victoria and has maintained its position as one of the senior boating clubs in the Solent region.
New Teams Eye 2026 Entry
Revolution Racing, a Welsh-based Class 1 operation, is among the new teams showing interest in the 2026 season.
The North Wales team is campaigning a Class 1 Victory catamaran with considerable racing pedigree. The boat competed internationally as Negotiator under the ownership of Chris Parsonage during the mid-2000s, when it set the Round the Island record with an average speed of 111mph in 2005.
Parsonage drove the Victory catamaran with world champion throttleman Randy Scism that season, finishing fourth in the Class 1 championship. The boat competed in events including the Romanian Grand Prix before later changing hands.
Team principals Daniel Griffith and Richard Buckley acquired the catamaran and have been methodically preparing it for competition. The boat retains its original Sterling Performance motors that powered Parsonage’s record run two decades ago.
Growing Class 1 Fields
UKOPRA has assembled the largest single-event Class 1 fleets in recent years within national offshore racing the 2023 Round the Island race drew nine Class 1 entries, the largest field in British championship racing since the 1960s.
UKOPRA’s Class 1 specification focuses on marathon-style offshore endurance racing in challenging waters including the Solent and English Channel. The format emphasises reliability over the shorter sprint-style races common in international competition, attracting a dedicated British and European fleet.
2026 UKOPRA Offshore Powerboat Championship Calendar
Round |
Date |
Event |
Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
15-17 May |
MDL Marinas Shamrock Round The Island 2026 |
Shamrock Quay, Southampton |
2 |
12-14 June |
Poole Bay 100 2026 |
Poole Quay Boat Haven, Poole |
3 |
3-5 July |
MDL Marinas Ocean Village Cup 2026 |
Ocean Village Marina, Southampton |
4 |
24-26 July |
Royal Southern Speed Trophy 2026 |
Royal Southern Yacht Club, Hamble |
5 |
18-20 September (TBC) |
Lymington Challenge 2026 |
Lymington |
Full event details and entry information will be available through the UKOPRA Facebook page .
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.
