UKOPRA Round 5 2026: Gunwharf Quays Grand Prix, Everything You Need to Know

UKOPRA closes out its 2026 Offshore Championship at Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth, on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 September, for the Gunwharf Quays Grand Prix. Round 5 is the final round of the five-round season, presented by Mumford Marine Services Ltd and organised by World Powerboat Events UK.

Classes 1, 1L, 2 and 3 race across two starts on Saturday afternoon, both off Dean Elbow buoy in the eastern approach to Portsmouth Harbour. Classes 1, 1L and 2 run the full course twice round Lap B after an opening Lap A, a combined 101.4 nautical miles. Class 3 covers the Start Run, Lap A and a single Lap B, 76.0 nautical miles.

What Spectators Will See

Race boats leave Gunwharf Quays Marina at 11:15 on Saturday, mustering between Horse Sand Fort and Cambrian Wreck ahead of the first start. Classes 1, 1L and 2 get away at 12:00 off Dean Elbow, with Class 3 starting ten minutes later at the same line.

Lap A runs east from Dean Elbow past Bembridge Ledge, West Princessa and Outer Nab No.1 towards Owers, then loops up to a mark off Selsey and back down past the Street before returning to Dean Elbow. Lap B is the tighter of the two, staying closer to the Solent approaches via South Pullar and Boulder before rejoining the finish gate. Dean Elbow is taken to starboard on the opening run and to port on every lap after that.

Racing is scheduled to finish by 14:30, with podium presentations at the Race Paddock, Gunwharf Quays Marina, from 16:30.

Rough Weather Course Provision

UKOPRA holds a shortened course in reserve if conditions in the eastern Solent are too rough for the full route. Any change is confirmed at the Drivers’ Briefing on Saturday morning. On the rough weather course, Classes 1, 1L and 2 run the Start Run plus three laps of Lap B, 77.5 nautical miles, and Class 3 runs the Start Run plus two laps of Lap B, 52.1 nautical miles, with Lap A dropped entirely.

Event Timetable

Entry List

No.	Nation	Boat / Team	Crew	Hull	Colour	Engine	HP
1-25		Good Boy Vodka	Joe Spoloric Rob Lockyer Richard Buckley Adrian de Ferranti	Outerlimits	Green/Green	Mercury	2200
1-74		Smokin’ Aces	James Dodge Chris Dodge	Skater	Red	Mercury	1800
1-33		Revolution Racing	Daniel Griffith Miles Jennings	Victory	Red/Black	Sterling	2100

No.	Nation	Boat / Team	Crew	Hull	Colour	Engine	HP
1L-86		Double Two Shirts	Dan Bentley Shaun Bentley Tom Yaldren Dave Flewin	Planatec	White/Yellow	Mercury	1200
1L-69		Sixty9 Offshore Racing	Alex Welham Neil Raven	Dragon	Blue/White	Ilmor	1450
1L-7		Oceanus Racing / VT	Rich Truscott Rob Bingham	Buzzi	Black	Eastwood	900

No.	Nation	Boat / Team	Crew	Hull	Colour	Engine	HP
2-66		66 Racing 2	T P Spink Malc Dopson Louis Spink Robert Hingston	Berserk	White	Mercury	700
2-69		Lightning Strikes	Dean Stoneman Harry Thomas	Donzi	Green/Yellow	Mercury	998
M-31		Unipart	Robin Ward Jeff Hall	Cougar	White/Blue	Chevrolet	700
2-800		Great White	Ian McCulloch Ben Metcalfe Chris Doran	Sunseeker	White	Yanmar	880
2-07		Team 07 Racing / Grey Ghost	Andy Foster James Norvill Charlie Parsons-Young Jason Field	Scorpion	Grey/White	Yanmar	630

No.	Nation	Boat / Team	Crew	Hull	Colour	Engine	HP
B-26		Team JB-R	John Bunyan Luke Cloudsdale	AYD	Blue	Evinrude	115

No.	Nation	Boat / Team	Crew	Hull	Colour	Engine	HP
C-35		Charlie Thirty Five	Elliott Holman Jon Gray	Mannerfelt	Orange	Mercury	200
C-38		Joker	Richard Dean Michael Barnes	Backdraft	White/Grey	Mercury	200
C-76		Bubblin’ Hot	Rod Hawkins Barry Culver	Backdraft	White/Black	White	200

No.	Nation	Boat / Team	Crew	Hull	Colour	Engine	HP
D-33		Just Add Water	Murray MacGregor James Dodds	Phantom	Green/White	Mercury	300
D-50		Carpe Diem	Harry Winkworth Richard Watson	Pascoe	White/Grey	Mercury	400

No.	Nation	Boat / Team	Crew	Hull	Colour	Engine	HP
E-56		Fabergé / Whiskers Racing	Marc Antoine Poullier Jean Charles Nocera	Phantom	Yellow	Mercury	600
E-16		Rush Racing	Gary Godden Abigail Godden	Mannerfelt	Purple/White	Volvo	350
E-25		Life Racing	Craig Fletcher Duncan Good	Mannerfelt	Blue/Blue	Chevrolet	350
E-32		License to Thrill	Lee Ornsby Ross Macgregor	Spectre	White	Yamaha	600
H-400		Thunderstreak	Peter Hall Brian Pelham Trevor Squibb Tristan Ormiston	Bertram	Blue/White	Mercruiser	850

Venue and Practical Information

Gunwharf Quays Marina hosts Race Control, the paddock and the wet pit for the weekend, with signing on, scrutineering and the Welcome Aboard Dockside Drinks all based there or at All Bar One on site. Craning, storage and the tow vehicle and trailer park are across the harbour at Victoria Quay, Weevil Lane, Gosport, with the drive around by road taking about 25 minutes. UKOPRA recommends teams have access to a support boat for the weekend, sharing with another team where possible.

Craning starts at 10:00 on Friday, with recovery by crane available until 18:00 on Saturday only. Boats crossing the main harbour channel, in either direction and whenever race teams are operating in Portsmouth Harbour outside race conditions, must get permission from Portsmouth VTS on VHF Channel 11 before crossing, and keep to a maximum of 10 knots with minimum wash inside the harbour.

Saturday’s tide at Selsey Bill has low water at 10:54 and high water at 17:31. The weekend closes with the Parc Ferme After Dark Party at Spinnaker Kitchen from 19:30, with live music from Jonny Moody and views across Portsmouth Harbour to mark the end of the 2026 UKOPRA season.