Adding to its list of sponsors, Powerboat P1 announced a two-year agreement with California-based Hering Propellers for its international race circuit.

The deal is a performance-related contingency program offering Powerboat P1 Evolution and SuperSport class teams the chance to earn money for using Hering propellers.

Aligned to Powerboat P1’s marketing strategy, which provides manufacturers with a platform to target their direct customers, Powerboat P1 Chief Operating Officer Robert Wicks welcomed the deal.

“Hering is a market leader with top-quality products and I am certain that plenty of our race teams will make the most of this excellent opportunity,” Wicks said.

Pleased to showcase its products at the international Powerboat P1 Grand Prix of the Sea events, Hering President Scot Conrad said, “This championship series offers the opportunity to provide a return to the teams that use our products. When our customers win races, they validate our props and provide the best possible advertising.”

Hering Performance Propellers set the following team incentive criteria for the performance reward. Each participating team must use Hering propellers in competition, display the approved Hering decal on its boat and finish in first or second place overall in its class.

The Hering program will be in effect for the entire 2010-2011 Powerboat P1 World Championship series, which begins in Split, Croatia, on April 16.

P1 Presents Manufacturer’s Awards in Miami

Adding to the worldwide pedigree of the Miami International Boat Show (Feb. 11-15), Powerboat P1 will use the venue to present its 2009 Manufacturer’s Award to three American companies and one Maltese boatbuilder that were instrumental in the series championships. The awards ceremony will take place in the Outerlimits booth at 11 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 12.

Outerlimits and Mercury Racing will be presented with the hull and power honors for the Evolution class championship won by Italian race team SNAV OSG. Giancarlo Cangiano, Hannes Bohinc and Giovanni Carpitella earned the title in the 43-foot Outerlimits powered by twin Mercury Racing 750-hp engines. This is the first Powerboat P1 World Championship title for both manufacturers.

No stranger to Powerboat P1 world titles, Ilmor High-Performance Marine was the engine champion in the 2009 SuperSport class. Ilmor, which won the Evolution class Manufacturer’s Award in 2007 and 2008, was the power behind the Maltese-built 41-foot Chaudron hull owned and raced by Italian Angelo Tedechi and co-piloted by Aaron Ciantar, whose family manufactures the boat on the island nation of Malta.

Along with a Powerboat P1 management representative, Martin Sanborn—Powerboat P1’s USA operations director—will be on hand to answer racer and sponsor questions about the 2011 Powerboat P1 World Championship North American season. Powerboat P1 management recently announced the establishment and promotion of a North American series, which will include three classes of V-bottom boats and will be sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association (APBA).

Jory-Leigh Joins Spirit of Belgium

One of Powerboat P1’s most popular racers—Shelley Jory-Leigh—was confirmed as the new driver for the Spirit of Belgium SuperSport class team for its 2010 world championship campaign. Jory-Leigh, British powerboat racing’s leading female driver, will debut alongside Patrick Huybreghts in Split at the Croatian Grand Prix of the Sea in April.

“Everything has been really positive so far,” said Jory-Leigh, who recently inked a sponsorship deal with international watch manufacturer Rotary. “It’s great to be racing with Patrick and I am really excited to be joining a new team. The new boat looks amazing and we both truly believe that we have a fantastic chance of winning the world championship this year.”

The team will begin official testing at the end of February with Jory-Leigh joining Huybreghts at the team’s Nor-Tech base in Fort Myers, Fla.

For more information, check out www.powerboatp1.com.

If you like what you're reading, get more by subscribing to Powerboat magazine here.