Kedah weighs annual World Powerboat Championship after praise from racers

ALOR SETAR: Encouraged by praise from international racers for Sungai Kedah’s unique circuit, Kedah is considering staging the World Powerboat Championship annually.

State Tourism, Culture and Entrepreneurship Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Salleh Saidin said the proposal had also drawn support from racers who expressed a desire to return for future editions of the championship.

“The staging of this championship has become a reality, and this is a meaningful development for the state’s tourism sector.

“More encouragingly, this is the first river powerboat event in the country, so the people of Kedah should take pride in this achievement.

“From my conversations with the racers, most were visiting Kedah for the first time.

“They praised our state and even expressed hope that this event be made an annual fixture,” he said at a press conference here today.

Earlier, Mohd Salleh flagged off the first round of the championship in the T750 and F3000 categories, which featured elite local and international racers from 12 countries, including China, Finland, India and Japan.

The championship, held on Sungai Kedah near the Ampang Jajar Recreational Park, concludes today.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Powerboat Sports Association president Ezzat Mohd Tahir, who also competed in the championship, said this edition stood out for its uniqueness, as world-class powerboat events are typically held at river mouths, on lakes or at sea.

He said the narrower and shorter conditions of Sungai Kedah, compared with usual race venues, required racers to adjust their boats and reduce speed.

“Racers are used to competing at venues with complete facilities such as river mouths, lakes and the sea, where boats can reach speeds of between 180 and 200 kilometres per hour (km/h).

“However, when racing on a relatively narrow and short river, they need to reduce speed to 160 km/h and swap out several boat components,” he said. — Bernama