Catching Up With Powerboat P1 Head Azam Rangoonwala—The View From Abroad

For Azam Rangoonwala of United Kingdom-based Powerboat P1/P1 Offshore, the 2023 Race World Offshore World Championship in Key West, Fla., set a personal record for the shortest time he’s ever spent at the stateside venue. Thanks to a nasty illness from which he has now fully recovered, he was back in London in less than three days.

Powerboat P1 CEO Azam Rangoonwala (in front of the first-place podiun) is bullish on the 2024 Class 1 season. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

Since getting back on his feet a few weeks later, Rangoonwala has been running nonstop, meaning the Powerboat P1 chief executive officer is back to his normal work schedule. His hours lean toward extreme, and I know this personally because thanks to my insomnia and his routine we talk often despite our eight-hour time difference.

Yesterday, Powerboat P1/P1 offshore released its 2024 event schedule. The timing to catch up with Rangoonwala seemed ideal. As usual, reaching the P1 leader proved to be no problem.

There are four races on the P1 Offshore schedule. Does that mean the Union Internationale Motonautique Class 1 World Championships will be a four-race series?

It is actually a five-race championship series with two races in Sheboygan. There also are some opportunities for additional events to be added, but it depends on many factors.

I stand corrected, five races. Thank you. Where are you with securing international venues for Class 1?

We are still in discussions with various international venues—at this point it’s likely for 2025. The Bahamas is included on that list, but is also still on the table for 2024 and we may have to adjust the schedule slightly to accommodate.

Huski withdrew as a sponsor after the 2023 season and the Norwegian team has yet to materialize. Throttleman Ricky Maldonado of the 450R Factory Stock-class Doug Wright Powerboats team announced the company was building a Class 1 boat for the 2024 but no progress on that project has been reported since. The Australian Navy stepped away from backing the 2023 Class 1 World Champion 222 Offshore Australia team. That must concern you.

I still have faith in all of those three teams participating. I spoke to J.R. Adan of Doug Wright a few days ago and he is still building his Class 1 boat. Steve Curtis is still confident in the Huski racing program and the Norwegian team’s boat is almost complete and ready to race. Additionally we have been in touch with two more teams willing to join. At one stage only a few years ago we only had one Class 1 boat in the field and a lot can change in a few months. We do have some positive news on the horizon in general so we just need to keep pushing and challenging ourselves.

Rangoonwala is confident the 2023 UIM Class 1 World Champion 222 Offshore Australia team will return this season with a new sponsor.

The 222 Australia team is on the search for a new title partner and that is definitely an amazing opportunity with a proven team and now your UIM Class 1 World Champions. They will be tough to beat but we all know we have all the other teams already working on their boats and testing ahead of the 2024 season.

Powerboat P1 has a great relationship with Race World Offshore. Both are APBA member-organizations. How do you plan to collaborate in 2024?

As (Race World Offshore president) Larry Bleil mentioned in his recent interview, we have worked together discussing various items over the years and we essentially use 95 percent of the same staff at our events. That has created some consistency for race teams and hopefully for the fans as well. Next year will deliver another season of growth for the sport, and I believe it is down to consistency and all the promoters delivering race events that the teams want to participate in and the fans enjoying watching on the live streams and attending.

The teams are obviously the key to the sport and the competition is getting tense both on and off the water.

Watching freestyle motocross riders soar over the Monster Energy/M CON Class 1 raceboat on their dirt bike on Saturday night during the 2023 St. Pete Grand was incredible. I can’t wait for what some of the teams have in store for 2024.

What are your biggest challenges in continuing to grow Class 1, and how do you plan to meet them?

I would say that the biggest challenge is living up to both the legacy as well as our future vision of Class 1. Class 1 has always been known as the pinnacle of the sport and our goal is to continue that legacy, but simultaneously reach new heights. We have some incredible teams and partners pushing the boundaries of what has been done before and striving to ‘level-up’ their competitive-edge both on and off the racecourse.

We have some great influencers and partners with incredible followings pumping out social media content—Travis Pastrana, Alex Pratt, Monster Energy, XINSURANCE and more. We have exceptional media coverage from speedonthewater.com and a great working relationship with you and your team. Last year was our most competitive season yet. If we can continue to pump all of our media content and continue to grow our following, we will succeed.

Yesterday, Powerboat P1 announced that the Midwest Challenge in Sheboygan, Wis., is coming back. What role did your organization play in its return?

In 2023 the Midwest Challenge was a part of Mercury Racing’s 50th anniversary plans and it was a success. We created a great relationship with the City of Sheboygan, attracted more than 45,000 fans and had some great racing. It was a no-brainer for P1 to talk with the City of Sheboygan to continue this event in 2024 and beyond.

Said Rangoonwala, “We have some incredible teams and partners pushing the boundaries of what has been done before and striving to ‘level-up’ their competitive-edge both on and off the racecourse.” Photo by Cole McGowan copyright Powerboat P1.