Provisional 2009 calendar announced

"Although a provisional calendar is now in place, we still have to conclude negotiations on the Malta venue for the 2009 P1 World Championship. Having been there for the past five years now, it seems odd that after the country produced Aaron Ciantar, one of the finest world champions in SuperSport, Malta is not yet confirmed as a race venue for next year.

"Hopefully, we shall be meeting the authorities soon with the aim of reaching an agreement before the end of the year."

These comments emerged from a conversation I had with P1 chairman Asif Rangoonwala when we met at his London headquarters a few days ago.

The provisional P1 programme for next year sees a number of exciting new venues joining some old favourites. New hosts Bahrain, Turkey, Sweden and Ireland are scheduled to line up alongside the well-established venues such as Malta, Portugal and Italy.

The opening Grand Prix will be in Bahrain in late March when the World Championship makes its first visit to the Middle East. Six weeks later, the P1 teams will hopefully arrive in Malta.

Turkey takes a slot in June as it adds to the expanding mix of countries that P1 has visited in recent years. Another new host nation, Sweden, takes P1 series to Scandinavia for the first time. Recently, Malta succeeded in its bid to host the UIM General Assembly in 2010. More than 150 delegates from 53 countries are expected to make the trip to our country for a week-long conference during the month of October.

"We owe all this to P1 who has always supported us all the way and it is through their commitment to Malta that our bid was successful and for that we are very grateful," the Malta Powerboat Federation said.

Local promoter Reuben Caruana pointed out that it is through the continuous and active support of P1 that Malta is enjoying such extensive TV coverage including an exciting deal with Eurosport.

"We urge those involved in negotiations to do their utmost and finalise a new deal that will continue to deliver significant economic benefits to the islands," he said.

Research shows that a Powerboat P1 event delivers tangible, long-term return on investment for host venues, leaving a positive impact on tourism, inward investment and global awareness and image.

2009 Calendar (provisional)

26-28 March - Bahrain
15-17 May - Malta
June tba - Turkey
3-5 July - Portugal
7-9 August - Sweden
28-30 August - Spain or Ireland
11-13 September - Italy

Reserve venues: Greece and France.