Speed Devils And The Deep Sea

The first ever Nexa P1 Powerboat Indian Grand Prix of The Seas proved that Indians have plenty of appetite for the fastest form of racing on water.

- Deepti Patwardhan

THERE WAS something churning in the freshly cleaned Mumbai waters. The revellers at Marine Drive, a motley crowd of tourists, couples and college kids, were jerked to attention as the engines revved and the first of the powerboats skimmed the glistening waves.

Then they came on, one after the other, blurs of red, blue, white, black and orange. With the iconic shoreline cleaned up for the event, the sea was free of debris and stink. Twelve P1 Panther boats, which can travel at an average of 100 kmph on water, zoomed past, adding to the usual background noise of Mumbai’s traffic along the concrete promenade, as they raced around the 5.2-km course marked out on water by yellow and red buoys. The weekend of the Nexa P1 Powerboat Indian Grand Prix of The Seas was here. It was noisy and it was interesting.

For the first time, Mumbai played host to such an event. While powerboat racing has established circuits in the UK and the US, it is still an alien sport to Indian shores.

India’s C.S. Santosh and Gaurav Gill were part of the devil squad that brought the spectacle to the city by the sea. Even though proficient on two and four wheels,respectively, Santosh and Gill took to competitive waters for the first time and came off with their racing credentials intact. While Santosh’s team, the Baleno RS Booster Jets, won the championship by claiming the highest aggregate points over the weekend and he found himself on the top step of the podium on debut, Gill was aggressive and impressed with a fifth position in overall standings.