THOUSANDS of people are set to descend on Hull Marina this weekend as a powerboat racing championship comes to the Humber.
The P1 Powerboat Superstock Championship has already started its season this year in London and Bourne- mouth, but all eyes are on the Humber this weekend for the next event in the powerboat calendar.
Last year, the people of Hull and its businesses rallied behind One Hull Of A Boat, a powerboat bought by businesspeople in Hull to represent the city. This year, the boat will race again under the name Hull Speed Ahead.
Hull Speed Ahead team manager Esther Damary- Thompson said this year has been highly anticipated after last year's successful event.
She said: "This is the event we have been waiting for. The racers love competing up here and it will hopefully be as phenomenal as last year.
"We have already seen a huge amount of interest from the community and everyone is looking to come down to the marina for a fun weekend.
"It will be quite a challenging course and with all the events happening over the weekend, it promises to be a good one."
This year sees a new driver and a new navigator in the seats of Hull Speed Ahead.
David Taft and Gavin Feldt will race against some of the big names in the sport, including a boat from Allam Marine.
Mr Taft only became interested in the sport recently when looking for a motorsport for his son to take an interest and compete in.
He said: "I took my son around a motorsports show as I looked to get him interested in one of these sports.
"One company offered a driving course for the powerboats for my son and me to try, so we went on one and, even though I hadn't done something like this before, I ended up beating the times of some European competitors.
"So I got my licence and when Hull Speed Ahead were appealing for drivers, I put my name forward, along with Gavin, and now we are competing around the UK."
Businesses from across the Humber have also continued to show their support for the boat, two years after raising money to buy it.
After a Bondholders meeting in which businesspeople raised money to buy a boat to represent the city, businesses came forward to pledge their support. Miss Damary- Thompson said many businesses have continued to come forward this year after a successful 2013 season.
She said: "The support from the business community is overwhelming.
"We have had a lot of our businesses return to sponsor the boat with a lot of new ones on board too, so we hope they come down and support the boat this weekend."
As well as the P1 Powerboat races, there will also be jetski races, a market and live music.
The racing kicks off on Saturday and finishes on Sunday.
Programme of events for the race weekend The race headquarters will be at Hull Marina and where many of the events will take place.Saturday• 12pm – SuperStock official practice lasting 30 minutes• 1.30pm – P1 AquaX practice and Race 1 • 2.30pm – P1 SuperStock Race 1 There will also be jetski freestyle throughout the day.Sunday• 1pm – P1 AquaX Race 2 • 1.45pm – P1 SuperStock Race 2• 2.30pm – P1 SuperStock Race 3 • 3.15pm – P1 AquaX Race 3 Again, there will be jetski freestyle throughout the day. At Hull Marina, there will be a beer festival during the race weekend, along with live music, a fun fair, ferry tours and markets. There will also be opportunities to meet the SuperStock teams and AquaX riders.