Dubai: The World Professional Powerboating Association (WPPA) hopes a planned revamp of how it organises the UIM XCAT World Series will make it the world’s ‘number one extreme motorsport on water’.

The WPPA, who are sole promoters and organisers of the series, have been working on a raft of changes in the rules and regulations ahead of the next UIM general assembly in Monaco from October 24 to 31.

Each XCAT race attracts an average of 15 boats, which are made of multiple state-of-the-art hulls and boast two outboard engines, making them capable of touching speeds of up to 200kph.

The WPPA, with a couple of seasons under its belt, is now thinking of several changes for next season, starting with changing the name from being a series to the UIM XCAT World Championships.

Further, all boats will eventually make a complete transition from non-EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) engines to new, more reliable and custom-made four-stroke 350hp Mercury XCAT engines. The boats too will make way for a new design that has been worked on by the Sweden-based Mannerfelt Design Group.

“We believe we are headed in the right direction. We want to make our sport more attractive and safer at the same time. We are also placing a lot of emphasis on making our sport greener and more cost-effective. The new strategy is simply to go into the new season based on the ideology of making XCAT powerboat racing the number one extreme motorsport on water in the world,” Ronan Morgan, WPPA CEO, told Gulf News.

“For the next season we are targeting a minimum of six races, while also concentrating on getting new teams on board and heading towards new destinations around the globe. There are a lot of technological changes and alterations and these have been done to ensure maximum racing experience and safety of the participants at the same time.

“We are moving towards giving the XCATs a completely new identity. We want our brand to be the best in the world.”

Starting next season, the WPPA will also usher in a season-ending awards ceremony to recognise the efforts of drivers, co-drivers, teams, constructors, venues and environmental initiatives displayed by teams.

The final two rounds of this this year’s seven-stop series will take place in Dubai from November 19 to 21 and in Abu Dhabi from November 25 to 27.