British circumnavigational rally invites contenders to apply themselves

July 2012's Round Britain Race has opened its doors to prospective entrants, inviting applications and deposits for the sea-bound element of the competition, and entry can be secured with an initial £500 deposit ($835 / €558).

Race organizers are encouraging entrants to get involved early on because of high interest and limited places: out of a planned 75 powerboats, an initial cap of 40 has been put on the lightweight class of Rigid Inflatable Boats.

The Round Britain Race is a touring rally involving land, sea, and air stages, tracing a route around the island's coast and with stop-offs for track days, concerts, and other events.

The land stages promise the excitement of both supercars and vintage vehicles, while the air stages are being formulated to test entrants' aeronautical and navigational skills.

There have been three similar powerboating events in British history - in 1969, 1984 and most recently in 2008. For 2012, the Round Britain Race will be going all-out to make it bigger and better than before - firstly by extending the format to include flight and overland races, and secondly because it involves a complete circumnavigation of British landmass, rather than cutting through Scotland via the Caledonian Canal.

The Union Internationale Motonautique, powerboating's world governing body, is on board to ratify the watersport events, which are to follow the Royal Yachting Association's rules and class specifications.

Round Britain 2012: http://www.rb12.com
RYA's powerboat racing rules: http://bit.ly/3vJCvw