Thousands of fans from Gothenburg packed into Frihamnen's FanZone area as the weekend of racing in the Scandinavian Grand Prix of the Sea edges closer.

Locals from across the city and beyond queued for the premier vantage points the city has to offer such as the Oscar II Fort and the Stena Line ferry areas.

Gothenburg resident Hakan Thulin said: "It's the first time I have been to a Powerboat P1 race and I am really looking forward to it. I will be on the ferry though I admit I don't know who I will be supporting.

Spirit of Qatar Team Principal, HE Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani is not ruling out a return to racing, but insists that the rules must be implemented and enforced. "The decision for pulling the team out of the 2009 Championship was not based on the bad start on Sunday, 19 July in the Norwegian Grand Prix.

The decision was made because of the very consistency of that team in breaking the rules and not respecting the comments made during the drivers briefing," said Sheikh Hassan. "It was made clear to all drivers that aerial footage as well as onboard camera footage from the start boat would be available to govern the start.

The Honda Formula 4-Stroke Association (F4SA) the World’s largest two class offshore powerboat race series is set to perform this August 29th in the Cowes Classic Powerboat Race which is Cowes-Poole-Cowes. 

This race forms part of the Cowes Powerboat Festival which will include the famous and legendary Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race. The Cowes Classic race for Honda boats will be for the fourth leg of the 2009 Championship season.

Originally founded by Sir Max Aitken, in 1961, the legendary Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race launched the sport of offshore powerboat racing outside the United States.

IOTA has put an end to any lingering speculation about the continued participation of the Spirit of Qatar Team in the 2009 Class 1 World Powerboat Championship, confirming HE Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani's decision to withdraw the team with immediate effect.

IOTA General Secretary, Marco Sala said that 'efforts to try to resolve the situation had proved unsuccessful'.

Sheikh Hassan's decision to withdraw the team was sparked by an incident at the start of last month's Norwegian Grand Prix and what he describes as 'the misconduct of teams during the start' and that 'officials were too slow to respond to the matter and the action required to be taken during the race'.

Sunday’s racing was met with sunshine as the racers lined up to take part in Round 10 of the Zapcat National Championship in Barry Island. The weather had improved and conditions seemed calmer so officials introduced a tactical pit lap into the course to add another twist into the mix.

In division 2 Smart ABC, Zapcat 07 Dave Paget and Tony Cooper were off to a flying start, along with Nine Lives, Zapcat 35 Charlie Brickle and Adam Bushrod as they dominated the heats. Still celebrating their win from Saturdays racing local team Westgate Zapcat 28, Charles Morris and Ed Morris were still on a high and confident they could repeat the result at their home event.