The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) has announced the Miami World Powerboat Grand Prix, a major international event scheduled to run from 20 to 26 October 2026 in Miami, Florida.
Organisers are positioning the week-long championship as a defining moment for the sport globally. It will mark the first time powerboat racing's premier disciplines have been brought together under a single event banner. Offshore racing, Formula 1 powerboats, drag boats and elite personal watercraft competition will all feature across multiple venues, among them the iconic Miami Marine Stadium and offshore courses running along Miami's coastline.
When the final day concludes, the sport will have crowned its inaugural IHRA World Powerboating Champions. Organisers describe the Grand Prix as the foundation of a unified global platform for powerboating, with ambitions extending well beyond a single edition.
"This is the moment the sport comes together," said Leah Martin. "We're bringing the sport's premier powerboating disciplines, teams and athletes into one championship environment and putting them on a stage that matches their level. Miami gives us the global platform to do it right, at scale, with purpose, and for the future of the sport."
Central to the event is the revival of Miami Marine Stadium as a competition venue. Long regarded as one of the most recognisable locations in powerboat racing history, it is expected to provide a dramatic setting for the competition. The offshore courses tracing Miami's waterfront are designed to bring the sport before a much wider international audience than it typically reaches.
For the IHRA, the Grand Prix signals a deliberate departure from the fragmented structure that has long defined powerboat racing, where disciplines have operated through disconnected series and competing sanctioning bodies. Consolidating several disciplines into a single championship week is intended to create a more coherent framework for competitors, teams and fans, and to give the sport a sharper identity on the world stage.
Founded in the United States, the IHRA oversees a broad range of professional and grassroots motorsport programmes, with an emphasis on racer development, safety and innovation across multiple racing categories.
