Case Study: P1 explores virtually unchartered waters - January 2008  

Last month, S&T looked at the growth in popularity of PowerboatP1, the ‘Formula One of the water’ which currently has 30 teams competing at eight events throughout Europe, North America and the Middle East. The sport enjoys global television coverage on terrestrial, satellite and cable platforms. This month, we turn our attention to the potential impact of new technology on the sport, following the news that the sports property has aligned with Virtual Spectator, a global leader in interactive sports visualisation, to provide virtual 3D coverage of all Powerboat P1 races during the 2008 season.

PowerboatP1 is the latest in a long list of sports events such as the PGA Tour, World Rally Championship, America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race, to use unique 3D visualisation to follow the action and educate viewers. In the case of P1, the Virtual Spectator technology will also provide weather data, as well as telemetry information from the boats, including race speeds and positions. Anyone with an internet connection, anywhere in the world, will be able to immerse themselves in the action, starting with the first race of the season in May 2008.
Virtual Spectator's 3D animated graphics will provide life-like digital representation and special effects. Each boat will be equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit which logs a boat's location via satellite at split-second intervals. The information will then be translated into a downloadable virtual environment allowing fans to ride the waves in the heat of competition, something that until now has been the exclusivity of the P1 pilots.

Growing a fan base

"Whilst PowerboatP1 has been successful in drawing crowds to events and viewers to television coverage, it is not always spectator-friendly,” explains Robert Wicks, sales and marketing director, PowerboatP1 Management. “At live events, the spectators cannot always see what is going on out at sea and on television, a lot of the coverage is edited out so that fans miss a great deal of the action. We want to build a community around the sport and therefore our deal with Virtual Spectator will revolutionise the way in which fans engage with the sport.”
Growing a fan base can of course be achieved faster with greater television coverage, continued Wicks, but the costs can be on the prohibitive side to a niche sport such as powerboating. “What we are doing with Virtual Spectator therefore seems a useful solution and allows us to create an environment that all parties can engage in. Fans worldwide will enjoy outstanding graphics and real time action online, choosing to view from the air or follow any one of the competing boats."
Ultimately fans may one day be able to compete against competitors’ boats in the virtual environment. “Exciting times are certainly ahead.”
P1 has no intention of charging fans for the Virtual Spectator services on its multi-language website in the short term, says Wicks. “My view is to keep it free in the same way as our other content and allow fans to access everything quickly and easily.”
P1 is hoping that the Virtual Spectator technology will entice a whole new raft of fans to its sport. “We already have a large group of high net worth fans who both follow the sport and compete in it [55% earn in excess of £500,000 per year and 48% are aged between 18-34] and a similar demographic who watch the sport on television. Our hope is that this technology will make the sport more accessible to a wider variety of people.”

Something for everyone

According to Wicks, commercial partners will also benefit from the Virtual Spectator technology and it will become an integral part of the VIP hospitality experience at each Powerboat P1 Grand Prix, “as well as becoming an essential aid for team managers. We are very excited about the potential of this partnership and the impact it will have on the sport."
Looking ahead, Wicks hopes technology will improve the sport in additional ways. “The next step for us, which will be really interesting, is two-fold. We want to take the technology on the boats to the next level so that we can get even more information from the boats to the viewers and spectators that’s super-realistic such as wave heights and other enhancing bits of telemetry. Secondly, we want to get to the stage where the person using the Virtual Spectator technology is in the director’s chair and selecting camera angles on the land, or different bouys and almost editing their own show. When that happens, it will become an even more entertaining and engaging experience for people.”

Powerboat P1 World Championship - 2008 Provisional Calendar:

May 9/10/11    -    Venue TBC    -    Italy
May 23/24/25    -    Marseilles    -    France
June 6/7/8    -    Valletta    -    Malta
June 20/21/22    -    Hammamet    -    Tunisia
July 11/12/13    -    Reserve Date
Sep 12/13/14    -    Vigo    -    Spain
Sep 26/27/28    -    Portimão    -    Portugal
Oct 17/18/19    -    Venue TBC    -    Middle East

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