Cowes-Torquay - 16 August 2010 -- Fabio Buzzi and Hannes Bohinc – two of the world’s great powerboating adversaries – will go head to head at this year’s British Powerboat Festival in search of success and the Harmsworth Trophy, one of the oldest and most coveted trophies in motorsport.

The solid bronze sculpture was last presented in 2004 and was won by Italian Buzzi. Austrian Bohinc had won it the previous year and, collectively, the two elite racers have won the trophy on five occasions.

Over 30 boats will line up off The Needles on Friday 27th August for The Cowes 100 with the second and final leg, the Cowes Torquay Cowes, taking place two days later. The competition will be intense with several of the boats, including Red FPT, designed and built by Buzzi, capable of reaching speeds of around 100mph.

Bohinc is also a customer of Buzzi and his boat, Wettpunkt.com, is an FB designed 39ft RIB, powered by FPT engines but built primarily as a pleasure boat. “In English waters we are rivals, but we are also good friends,” explains Bohinc. “We have raced together and against each other on many occasions and I have great respect for Fabio as a powerboat racer and boat builder.”

Buzzi believes that Wettpunkt.com is better suited to the flat waters off Croatia than the choppy waves around the English south coast.

“I have told Hannes to take his boat to the sunny Adriatic when he is not working or farming his Bison,” Buzzi says. “But he won’t listen and insists on racing my latest design at Cowes so I intend to demonstrate the difference between a Fabio Buzzi race boat and a pleasure boat.

“Will I beat him? Well, my boat has more horse power, but I never underestimate the power of the buffalo!”