Nassau Harbour, with its familiar skyline of cruise ships and the stunning Atlantis Resort, is the impressive setting today for the inaugural P1 AquaX Bahamas World Championship.

Riders from nine countries will.kick off the three-day event with practice, testing and qualifying.

A new element of AquaX racing, the qualifying session will run along similar lines to that of Formula One motor racing with the riders competing against the clock to proceed to phase two where the five fastest racers will earn points to add to their tally for the weekend.

AquaX is working with KronoTec, a French specialist timing company, to deliver instant, online results.

American riders dominate the Nassau line-up, with popular UK racer Joe Harvey (above) from Wolverhampton flying the flag for the European contingent.

He was on the water yesterday but encountered a problem with his ski – now happily resolved – which interrupted his preparations.

This weekend’s schedule features both endurance and sprint racing with a total of six races. We’ll keep you up to date with all the action here at Powerboat Racing World.