A motorboat endurance race
First organised in 1964, the Rouen 24 Hours of Motor Boating is now one of the largest motorboat endurance events in the world. Organized by the Rouen Yacht Club each year on May 1st, the event opened its doors on Sunday, April 28th.
This free show will bring together 23 crews who will compete in 3 different categories: official classes 2 and 3 and a new experimental class, class X (hydrogen). After a day of free practice on Monday, April 29, the first race session will start on Tuesday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. and will resume on May 1 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If initially, the race was uninterrupted (like the 24 Hours of Le Mans), this is no longer the case today. But for the 2023 edition - the 24 Hours Mononautique de Rouen will celebrate its 60th anniversary - the organisation wishes to return to a non-stop racing format without interruption. Nautical activities will be organised throughout these four days of competition on the banks of the Seine for the 250?000 visitors expected by the organisation.
A clean race
The race is committed to making the event more environmentally friendly and the implementation will take place in 2019. To make the race cleaner, the Rouen Yacht Club has signed a partnership with an association that will plant as many trees as the race's carbon emissions.
Actions are already in place such as reducing engine noise with noise abatement systems (20% less noise), "clean" management of mechanical repairs during the race, the use of a hydrogen engine, the end of the top category of S1...
New ambitions for 2023
In 2023, the legendary race will celebrate its 60th anniversary and for the occasion, the Yacht Club de Rouen wishes to return to an uninterrupted race and create a real passion for the event.
The idea is therefore to create a "nautical week" with seven days of nautical celebrations around the Seine.
