Clearwater Beach will host three days of international offshore powerboat racing Friday, Sept. 25 through Sunday, Sept. 27, with boats competing for world championship titles within sight of Pier 60.

The XINSURANCE Clearwater Offshore Nationals is the third stop on the 2026 UIM World Championship Series, a five-race circuit sanctioned by the Monaco-based Union Internationale Motonautique. The city's official events calendar confirms the event and notes it will feature "a new base for the race boats" this year, though details on what changed from prior stagings have not been released.

Admission is free. No tickets are required.

Race World Offshore, the Key West-based promoter led by president Larry Bleil, holds an exclusive multi-year licensing agreement with the UIM through 2031 to run the offshore world championship series across North America. This is the inaugural season under that deal, and it marks the first time UIM Offshore Class 1, UIM Offshore Class 2, and APBA Super Cat have competed for designated world championships on a single sanctioned stage in the United States. Super Stock was added as a fourth UIM world championship class in July.

"For the first time ever, three classes — UIM Offshore Class I, UIM Offshore Class II and APBA Super Cat — will race for designated UIM world championships, with each champion honored at the UIM Annual Awards Ceremony in Monaco," Bleil said in June when announcing the series' title sponsor.

The series opened in Atlantic City in June with 50 boats. The Michigan City, Indiana, round on Saturday, Aug. 1 and Sunday, Aug. 2 drew a record 79 entries across 14 classes. Entry numbers specific to the Clearwater stop have not yet been published.

The event lands as event-driven tourism surges in Pinellas County. The county collected more than $36 million in tourist development taxes this spring, a new record, according to Fox 13. Visit St. Pete-Clearwater reported that 12% of visitors now travel specifically for special events, including sporting competitions.

Brian Lowack, president and CEO of Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, told Fox 13 that the region hasn't seen a dip in family leisure travel but has seen growth in group visits tied to events.

All four UIM world championship classes will be decided at the Key West Offshore World Championships, Sunday, Nov. 1 through Nov. 8, with champions honored at the 2027 UIM Annual Awards Ceremony in Monaco. Fans unable to attend in person can watch the Clearwater races live on Race World Offshore's Facebook and YouTube channels, where the XINSURANCE helicopter will provide aerial coverage of the action off the Gulf shore.