The Thai F1 boat cost about ¤200,000 (Bt9.8 million) to make.

Thanavud Bhirombhakdi's Formula One powerboat team is going for glory in the US. We may see a race here soon

Thanavud Bhirombhakdi's dream is to make Thailand the home of Asian water sports, and he's going for it by organising a Formula One powerboat race next year.

Or at least he's trying to.

He's just sent his first Thai team to the F1 Champboat Series USA and the first race will be in Pickwick, Tennessee on May 3 and 4, and he's optimistic about the squad finishing in the top five to boost his chances of holding an event here.

"The Thai tourism industry has a lot to gain from hosting an F1 boat race," says the 35-year-old, "and I'll try my best to make it happen in Pattaya.

"Thailand has plenty of places that are perfect for a wide range of water sports like F1 boat races. I'm confident we can do it here, but to be able to organise what's never happened  before is a real challenge."

In Tennessee, Nithas Khunjeng will be driving for Singha T-1 Team Thailand's, the carbon-fibre catamaran hull that Thanavud's father Vudha designed.

Vudha is one of the country's legendary boat builders. The Bhirombhakdis are known for pioneering water sports like this here.

With a V6 engine that packs 400 horsepower, the 16-foot catamaran has a total weight of 420 kilograms, can go from 0 to 160kmh in 3.7 seconds and can reach a top speed of 235kmh at 10,500rpm.

"It can accelerate into U-turn corners at 160kmh at 4.5 g's," Thanavud enthuses - four and a half  times our body weight pressing down on us. "It defies the law of gravity. That's what makes it such an exciting sport!"

This season members of the Champboat organising committee as well as Europe's Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) will visit Thailand to assess the feasibility of holding a three-day F1 boat event here.

"We want Thailand to be the country that implements a new standard in sporting events, setting the bar higher, so to speak, but for that we need investment," says Thanavud.

He has nine teams from the US and another nine from the UIM series signed up to compete in Thailand.

"With the support from both public and private sector, we feel that investment, however initially large, will benefit both the country and the sport simultaneously.

"Why did Singapore and Malaysia fight so hard to host F1 car races?"

he says. "To keep a high profile on

the motorsport circuit effectively benefits the individual countries, for example in their tourism and sports industries.

"Thailand, with its unique location and infrastructure, has a chance - with our help - to become the home of water sports in Asia. Is that too much to ask?"