Defending champion Bobby DeCosta will be the man to beat when the annual Round the Island Powerboat Race is held on Sunday.DeCosta will again have Chris Wells as his co-pilot in his D Class boat which took overall honours a year ago, but there are several strong contenders among the 18 boats entered. Expected to be strong contenders for line honours again are D Class entries Graham Sutherland and Mackie Wilson and Tonka Simpson and Seth Chetty who rounded out the top three in 2011.“Of the 18 boats we have the D Class which is going to be very competitive, we also have the S Class which are twin-engined boats and also the PX boat which is an exhibition boat, like the North American inboard-outboard style race boat,” explained rear Commodore Richard Davidge.“You’ve got Andy Stoneham still out there racing who is an S Class supporter for many years, and we have a father and son team in the A Class, Tony and Jody Carreiro. The Selley boys, David and Mark, are Mark Selley’s sons and they are racing in separate boats. Tonka has been out there many years and Bobby DeCosta has been doing it for awhile.”The race is still one of the most popular events on the sporting calendar, though Davidge admits it has lost some of its prestige from a couple of decades ago, something the Bermuda Power Boat Association is trying to restore under new Commodore Paul Wellman.“I would say going back 25 years ago powerboat racing was a major sporting event each Sunday when they raced,” said Davidge. “There are so many things that people do now but the Round the Island race is probably the premier single day sporting event. We’ve seen a lot more boats and people on the land watching the races every weekend and the (recent) Spanish Point race had a lot of boats out there and a lot of people watching.Racing starts at 2pm and for safety reasons strict regulations will be enforced around the course, particularly at the popular locations like Ferry Reach where the race will start and finish, Hogfish Beacon and off Pompano Beach.“The Ferry Reach area will be closed to marine traffic by law, so pleased respect this race and be mindful that it starts at 2 o’clock and should be finished around 3.15,” Davidge reminded.“Where there are boats with official flags, they are there for a reason, to marshall the race and to make it safe for everybody. We would like to thank the public in advance and hope they can find a good vantage point to watch the race.”Davidge confirmed there won’t be any jet skis competing this year but that the action would start at 11am with junior races at Ferry Reach involving 10-foot thundercats using six horsepower engines.Wellman has been Commodore for eight months and is looking forward to the big event on the powerboat calendar. “It’s been an experience, before I was just behind the wheel racing and never knew anything about the running of it,” said the six-time Round the Island participant.Sponsors have come on board this year to enable the race to be broadcast live on ZBM on Sunday. Rubis are the major sponsors while other sponsors are Eurocar Ltd, Prestige Autos and Bermuda Air Conditioning.The prize presentation will take place at Docksiders Sports Bar on Sunday evening (7.00) when a raffle in aid of St. John Ambulance will be drawn. “They help us out every week and without them we wouldn’t be able to race,” Davidge stressed.Entries:Tony Carreiro/Jody Carreiro (A77)Mark Selly/Jordan Every (B707)Darius Zuill/Victor Fishington (B37)Tonka Simpson/Seth Chetty (FB55)Andrew Osbourne/David Selley (FB16)Stephen Davidge/Ryan Davidge (D33)Quincy Dowling/Eric DeSilva (D441)Shaun Butterfield/Jermal Woolridge (D69)Mackie Wilson/Graham Sutherland (D5)Bobby DeCosta/Chris Wells (D13)Chad Sutherland/Ryan Pacheco (D87)Steven Eversley/Brandon Franks (D187)Shayne Furbert/Ryan Rebello (E324)Henry Talbot/Howard Ascento (C4)Andy Stoneham/Anthony Stoneham (S22)Steven Bridges/Aaron Sims (S20)Levon Seymour/Cameron Harris (S57)Philip Correia/Jason Lopes (PX25)