A bid has been made to get the world’s leading powerboat championship promoters to include an Irish base in the North West next year.

A bid has been made to get the world’s leading powerboat championship promoters to include an Irish base in the North West next year.

XCAT is the number one world extreme motorsport, featuring boats that can reach speeds of 125 mph.

The XCAT World Series, currently has rounds in Australia, France, UAE and Portugal and is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.

It has a growing TV audience reaching in excess of 450 million homes worldwide.

Proposed locations for the huge event includes Lough Gill and Lough Allen in Leitrim as well as Assaroe Lake, Ballyshannon, Enniscrone, Rosses Point and Mullaghmore in Sligo.

Senator Marc McSharry says the World Professional Powerboat Association (WPPA) will carry out an assessment from a technical point of view on the most suitable locations.