The public is again able to watch hydroplane racing from The Strand reclamation car park free of charge with organisers dropping admission fees for this weekend's Masport Cup event.

Hydroplanes are scheduled to compete in downtown Tauranga, based at The Strand reclamation car park this weekend.

After introducing a gate fee for grandstand seating last year, organisers have dropped it after spectator numbers were down.

NZ Hydroplanes Association secretary Denise Maughan says the grandstand was introduced because the Tauranga City Council suggested it, but it has not worked out.

This year the event returns to its initial pricing structure where people have free access around the water's edge, and the only admission fee is for entry to the pits.

Scheduled to race at this weekend's event are Grand National class boats, similar to the GP boats, V8-powered but restricted to 4.2 litres, with turbos, superchargers, alloy blocks and heads permitted. The Pro Com class is ‘limited' to 7.7 litre injected V8 engines. They reach speeds of 195km/h when racing. The Pro Stock flatties are restricted to 6 litre V8 motors, and the Series 3000 class are restricted to 3 litre engines.

The boat to look for this year is Warwick Lupton's carbon Annihilator.

It's the boat that Warwick won the World Championships in Australia with late last year.

Racing begins 11am Saturday.