THEY will be in a class of their own when skippers and crews of Farr 40 yachts take part in a series of races at Skandia Life Cowes Week just for them.

Cowes Combined Clubs have agreed to run three days of competitions for Farr 40s at the start of this year's regatta.

The Farr 40s will race in their own class with three back-to-back windward/leeward races per day from a committee boat start.

After that they can continue racing in Class 1 IRC, giving them a chance to compete for some of the major trophies of the regatta, such as the Britannia Cup on Wednesday and the New York Yacht Club Challenge Cup the next day.

The Farr 40 Worlds and Europeans take place in the Solent next month and the racing during Skandia Life Cowes Week will be a valuable part of the build-up, particularly as the Admiral's Cup, for which the class had been chosen as one of the three boat national teams, has been cancelled.