Powerboat P1 is the fastest growing marine motorsport series in the world and has a long term commitment to growing and developing the sport of power boating at all levels. The Powerboat P1 team works closely with the sport�s governing bodies, the UIM, APBA and the IJSBA. P1 has delivered more than 85 world championship events in over twelve different countries for more than a decade.
This web site uses “temporary cookies” so that the site remembers what other items are in your “shopping basket”. In this situation a cookie is a small data file containing a single number (and no personal information) this cookie is never re-used. When you close your browser (Firefox/Chrome/Safari/Internet Explorer/Chrome etc), the cookie is destroyed.
We also use Google Analytics on our web sites to count traffic visiting the site. This cookie does not know or record any of your personal information, it merely records which pages are visited.This site uses cookies. Cookies are small data tokens that are used to pass information from page to page as you visit a web site.
Fri 17 - Sun 19, May
Thu 30, May - Sat 01, Jun
Fri 09 - Sun 11, Aug
Fri 13 - Sun 15, Sep
Fri 18 - Sun 20, Oct
“
Leading the championship at this stage means nothing. We have started well but now must go again and all it takes is one early breakdown to change everything. We are happy whatever the conditions but getting the set up right when [conditions] can change from the pits to the circuit will be hard.
Giovanni Carpitella
Offshore 222, Throttleman
”
Reliability, new driver pairings and the unpredictable conditions that await teams on Lake Michigan adds intrigue and a sense of jeopardy ahead of this weekend’s XINSURANCE Great Lakes Grand Prix on Sunday, round 3 of the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship.
Teams will get their first opportunity to test the waters on Lake Michigan in this morning’s practice session ahead of the all-important official qualifying at 2.30 pm CT [local] and all agree “predicting and reading the conditions will be almost impossible when they can go from flat calm to super rough in the blink of an eye”.
222 Offshore and Huski Ice Spritz sit tied on the top of the standings but both outfits are aware of the ‘pitfalls’ that lie ahead. “Leading the championship at this stage means nothing,” said 222 throttleman Giovanni Carpitella. “We have started well but now must go again and all it takes is one early breakdown to change everything. We are happy whatever the conditions but getting the set up right when [conditions] can change from the pits to the circuit will be hard.”
“
The weather holds the key for all of us, so the most important thing is to keep the boat upright and bring it home. Brit [Lilly] and I have had some testing time, made a few tweaks but I think we will be conservative in our approach. 222 have been quick right from the start of the season and we have been making little gains. But you can’t count out any of the other teams who are all making big steps forward. Pothole can be super-fast and Defalco has brought in Billy [Moore] who is a super-aggressive throttle-hand. If the others have sorted their reliability issues, we can have a bunch of boats running at the front and going for the win and podium.
Steve Curtis
Huski Ice Spritz, Throttleman
”
Championship rival Steve Curtis was talking up a considered and cautious approach. “The weather holds the key for all of us, so the most important thing is to keep the boat upright and bring it home,” he said. “Brit [Lilly] and I have had some testing time, made a few tweaks but I think we will be conservative in our approach. 222 have been quick right from the start of the season and we have been making little gains. But you can’t count out any of the other teams who are all making big steps forward. Pothole can be super-fast and Defalco has brought in Billy [Moore] who is a super-aggressive throttle-hand. If the others have sorted their reliability issues, we can have a bunch of boats running at the front and going for the win and podium.”
Pothole Heroes and dfYoung share third spot in the standings, with Carlos de Quesada back alongside Tomlinson. “The variable conditions mean the race can go either way and I like that,” Tomlinson said. “Our boat is a little longer, wider and may give us a small advantage in rougher conditions but I think we can be competitive whatever we face.”
Defalco is back after sitting-out the last race with owner-driver Mike Falco bringing in the experienced Moore to play a dual role. “Billy has a lot of experience as a racer, but also rigging and setting up boats. He has had the boat for a week, carried out some work on the hull and sorting out the water systems to stop hoses blowing off and triggering the guardian mode. Conditions can be crazy so getting round and finishing is the main target.”
XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka’s new pairing of Randy Kent and Grant Bruggemann will be hoping to turn the team’s fortunes around and repeat last year’s podium in Michigan. “We know each other well but the first chance to share the cockpit together will be testing then qualifying. So, we will use that to get comfortable with each other, hope for flat to medium water in the race and above all else bring the boat back with both engines running.” said Kent.
Despite a frustrating season so far, Monster Energy/M Con Racing duo Tyler Miller and Myrick Coil remain very optimistic. “Yes, the high attrition and breakdowns is frustrating, but this is just our third race in Class 1 and we are absolutely confident we will get to where we want to be,” said Miller. “We have tested a lot since Sarasota, resolved the gearbox issues we had so let’s see how we go.”
OPA Race Schedule Live Feed YouTube OPA Live Feed Facebook More on the XINSURANCE Great Lakes Grand Prix
Pete Boden © Shoot to Thrill Pix
Jeff Gerardi © www.123freeze.com
