222 Offshore Rule The Waves To Take Sensational Victory In Michigan City

• Huski Ice Spritz second after titanic battle with Pothole Heroes
• Pothole Heroes handed two time penalties and miss out on podium
• XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka promoted to third

222 Offshore moved five points clear at the top of the standings to take the outright lead in a thrilling title race after surviving what driver Darren Nicholson described as the ‘hardest bumpiest race I have ever been in’ to take their second successive victory of the season at the XINSURANCE Great Lakes Grand Prix in Michigan City, round 3 of the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship. “That was the hardest bumpiest race I have ever been in. Everyone who finished deserves a pat on the back. It was an absolute shocker; I don’t know how we brought the boat back in one piece. Giovanni was fantastic on the throttles and the team did a great job to give us a totally reliable boat. Tough, tough race.” Nicholson said.

Poor visibility and deteriorating conditions delayed the start with the race reduced from 13 to eight laps and the fight for the podium was as ferocious as the waves faced from the moment the green flag was raised.

Nicholson and Carpitella maintained the advantage of starting from P1 and managed to hold station throughout, holding off Steve Curtis and Brit Lilly in Huski Ice Spritz for the first two laps and then Pothole Heroes’ Johnny Tomlinson and Carlos de Quesada through the mid-point before Huski moved back into second on lap 6, with 222 Offshore taking the chequered flag by less than five-tenths of a second. “The boat took hit after hit flying off one wave then smashing into the next. It was unbelievably tough, but the team did a great job, everything held together in almost impossible conditions,” said Carpitella. “It was very close at the end. I kept looking in the mirror and pushed when they got close, but we managed to hold them off.

“The feeling is great. We showed we are the fastest, we have two wins three pole positions and now lead the championship outright.”

After winning their titanic battle with Pothole Heroes, Steve Curtis was upbeat despite what he called ‘a slight miscalculation on the lap count’. “It was a little unfortunate. The boat was coming to us although we didn’t have the perfect set up, but it wasn’t bad. It was a great race, and we live to fight another day. We thought we had another lap but messed up on our timings – it happens!” he said.

XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka’s new pairing of Randy Kent and Grant Bruggemann celebrated a memorable first podium of the season for the team after bringing their new MTI home for the first time to post their first points of the season, taking the chequered flag in fourth but then promoted to third after Pothole Heroes time penalties were added. “That was a real bumpy race. Mercury makes a heck of an engine because they were really screaming out there. Randy drove a great race,” Bruggemann said, with Kent adding. “Toughest race I have ever been in. There was no rhythm, and it was very hard to read the water. Couldn’t be happier, our first race together, went the full distance and finished on the podium.”

It was an eventful return to racing for Pothole Heroes owner-driver de Quesada alongside Tomlinson, moving up into second spot on lap 3 and challenging the race leader when the boat snapped, hooked, and went inside a turn-buoy resulting in a 30-second time penalty, but they held onto second before a sudden steering adjustment at the same turn laps later eventually cost them time, dropping to third and ultimately fourth after being handed a second 30-second time penalty for a lane infraction. “It was a very tough race with rollers coming at you from every direction,” commented de Quesada. “We were making a move on 222 when the boat hooked, and we missed the buoy and picked up the penalty and then a second one. But it was a good run.”

Monster Energy/M Con also produced their best performance of the season, making a great start with Tyler Miller and Myrick Coil moving up from fifth and momentarily into third on the opening lap before eventually slipping back to fifth, but going the race distance for the first time to post their first points of the year, finishing ahead of dfYOUNG, with Defalco retiring on lap 3.

There will be little respite for the teams after the toughest and most exciting race of the season, who now cross Lake Michigan and head north-west to Sheboygan for next weekend’s Mercury Racing Midwest Challenge [August 11-13] and two races in two days.

Michigan City Results 2023 Standings Photo Gallery

Laptimes and Finishing Order

Pos	Team Name	Boat #	Driver	Throttle	L1	L2	L3	L4	L5	L6	L7	L8
1.	222 Offshore	222	Darren Nicholson	Giovanni Carpitella	2:39.85	2:38.64	2:37.05	2:39.23	2:32.07	2:34.36	2:37.81	2:34.01
2.	Huski Ice Spritz	01	Brit Lilly	Steve Curtis	2:42.65	2:44.22	2:40.45	2:35.18	2:36.05	2:31.35	2:32.55	2:31.01
4.	XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka	11	Randy Kent	Grant Bruggemann	2:54.45	2:50.28	2:44.61	2:38.65	2:39.88	2:45.72	2:48.43	2:48.63
3.	Pothole Heroes	022	Carlos de Quesada	Johnny Tomlinson	2:43.22	2:40.98	2:34.97	2:39.23	2:39.01	2:38.42	2:35.31	2:50.99
5.	Monster Energy M CON	06	Myrick Coil	Tyler Miller	3:0.009	2:51.20	2:46.16	2:50.85	2:54.52	2:57.86	3:03.25	2:59.78
6.	dfYOUNG	17	Rich Wyatt	Hugh Fuller	3:11.19	2:56.34	2:53.10	2:55.70	2:54.26	2:56.08	2:58.72	2:45.83
7.	Team Defalco	18	Mike Falco	Billy Moore	3:17.06	0:00.00	0:00.00	0:00.00	0:00.00	0:00.00	0:00.00	0:00.00

Photo Credits

Ronny Mac © ronnymac.com