222 Offshore Cruise To Victory To Tighten Grip On Title

• Monster Energy/ M Con take first podium – XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka third
• Title challengers Huski Ice Spritz break

222 Offshore duo Darren Nicholson and Giovanni Carpitella extended their lead in the race for the world title after a faultless performance to take a comfortable victory in race 1 at the Mercury Racing Midwest Challenge, with title rivals Steve Curtis and Brit Lilly hitting trouble early on and eventually stopping on lap 9.

Today’s win puts 222 Offshore 25 points clear at the top of the standings on 75 with the second race of the weekend tomorrow and the final round of the season in St Petersburg in two weeks’ time [1-3 September].

Nicholson and Carpitella made a blistering start from P2 immediately overhauling pole-sitters Carlos de Quesada and Johnny Tomlinson in Pothole Heroes - who endured a disappointing day dropping back through the field to eventually finish in fifth behind Rich Wyatt and Hugh Fuller in dfYoung, the two boats suffering minor damage after a coming together mid-race - and revelled in the calm conditions, disappearing off into the distance and unchallenged over the 12 laps of the shortened 5-mile circuit. “We made a great start and opened a good lead within a couple of laps. It may have looked easy, but it was tough at times. The wind was picking up and it was important that we managed the boat, the engines and make sure we brought it home.” Carpitella said.

Behind the race leaders a titanic battle unfolded for the remaining two podium spots between Monster Energy/M Con’s Tyler Miller and Myrick Coil and XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka’s Randy Kent and Grant Bruggemann, with both outfits moving up through the field.

By lap 3 XINSURANCE had moved up from P4 into second and looking comfortable, but it was Monster Energy/M Con who were on the charge, scything their way through from P6 and into third by lap 5 and then set about chasing down XINSURANCE, passing them on lap 9. “We are really proud to bring the boat home in second for the team and get our first Class 1 podium in our first season,” said Myrick Coil. “We had a great set up and I just sat back and let Tyler make all the calls. We were able to work our way through the field and the calmer conditions today really suited us, hitting speeds up to 150mph.”

For Kent and Bruggemann, it was another impressive showing, picking up their second podium in just their second outing together. “It was a tough race. We had a great boat but were probably a pitch short on our set up. It was very much a driver’s course and Randy did an excellent job. We had great battles out there, especially with M Con who had the quicker boat today.”

For Curtis and Lilly, who were up into second before they struggled with steering issues, it was the worst possible outcome, failing to point and watching their title rivals take maximum points and have just 24 hours to turn things around. “We got a good start; we were down on acceleration a little, but the top end speed was good. But we couldn’t steer the boat. We think there is some air in the system and a couple of other things we need to check in the hydraulics.” Curtis said.

It was another frustrating afternoon for Defalco’s Mike Falco and Billy Moore, finishing in sixth.

Race 2 of the Mercury Racing Midwest Challenge starts at 1.30pm [local] on Sunday and will be streamed live on class1world.com and social media channels.

Official Results Race Report Race 2

Lap Times

Pos	Team Name	Boat #	Driver	Throttle	L1	L2	L3	L4	L5	L6	L7	L8	L9	L10	L11	L12
1.	222 Offshore	222	Darren Nicholson	Giovanni Carpitella	2:31.28	2:30.28	2:31.92	2:32.01	2:31.93	2:35.13	2:30.63	2:29.79	2:32.53	2:30.52	2:29.69	2:29.48
2.	Monster Energy M CON	06	Myrick Coil	Tyler Miller	2:44.93	2:36.76	2:33.97	2:31.11	2:34.41	2:33.51	2:30.70	2:25.25	2:30.69	2:28.65	2:29.02	2:29.69
3.	XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka	11	Randy Kent	Grant Bruggemann	2:41.39	2:36.79	2:36.12	2:31.69	2:32.57	2:33.46	2:33.60	2:36.17	2:34.19	2:32.17	2:32.02	2:33.82
4.	dfYOUNG	17	Rich Wyatt	Hugh Fuller	2:43.197	2:38.55	2:40.91	2:42.77	2:35.13	2:38.93	2:37.58	2:35.71	2:31.10	2:28.39	2:28.79	2:29.38
5.	Pothole Heroes	022	Carlos de Quesada	Johnny Tomlinson	2:41.65	2:40.54	2:35.64	2:44.21	2:37.09	2:40.41	2:38.23	2:37.97	2:38.71	2:37.74	2:37.52	2:43.84
7.	Team Defalco	18	Mike Falco	Billy Moore	2:55.33	2:26.69	2:59.29	2:39.74	2:43.44	2:42.27	2:41.97	2:39.52	2:42.44	2:38.01	2:41.45	2:40.43
2.	Huski Ice Spritz	01	Brit Lilly	Steve Curtis	2:38.85	2:37.37	2:40.98	2:38.51	2:37.59	2:38.75	2:36.66	2.37.24	-	-	-	-

Photo Credits

Ronny Mac © ronnymac.com