Fri Sep 08 2023

Monster Weekend At St Pete Grand Prix

St. Pete was thankfully spared a brush with Hurricane Idalia a couple of days before race weekend. Despite this, nearly 75 boats arrived at St. Pete to race.

Saturday Sep 2 Saturday Part 2 Saturday Part 3 - Cakes and Entertainment Sunday Sep 3 Sunday Part 2

St. Pete was thankfully spared a brush with Hurricane Idalia a couple of days before race weekend. Despite this, nearly 75 boats arrived at St. Pete to race. Saturday's program started with the Class 1 qualifier. Seven boats competing to decide the pole positions for Sunday's final race of the UIM Class 1 World Championship season. Pothole Heroes didn't make it to the start line following problems in earlier testing. Huski Ice Spritz had the fastest lap to take pole position for Sunday's race. Read the story on Class1World.com.

Next off were Bracket 700s, 600s and 500s racing alongside Class 3x. You can read the race report here.

The Super Stock class had the final outing of the day. Always exciting, today proved no exception with a fleet of ten boats tearing around Tampa Bay led by Allied Construction and Jackhammer. LPC pulled out with a technical problem on lap 3. In the 8th lap, Steele Construction flipped over, the red flag was raised, and the race came to an early close. No one was hurt, and the race order at the time of the red flag was used to record the final race finishing positions.

The excitement didn't stop after the racing at the Monster Energy St Petersburg Grand Prix on Saturday night. Powerboat P1's CEO Azam Rangoonwala, was surprised by the presentation of a cake to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the founding of P1 by his father Asif Rangoonwala. Read more here.

Visitors to the Monster Energy Pit Party and racers alike were treated to an amazing display of motocross magnificence by Keith Sayers Monster Energy FMX followed by a live band.

Sunday kicked off with the Mod V / Stock V and Bracket 200/400 classes. The single Stock V boat "The Firm", with a subtle white wrap, may have looked familiar if you examined it closely. Until a few weeks ago, it had been better known as the Mod V, #D500 Sheriff Lobo! In that short space of time, it had changed name, class, race number and throttleman. Driver Pete Riviero and throttleman Ricardo Maldonado ran unopposed to collect 100 points in its first outing.

The Mod V race had seven entrants. Steve Miklos and Steven Fehrmann in 21 Sunprint took the honours, followed by 97 Fastboys. Fastboys had been penalised initially, but this was overturned on Monday by the chief referee, Corey Philman. Steve and Stephen Kildahl in 2 Boatfloater.com placed third, with Travis Pettko and Robert Hartmann in 47 Relentless/Laticrete fourth.

Last season's 200 class winners, US-1 Predator, were the favorites to win, and delivered yet again. With one event left in the APBA Calendar, they seem to have it in the bag. 221 OC Racing took the second podium. In the Bracket 400 class, Control Freak / MSR Powersports won, followed by Simmons Marine and Unleashed.

Class 1 was next to go, and this race underscored the championship-winning success of 222 Offshore. Driver/Owner Darren Nicholson and throttleman Giovanni Carpitella romped home, hounded by 2022 World Champions Huski Ice Spritz driven by Travis Pastrana and Steve Curtis on throttles. Tyler Miller and Myrick Coil were again on the podium in third place. Their perseverance and success in their debutante season have impressed greatly. Read more here.

The third race had a few missing faces. The Super Cat class has had a great buzz this season, with some of the biggest turnouts in years. Sadly, Klovar had been involved in a road traffic accident while being hauled up to Michigan City. The boat turned upside down and was badly damaged. At the Michigan City event, another team, Dirty Money Racing, broke in half after landing awkwardly. Looking at the wreckage, it was obvious that it wouldn't race again. The good news is that Klovar can be salvaged and has been sold to Dirty Money Racing, so we are hoping to welcome her back later in the year.

M CON / Monster Energy were the first Super Stock boat across the finishing line. Crewmates Tyler Miller and Myrick Coil had jumped straight in from their Class 1 race. Grant Bruggemann was another Class 1 racer doing double duty in Super Stock. Fresh from throttling the Class 1 XINSURANCE boat, he went on to win a second place with owner/driver Wayne Valder in Valder Yachts / Pro Floors Racing. Relatively few points separate the two teams going into the final APBA round in Clearwater on September 24-25. Third place was snapped up by Matt Jamniczky and owner/throttle Vinnie Diorio in Rollin Transport / SV Offshore.

The final race of the event had an unusual mix of Factory 450R, VX and Extreme class boats. The 450Rs have more than their fair share of youth and beauty. Taylor Scism and Johnny Tomlinson won in 7 TS Motorsports / Marine Technology, followed by two boats crewed by teenagers, Waves and Wheels / Doug Wright, driven by 18-year old Logan Adan with the Ricky Maldonado on throttles, in second place. Boat 5, MFR, in third place 16-year old Caleb Mead, with another great throttleman, Shaun Torrente, at his side. The 450Rs are some of the prettiest boats in racing and are becoming a really exciting class to watch.

Three VX boats raced at St Pete's, hinting at a resurgence in the class. Newcomers Race Winning Brands, crewed by Ed Wendt and William McComb, topped the podium. Team Farnsworth / Hancock Claims Consultants, piloted by Christian McCauley and Jay Healy. J P Larkin and Eddie Tambarino in 3 The Developer / Wix Filters placed second and third despite pulling out with technical difficulties during the race.

It was good to see 16 JBS back racing in the Extreme class. Jeff Stevenson and Micheal Stancombe with a flawless unopposed run.

Results 2023 Standings