DiRenzo, Beckley And Mac Joining Forces For New Bracket 500 Class Team
The Super Stock-class pairing of DoubleEdge Motorsports team owner/throttleman and driver Greg DiRenzo had its highs—and one low—from 2017 through 2019. Though Beckley wasn’t throttling his 30-foot Skater Powerboats catamaran, DiRenzo and replacement throttleman John Robinson rolled the cat during the 2018 Super Boat International World Championships in Key West, Fla.
A year later, Beckley and DiRenzo, who both call Southwest Florida home, earned a Super Stock-class world title at the Offshore Powerboat Association Englewood Beach Waterfest World Championships in Englewood Beach, Fla.
For the 2023 season, Greg DiRenzo and Ryan Beckley (pictured) and Ronnie Mac are teaming up in DiRenzo’s classic 28-foot V-bottom in the Bracket 500 class. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
Now, the good friends and occasional teammates are joining forces again to compete in the V-bottom ranks. Along with navigator Ronnie Mac, a motocross racer/personality and a longtime DiRenzo pal, Beckley will throttle and DiRenzo will drive his perfectly restored 28-foot Manta V-bottom built in the early 1980s in the Bracket 500 class.
“I’ve been contemplating getting back into the sport for the last couple of years,” said DiRenzo, who competed in the V-bottom ranks in the late 1990s and early 2000s. “I wanted to get my kids involved, and my 28-year-old son, 26-year-old daughter and 22-year-old son are into it. It’s definitely going to be exciting.”
Dubbed Sweat Equity Motorsports, the team will be backed by Zarilli Homes, LLC, for the Race World Offshore-produced season-opener, April 28-30, in Marathon, Fla. The New Jersey-based home-builder recently expanded operations to Southwest Florida. DiRenzo and Beckley plan to compete in all Florida events in the American Power Boat Association Offshore Championship Series—meaning Marathon, Cocoa Beach, Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Clearwater—as well as the Offshore Powerboat Association contest in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.
“I am excited to have Zarrilli Homes as our title sponsor for Marathon,” said DiRenzo. “Anthony Zarrilli and I have been close friends since high school. And what can you say about Ronnie Mac? A lot, I guess. Ronnie has been a client of mine for decades and we’ve been talking about this for years. Now, he’s going to be guiding us around the course in our Mercury outboard-engine-powered Manta.”
Joining the Sweat Equity Motorsports team translates to double throttling duty for Beckley. The veteran racer also will still throttle the Super Stock-class CELSIUS raceboat with team owner/driver Chris Hopgood.
“I am excited to get back to the Keys and Marathon,” said Beckley, who grew up in Key West. “I was there for the first race in 1986, as a kid. This year will mark my 30th year actually racing. It should be an awesome weekend.”
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