Familiarity Leads to Victory At Thunder On Cocoa Beach Season-Opener

In the first race of a season, there are new teams, sometimes in new boats or in new classes. That translates into a steep learning curve and a distinct advantage for the teams running the same in-cockpit pairing in the same boat as last year.

Veteran driver-throttleman combinations claimed checkered flags in all the spec classes at the 16th annual Keltec Thunder on Cocoa Beach. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

That theory was proven at the 16th annual KelTec Thunder on Cocoa Beach, Fla., on May 17 and 18. The winners in every professional class ran in the boat for at least part of 2024 with some having been together for years.

“We’ve got over a year in the cockpit together. When we started, I leaned on Brit to keep me calm and give me some guidance,” said Bill Pyburn, throttleman for the Super Cat winner Dirty Money. Now we really don’t talk in the boat. We just sort of meshed. I know what he wants and he knows what I want.”

Added Nick Imprescia, throttleman for 151 Express, which won in Factory Stock, with driver Ian Morgan, “We’re not learning the boat. All we’re doing is executing now.” The two are in their third season in their 39-foot MTI catamaran.

Thirty-seven teams arrived in Cocoa Beach to kick off the offshore powerboat racing season, which is experiencing some early turmoil. The Pro Class 1 team owners and two race-producing organizations, Race World Offshore and Professional Racing Offshore, decided to leave the American Power Boat Association and start their own organization, the World Powerboat Racing Association. Competitors who believe in tradition and prioritize the record books and history say they will be loyal to the APBA.

No one knows the impact the split will have on the sport, but most likely boat counts will be less at upcoming events regardless of who puts them on. History tells us that even the best-intended moves do more harm than good to the sport.

Picking Up Where They Left Off
With that said, the racing over the weekend in Cocoa Beach put on a decent show, with competitors dealing with atypically calm conditions. In the finale, four Super Cats took to the 6.9-mile course in the Atlantic Ocean. Owner/driver Rob Unnerstal and throttleman Casey Boaz in the 38-foot Skater, CR Racing, were in lane one. Owner/driver Chris Grant and new throttleman Jay Muller were in lane two in the 38-foot Skater, Graydel and Jax and Chase Muller had lane three in their 40-foot Motion, Wicked. Pyburn and driver Brit Lilly were in the outermost lane in the 38-foot Skater, Dirty Money.

With a win Cocoa Beach, the Dirty Money team had made its step toward claiming its first American Power Boat Association Super Cat-class national championship.

When the green flag flew, Unnerstal and Boaz took advantage of the pole position to take the lead in the boat that won the last three national championships in the class as M CON/Monster Energy. Dirty Money ran second followed by Graydel and Wicked.

The order remained the same for two laps and then Lilly and Pyburn made their move, passing CR Racing and taking the lead. On the same lap, Graydel passed CR Racing and it was clear that the latter was having some mechanical issues. The CR Racing team spun out during testing, hurting one of the boat’s Pee Wee’s Performance engines after it ingested saltwater. On the sixth lap of the nine that the class was running, the boat pulled into the middle of the course and was out of the race.

Meanwhile Dirty Money had the race well in hand, continuing an impressive run that started midway through the 2024 season. A couple of times Graydel made a run, but Pyburn and Lilly had the race under control and ran to a season-opening checkered flag. Graydel finished second and the Muller boys claimed the final podium spot.

Rob Unnerstall and Casey Boaz had a strong first outing in their new Super Cat raceboat.

“I gotta give it to Rob, he’s a helluva driver,” said Lilly after the race. “He was pushing me off the line I wanted.”

After a year of racing the boat owned by Beau and Tiffiney Renfroe, Lilly and Pyburn know what the other is thinking and react accordingly. “Bill is one of the best I’ve been in a boat with,” said Lilly. “We mesh together unbelievably.”

Pyburn added, “There’s definitely an advantage when you’ve been in a boat. The pressure is off of us. Our crew does all the work. Brit and I are the fortunate souls who get to go out and try to break the boat.”

Second place was a good start for Grant, who was two weeks removed from back surgery courtesy of Dr. Michael Janssen in Colorado. “Jay was amazing and he knew how I like to turn,” said Grant after his first race with Muller. “It will only get better. It’s like having a well-worn glove. You get in and feel comfortable.”

After his first race in a Skater 388, Muller appreciated the team and is already thinking about ways that he can get the boat to run faster. “It handles so much differently (than the 40-foot Skater he’s been running with Billy Mauff),” Muller said. “No I know why we were faster against them in some races.”

Divine Intervention
Five boats from three different manufacturers made up the Factory Stock fleet that was the only group that ran qualifying laps on Saturday to set the lane assignments for Sunday’s race. Cocoa Beach was also the first race for the boats with new Mercury Racing 500R outboards replacing the 450Rs.

Imprescia and Morgan were the fastest on Saturday, claiming the pole position with a lap of 3:41.92. In second were the new team, Al & Al, a 38-foot Doug Wright campaigned by the Italian duo of driver Roberto Lo Piano and throttleman Alfredo Amato, who have been successful in X-Cat racing overseas. The father son team of George and Micheal Stancombe were in lane three in their 36-foot Skater, Peppers/Yardarm.

Nick Imprescia and Ian Morgan notched their first Factory Stock-class victory in strong fashion.

Driver Logan Adan and throttleman Giovanni Carpitella in the 38-foot Doug Wright, Montlick Injury Attorneys/Liqui Moly, were in lane four and owner/throttleman Michel Karsenti and driver Ervin Grant were in lane five in the 38-foot Doug Wright, Heritage Canados. Montlick had pulled off the course after not completing a lap during qualifying and Heritage Canados never made it out to the ocean on Saturday, dealing with engine problems.

At the start, 151 Express jumped out to an early lead with Heritage Canados giving chase. 151 Express was flying the nose a little more than Heritage Canados and Imprescia, who throttles 151 Express said that he tried to run with less trim and it slowed the boat, so he decided to let it fly a little more. As the old saying goes, loose is fast.

Grant and Karsenti were moving around on the course trying to find the best line and would make up ground heading north along the beach while Imprescia and Morgan would extend their lead on the outer leg heading towards the lefthand dogleg in the course.

Despite the relatively low boat-count, fans turned out in droves for last weekend’s season-opener.

Montlick/Liqui Moly was running third, but not presenting much of a threat for most of the race. Adan said the team had a good start and was leading before one of the Mercury Racing outboards went into guardian mode, reducing the engine’s rpm. The Stancombes ran fourth and Al & Al were in fifth.

In January, Nick Imprescia’s father Joey, a legendary throttleman in offshore racing, passed away after a long illness. Nick showed strength beyond his years at a celebration of life for his father in February on New York’s Long Island, speaking to the packed house about his father as a man and the lives he touched.

For Impresica and Morgan, earning their first Factory Stock checkered flag was particularly gratifying and emotional.

After claiming the win on Sunday, an emotional Nick Imprescia sat on the bow of the boat he had just throttled to victory for a moment before unraveling the checkered flag and vigorously waving it. After the race, he said, “I just know dad was watching. Mom’s here and she was crying. This is amazing. We needed this.”

Right before the race, some non-divine intervention in the form of team mechanic Calvin, came when he jumped on the boat and tightened a fitting on a water hose. “They gave us a great boat,” he said of the team that also includes crew chief Ray Vera and crew member Allen. “We came here and tested two weeks ago. I felt confident that this thing was going to make it to the end. It was destined to win this race.”

Karsenti was satisfied with second after a mechanically challenging weekend. On Saturday, the team had to replace a fuel pump and an engine wiring harness. During the race on Sunday, coming out of turns, the engines would get stuck at between 5000 and 5500 rpm. Max rpm for the 500Rs is 6800.

After battling guardian issues throughout the race, Montlick/Liqui Moly finished third, making a last-lap sprint to try to snag second at the finish line. The team pulled out of qualifying on Saturday with water-pressure issues and had an over-temp warning at the start of the race on Sunday. Peppers/Yardarm finished fourth followed by Al & Al.

Extreme Results
With typical Florida weather of 81 degrees and 6-mph winds, the boats in Mod-V and Bracket 200 class took to the course that was serving up calm 1-/2-foot waves according to the livestream broadcast.

Owner/driver Kirk Hanna and throttleman Mark Rinda were in lane one in their 29-foot Extreme, North Myrtle Beach RV Resort. Owner/throttleman Steve Miklos and driver Steven Fehrman were in lane two in their 29-foot Extreme, El Bandito Tequila/Sunprint, while Steve and Stephen Kildahl were in lane three in yet another Extreme hull, Boatfloater.com. Travis Pettko and Tom Maddalena were in lane four in Relentless, while Charlie McCarthy and Tony Silveira were in the outside lane in Punisher. The last two boats have Phantom hulls with custom decks.

Mark Hanna and Kurt Rinda delivered a commanding performance in the Mod V ranks.

Hanna and Rinda showed impressive speed in the last few races of 2024 after their Extreme hull, which is built by Brit Lilly, made its debut towards the end of the year. That speed was on full display in Cocoa Beach. Miklos and Fehrman gave chase after getting a less-than-ideal start and the Kildahls ran third. Relentless was fourth and Punisher was not scored as completing a lap in the race.

In the Bracket 200 race, Team OC with owner/driver Joey Olivieri and throttleman Billy Glueck continued its winning says, taking the checkered flag followed by Justice League with Jack Fowler and Richard Davis.

With conditions getting a little sporty, the boats were catching air at the dogleg, and one of the latches on NMBRV’s engine hatch broke and the cover was flapping for the last couple laps. That didn’t slow the team and NMBRV took the checkered flag followed by El Bandito/Sunprint and Boatfloater.com. Relentless pulled off the course on the fourth lap.

Team OC with owner/driver Joey Olivieri and throttleman Billy Glueck continued its winning ways in the Bracket 200 class.

Hanna’s 16-year-old son Truston was the team’s on-shore radio spotter and he didn’t tell his father that the hatch was flapping until the race was over. “He said, ‘I wasn’t going to tell you, I was just hoping it would last,’” said Kirk. While the boat is still fairly new to the team, he said that he and Rinda have been racing together since 2018 and their experience is helping them adjust to their new boat more easily.

“It’s our first true win,” said Hanna. “We get better at every race whether it’s communicating or talking about how the boat performs, looking at the data from the prior races. He’s got a lot of trust in me and I have a lot of trust in him.”

Miklos said that he had to fight to overcome a bad start. “We were fifth coming into the first corner and Steven did a great job to get us up to third before we could pass Boatfloater,” said Miklos. He added that he might have gone too conservative on the boat’s setup.

Enjoy more action from last weekend’s Keltec Thunder On Cocoa Beach event.

Stephen Kildahl said his family’s boat took a bad hop at the start and his dad, Steve, had to get out of the throttle to get it settled. “We had a few gremlins going on inside the boat,” said Stephen. “That’s expected to happen in the first race of the year.”

Racing kicked off Sunday with the Bracket 400, 500 and 600 classes. In 400, a pair of Phantoms battled with the enclosed cockpit 30-footer, Superior Offshore, throttled by Damon Marotta and driven by Jack Fernandez battling the 34-foot open cockpit, Simmons Marine, with driver Jake Coons and throttleman Jason Zolecki. The smaller single-engine Superior Offshore took the win in the calm conditions.

In Bracket 500, driver Mike McColgan and throttleman Robert Bryant cruised to a convincing win in their 28-foot Pantera, Tunnel Vision. The team unveiled its protective roll bar behind the seats that is intended to keep the drivers safer if the boat is hit from the rear or the sides. Second went to Nelson Sawyer and JD Ivines in Yabbadabbado. Owner/throttleman Scott McCormick and driver Bob Spitulski ran unopposed in Bracket 600 in their 26-foot Velocity, Velocity Powerboats.

Savvy Veterans

The largest class fleet in Cocoa Beach was in Super Stock that had 12 entries with many boats or teams making their racing debuts.

Saturday’s 12-boat Super Stock contest saw the largest fleet of the weekend.

After serving notice at the 2024 Race World Offshore world championships in Key West last November that they had found some speed in their 32-foot Victory, Raymarine, owner/driver Cole Leibel and throttleman Gary Ballough, immediately took the lead in Cocoa Beach. The early battle for second place included owner/driver Andrew Miller and throttleman Todd DeFilipps in the 32-foot Doug Wright, Diggin’ Deep, throttleman Julian Maldonado and driver Jeremy Tschida in the 30-foot Victory, Wozencraft/TFR Racing and throttleman Ricky Maldonado and owner/driver Pete Riveiro in the 30-foot Fazza, Mykalize.

In any type of racing, when a bunch of competitors are battling for second, the leader can stretch out its advantage and that played out in the Super Stock race as Raymarine opened up a big lead. Julian Maldonado and Tschida moved into second, while dad Ricky Maldonado and Riveiro ran third in Mykalized despite fighting vibrations after hitting something and damaging their propellers. Owner/throttleman Billy Allen and driver Randy Keys in their 32-foot Doug Wright, Team Allen Lawncare, battled with AJ and Pete Bogino in the 32-foot Doug Wright, CoCo’s Monkey and David Selley and Steven Bridges were in the fray in their 32-foot Doug Wright, Team Bermuda. The lone female driver in the class, Leanna Shadlow, continued to get quality seat time alongside throttleman Chad Havens in the 32-foot Doug Wright, Demon Bikini.

Cole Leibel and Gary Ballough brought home the win in the ever-competitive Super Stock class.

By the fourth of seven laps, Raymarine had a commanding lead with Wozencraft/TFR in second and Mykalize and Diggin’ Deep fighting for third. Over the final laps of the race, Ricky Maldonado and Riveiro pulled away from Diggin’ Deep and were credited with third when the race was stopped after the 32-foot Doug Wright, Nuff Said, rolled. The in-boat team of Luis Martins and Andy Stoneham escaped the incident unharmed.

After the race, Ballough said he and Leibel were confident because of how they finished 2024 and how well they know their boat now. They’ve been racing together since 2022. “I always tell people to listen to your boat when it’s talking to you and I wasn’t listening,” he said. “Everything has to be right to win one of these races and right now we’re starting off on a better page than last year.” He also praised his driver, saying Leibel “hits every corner right where he needs to hit it every time.”

Even with a lost propeller blade, the Miklalyzed team’s Pete Riveiro and Ricky Maldonado notched a Super Stock-class podium finish.

Tschida was pleased with second place in his racing debut, especially when you consider that the steering wheel came off twice during the race. “This morning, we joked about the wheel coming off,” he said. “I said, ‘Julian, the wheel’s off’ and I’m trying to get it back on and there were three boats coming into the corner. I got it back on and he said, ‘Cut under them.’ The second time it happened, it was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’”

Riveiro said that he was too nice on the first lap. “I gave everybody space on the first lap and Ricky said, ‘Hell no, you’re not doing that again.’” After the race the team saw the cause of the vibration in the form of each propeller missing a blade. “We were gaining on Julian and I think we hit something.”

For the new cockpit pairing of Jeremy Tschida and Julian Maldonado, taking second place in their first race was an outstanding result.

Even though he missed the podium, Diggin’ Deep owner Miller was still thrilled with completing his first race. “I’ve never raced side by side with the other boats. We’ve done a ton of testing and set up a course, but we never had anybody side by side and trying to close the doors on all the corners, the adrenaline was off the charts,” he said.

The weekend started with the three boats in Bracket 700 and a lone entry in Cat 300 taking to the course. The second boat in team Velocity, Dirt Legal, with Brad Christopher and Connor Langheim took first in Bracket 700. They were followed by Proven marine with driver Greg Blutter and throttleman Craig Chittendon and by Jeff Pritchard and Scottie Young in the 22-foot Activator, Pist’n Broke Offshore Racing. That boat was previously owned by Langheim.

Lakeside Motorsports with owner/throttleman Mike Bethan and driver Sean Lanier ran unopposed in Cat 300.