Florida Sponsors Providing Backbone For Powerboat P1 In Sarasota And Beyond

As any promoter will tell you, there are only so many big-fish sponsors such as Monster Energy drink—the official energy drink of Powerboat P1 and Race World Offshore—you can land for a given event or series of events. Smaller backers, especially of the local kind, are essential.

MYCO Trailers is a key Florida-based sponsor of Powerboat P1. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

That is especially true with large-scale events such as the Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix, which is on tap this weekend and is not only the second race in the Union Internationale Motonautique Class 1 World Championships but the third race of the American Power Boat Association Offshore Championship Series. At present 60 teams are registered the event, which will feature races on Saturday and Sunday.

To that end Powerboat P1 has tapped into the Florida business community. Current Sunshine State-based businesses providing support include CMR Roofing and Construction, which is headquartered in Naples, MYCO Trailers of Bradenton and Tunaskin Aquatic Apparel in Sarasota, as well as tourism organizations including Visit Sarasota, Visit St. Pete/Clearater and Experience Kissimmee.

“Florida is a major hub for the marine industry and we are just scratching the surface of the sponsorship potential of powerboat racing” said Azam Rangoonwala, the chief executive officer of United Kingdom-based Powerboat P1. “It is great to see industry partners join our vision of using our sport to promote themselves.

“According to a recent study done by PWC (Price Waterhouse Coopers), the American maritime industry supports 66,990 jobs and $14.6 billion annual economic impact in Florida,” he added. “Obviously that figure does not apply to our potential sponsorship revenue but it shows the size of the market.”

Among the backers that recently renewed its partnership with Powerboat 1, MYCO Trailers is the most high-performance marine related as the company builds everything from tilt trailers for catamarans to flat trailers for V-bottoms. That news was announced in a joint press release this week.

“I am very excited to be working with P1 Offshore,” said Denis McComb, MYCO’s vice-president of sales and marketing, in the release. “Our company started in performance boats and we are committed to continue our support of the powerboat racing market.

“Our engineering quality is the best in the industry, and we strive to continuously improve to exceed our customers’ expectations,” he added. I am excited to see what our race customers will ask us to come up with next.”