Gallery Of The Week: XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka Nails First Test Session In Sarasota

If you had a view of Sarasota Bay and were willing endure yesterday’s oppressive heat and humidity in Southwest Florida, you may have spied a vibrant green-and-white catamaran ripping across the popular waterway. That wasn’t a heat-rippled mirage created by the 90-plus-degree weather, it was the new XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka Class 1 raceboat with driver Miles Jennings and throttleman Alex Pratt in the cockpit for the 42-foot MTI catamaran’s first test session.

A 42-foot MTI catamaran with a winning track record. the Class 1 XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka is ready for this weekend’s competiton in Sarasota, Fla. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill PIx.

Nor was the A-Star helicopter chasing the cat a figment of your overheated imagination. That was XINSURANCE principal Rick J. Lindsey flying speedonthewater.com chief photographer Pete Boden to capture the action ahead of this weekend’s Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix produced by Powerboat P1.

Wilting as those conditions were—and they have no chance of abating anytime soon—Pratt and Jennings ran the Mercury Racing 1100 Comp engine-powered 42-footer for more than two hours.

Yesterday’s appearance of the Class 1 XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka raceboat on Sarasota Bay was no mirage.

“It all went really well,” said Pratt, whose Good Boy Vodka brand sponsored a reveal party for the team’s new raceboat in Sarasota last night. “Gene (Greber), our crew chief, did a fantastic job and delivered a turnkey boat.”

On Saturday, the XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka team compete against the 222 Offshore Australia, df Young, Huski Ice Spritz, Monster Energy/M CON and Pothole Heroes/Allegra Motorsports teams for pole position. Come Sunday, they will go head to head on the six-mile course

Jennings (left) and Pratt are delighted with their new ride so far.

“We got some well-needed seat time in the new hull,” said Pratt. “The boat is fast and will provide some good competition. It felt very tight and the boat sits just right. We ran back inside, swapped props around and got it where we want it.

“We are excited and pleased,” he added.

Racing at the Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix is scheduled to kick off tomorrow with the Bracket 700, 600, 500 and 3C classes at 1 p.m., followed by Class 1 pole-position qualifying at 2 p.m. and the Super Stock contest at 3 p.m. Sunday’s racing is slated to begin at 10 a.m. with the Mod V, Bracket 400, 300 and 200 classes at 10 a.m., the Super Cat class at 11:30 a.m., Class 1 at p.m. and 450R Factory Stock at 2:30 p.m. Fans can enjoy all the action live on the P1 Offshore Facebook page.