Key West Offshore World Championships Day 1: Strength in Numbers
With its brutal offshore conditions between turns one and two and the possibility of running wide open into turn three in the harbor, the 4.48-mile course off Key West, Fla., at the Race World Offshore 43rd Key West Offshore World Championships, promised the 74 competing teams a mix of calm in-harbor and rough offshore conditions.
When it comes to offshore powerboat racing in Key West, Fla., attrition often takes a huge toll, but on the first day of the 2024 Race World Offshore world championships, the majority of the boats in every class finished, setting up an epic Sunday showdown. Photos by Pete Boden Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
Through the years, that has often led to many boats pulling off course with mechanical problems, but of the boats that entered, nearly 100 percent were still running at the end of their races. That included the best Pro Class 1 race of the year with only one boat pulling off with problems and 11 out of 14 boats in the Super Stock class completing the required number of laps.
During the livestream coverage that was broadcast on the Race World Offshore YouTube and Facebook pages, longtime commentator Todd Swofford said the first day of racing in Key West was the best he’s seen in Pro Class 1 with all but one boat completing all the laps. In the Super Cat class, M CON/Monster Energy pulled off with an engine problem on the third lap and then Team Farnsworth/Hancock Claims pulled out too. The balance of the fleet continued running for all of the 10 laps until the 39-foot Outerlimits, Austin Homes, spun on lap nine of 10 while fighting for a podium finish.
It’s a testament to the durability of the boats campaigning in all classes of offshore powerboat racing, but especially in the professional classes including Pro Class 1, Super Cat, 450R Factory Stock, Super Stock and Mod V.
“I couldn’t believe that almost all the boats were running in the two classes I raced today,” said throttleman John Tomlinson, who has been racing in Key West for decades.
The teams rolled into the southernmost city in the United States in the first weekend of November for the 43rd annual Key West Worlds presented by Performance Boat Center. The race village in Truman Annex is sponsored by Montlick Injury Attorneys.
Sunday’s raceboat parade through Key West was its typically joyful self.
The weekend kicked off with the World’s Fastest Boat parade on Sunday. As the teams gathered for the opening ceremony and first drivers’ meeting on Tuesday, November 5, they were informed that the pending arrival of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Rafael left the RWO officials with no choice but to cancel racing on Wednesday, November 6. This came on the heels of canceling races in September in Clearwater, Fla., and in October in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Sharper Focus
Traditionally, Key West has been a three-race format with single points awarded for finishing order on Wednesday and Friday and double points on Sunday coinciding with more laps run.
The three-day schedule has often led to teams developing a strategy to outlast their competition. Many veterans hold back a little on Wednesday to make sure they finish. A positive outcome on Wednesday puts them in position to push a little more on Friday and a good result on that day sets them up to go all in for a win on the final day.
With Wednesday falling by Hurricane Rafael’s wayside, Friday became a crucial opportunity to accumulate points and set up a team to contend on Sunday.
The ferocious season-long battle between the Dirty Money and M CON/Monster Energy teams continued yesterday.
When the green flag flew for the eight boats in Super Cat class on Friday, the team of owner/throttleman Tyler Miller and driver Myrick Coil pulled to the lead in their Skater Powerboats 388, M CON/Monster Energy out of the less-than-advantageous fifth out of eight lanes. Immediately outside of M CON were owner/throttleman Billy Mauff and driver Jay Muller in the 40-foot Skater, WHM Motorsports, and in the second-to-most outside lane were throttleman Bill Pyburn and driver Brit Lilly in the Skater 388, Dirty Money.
At the end of the first lap, M CON ran first with Dirty Money in second and owner/driver Chris Grant and throttleman Billy Moore in third in the Skater 388, C.J. Grant/Graydel. WHM ran fourth with throttleman Casey Boaz and driver Rob Unnerstall in the 38-foot Skater, CR Racing, in fifth.
On the third lap, M CON pulled off the course after shooting internal parts through the side of the block on one of its Sterling Performance engines. Miller said the team is replacing both engines and will be ready for Sunday.
Said Dirty Money’s Pyburn after the victory, “We’re going to run as hard as we can on Sunday.”
In a reversal of the Dirty Money team’s fortunes in 2024, Lilly and Pyburn moved to the front and maintained a lead they wouldn’t relinquish for the 10-lap race on the 4.48-mile course. Second went to Graydel while WHM finished third.
After claiming the southernmost championship cup for winning Friday’s race, Dirty Money throttleman Pyburn said, “You make your own luck. At the start, we moved into second and sat and watched to see where M CON was strong and where we might have an advantage.”
When asked if M CON breaking would change the team’s Sunday strategy, Pyburn said, “We’re going to run as hard as we can on Sunday.”
Severe engine damage knocked the 2024 Union Internationale Motonautique Class 1 world champion Monster Energy/M CON team out of the Pro Class 1 contest.
After finishing in second place, Grant, said, “We were a strong third and it’s unfortunate for M CON, but it’s a good opportunity for us on Sunday.” Added WHM throttleman Muller, who was celebrating 30 years racing in Key West, “We’re set up well for Sunday.”
In Pro Class 1, offshore racing fans were abuzz about the return of the team of owner/driver Darren Nicholson and throttleman Giovanni Carpitella in their Victory catamaran that is being sponsored by Mobile X and Walmart for the week in Key West. The team hadn’t run all season and many expected the boat to pick up where it left off after it won all three days in last year’s championships, but would an unexpected gremlin spoil the duo’s return?
Darren Nicholson and Giovanni Carpitella picked up right they left off—winning—in the last Key West appearance.
At the start of the Pro Class 1 10-lap race, Mobile X/Walmart pulled out to the lead with throttleman John Tomlinson and owner/driver Carlos de Quesada in the 48-foot Victory, Morpheus 8 and owner/driver Mike Falco and throttleman Billy Moore in the 45-foot Victory, Team DeFalco. Miller and Coil ran fourth in the 43-foot Skater, Monster Energy/M CON and Lilly and driver Randy Kent held fifth in the 48-foot MTI, XINSURANCE. Owner/throttleman Rich Wyatt and driver Alex Pratt ran sixth in the 50-foot Mystic, dfYoung/Good Boy Vodka, but pulled off the course on the fourth lap with a broken driveshaft. Wyatt said the team plans to run on Sunday.
While Nicholson and Carpitella held the point, on the second lap, Team DeFalco got around Morpheus 8, who almost missed the race because the crew had to replace a throttle position potentiator at the docks right before the boats headed out. Moore and Falco kept Mobile X Walmart within striking distance and got as close as a couple seconds, but the Aussie/Italian combo maintained its lead and took its fourth checkered flag in four attempts in Key West. Team DeFalco finished second with Morpheus 8 third. In the boat’s best run of the year, XINSURANCE came in fourth followed by Monster Energy/M CON.
After a successful season racing Down Under in a sister Victory hull with Boost Mobile sponsorship, Nicholson has a typical racer’s reaction to his and Carpitella’s victory in their return to Key West. “It’s been a year since we were in the boat,” he said. “We’re happy with how we ran today but we can do better.”
Moore and Falco ran well, continuing their impressive 2024 campaign. “We pushed as hard as we could,” said Moore. They were quicker going out and we have some ideas about why. I love racing against these guys, but I love putting pressure on them.”
Tomlinson said that he ran as hard as he could, but with the conditions calming throughout the day, having the biggest boat in the class was a disadvantage. “I ran as hard as I could the whole time,” said Tomlinson. Added de Quesada, “We’re just happy to get out and run and get a good number.” Next year, look for the team to make a big step forward with a new, smaller Victory hull. Crew chief Gary Stray will start prepping the boat at his shop and de Quesada and Morpheus 8 have committed for the 2025 season.
Team Farnsworth/Hancock Claim Consultants had yet another winning day in the Super V ranks.
Also on the water with the Pro Class 1 boats were the three boats in Super V and the lone Extreme Class entry. In Super V, driver Elijah Kingery and throttleman Anthony Smith continued to deliver checkered flags to team owner Win Farnsworth in the 42-foot Fountain Powerboats V-bottom, Team Farnsworth/Hancock Claims, taking the convincing win. Second went to owner/throttleman Bill McComb and driver Ed Wendt in the 40-foot Skater, Race Winning Brands while Brit Rob Lockyear and Kirk Britto came home third in their 40-foot Fountain, Cortez Cove Fountain Racing. The father-son team of George and Micheal Stancombe ran unopposed in their 36-foot Skater, Peppers Racing, in the Extreme class. The boat is a bit of a prototype for what the 450R Factory Stock class will look like starting next year when teams convert from Mercury Racing 450R outboards to the new 500Rs.
Calculated Compromises
Key West is an unique venue because it presents racers with the challenge of being two courses in one layout. Turn one to turn two is usually rough with big waves and winds. When the boats head into the harbor, the water lays down and they can run faster. The question is which condition to set up the boat for.
In 450R Factory Stock class, six boats took to the 4.48-mile course and were dealing with East-Southeast winds that were steady at about 10 knots. From the start, throttleman Carpitella and driver Logan Adan took the lead in the 38-foot Doug Wright, Montlick Injury Attorneys. They were chased by their sister hull, Gladiator-Canados, with owner/throttleman Michel Karsenti and driver Ervin Grant. Driver Ian Morgan and throttleman Nick Imprescia led the Marine Technology Inc. charge in their 39-foot MTI, 151 Express.
The 450R Factory Stock battle between a pair of Doug Wright catamarans ended with the Gladiator-Canados team taking the checkered flag.
After jumping out to an early lead, but getting passed by turn one, it was clear that owner/throttleman Edwin Scheer and driver Coby Harrison went too small with propellers on their 38-foot Doug Wright, Hank’s Saloon. They were in fourth at the end of lap one, followed by owner/driver Willie Cabeza and throttleman Grant Bruggemann in the 39-foot MTI, GC Racing and throttleman Tomlinson and driver Taylor Scism in the 39-foot MTI, Marine Technology. Tomlinson said he picked the wrong propellers and the boat was never in contention for the eight-lap race.
By the end of lap two, Karsenti and Grant got past Montlick Injury Attorneys and the two boats were as close as two seconds for the next six tours of the course. On lap six, Montlick got back around Gladiator, but when the checkered flag waved, Karsenti and Grant had claimed the well-earned victory and Grant danced with the flag on the deck of the boat that had been expertly repaired by Troy Hannon and his crew at Supreme Marine after it rolled in Ocean City, Md.
Waging their own battle, Cabeza and Bruggemann steadily worked their way through the fleet, advancing one position every two laps until claiming the final podium position in GC Racing. Morgan and Imprescia brought home 151 Express in fourth.
“Our feeling was that acceleration was going to be the key today,” said Karsenti, who travels from France to race with RWO. The boat was coming into the harbor at 108 mph with the engines on the rev limiters. Hannon played the role of spotter, keeping Karsenti apprised of Montlick’s position.
Adan and Montlick crew chief Colin Strack said they made a last-minute propeller change that made the difference for them.
“I was talking with Giovanni and we were going to go with a taller prop,” Adan said. “At the last minute we put on smaller ones.”
Cabeza and Bruggemann had put about 150 miles on their boat testing in Key Largo in the week before the race, which helped them make up time and advance to third place. “We just needed a couple more laps,” Cabeza said. “This place is two courses in one.”
The first day of racing wrapped with 14 boats in Super Stock putting on a scintillating show for fans on the Outer Mole Pier and at Fort Zachary Taylor as well as those watching on YouTube and the RWO Facebook page.
Early on, owner/driver Cole Leibel and throttleman Gary Ballough moved to the lead in their newly sponsored 32-foot Victory cat, Raymarine. They were followed by owner/throttleman Billy Allen and driver Randy Keys in their 2024 Doug Wright, Team Allen Lawn Care & Landscaping, and owner/driver Daren Kittredge and throttleman Casey Boaz in one of the older boats in the fleet, the 32-foot Doug Wright, Northwing. Owner/driver Chris Hopgood and throttleman Jay Muller ran fourth in the 32-foot Doug Wright, CELSIUS, and owner/driver.
A hard spin ended a strong effort by the Super Stock-class CELSIUS team.
Reese Langheim and throttleman Ricky Maldonado were in fifth in the 32-foot Victory, Jackhammer, that had claimed the 2024 national championship in the class. Offshore racing fans might be confused by the absence of Julian Maldonado, who usually throttles Jackhammer, but he was injured in a golf cart accident and is sidelined with a broken leg so his father, Ricky, stepped in.
Leibel has had a history of back luck in Key West and 2024 was yet another example as the bright green catamaran pulled off the course on lap 3. Team Allen Lawn Care moved to the lead with Northwing second and CELSIUS third. After starting in sixth place, the father-son team of Pete and A.J. Bogino was on the move in their 32-foot Doug Wright, CoCo’s Monkey. The duo has run well in Key West and the team from upstate New York set its sights on Hopgood and Muller. On the last lap of the eight laps the boats were running, CELSIUS rolled in the harbor turn. Red and checkered flags were displayed, ending the racing for the day. Hopgood and Muller climbed from the boat apparently OK.
Race World Offshore hit CoCo’s Monkey with a penalty for reckless driving, dropping them down to 11th position. CELSIUS was awarded third, with Jackhammer fourth. Owner/driver Pete Riviero and throttleman Ricardo Maldonado finished fifth in the 32-foot Fazza, Boat Depot/The Firm. Muller said in a text this morning that CELSIUS plans to run Sunday. For the full Super Stock finish positions, check the Race World Offshore website.
Allen’s new boat was rigged by Andy Sanders at Go Fast Boat Service in Osage Beach, Mo., and he runs Dewald propellers. “We got a decent start but Casey and Daren were on us,” Allen said. “After we got through turn one, they were beating on us, but we were better on the straightaway.”
After running in Super Cat and 450R Factory Stock, Keys said he had to get used to the smaller, lighter boats in Super Stock. “You feel the water a lot more,” he said.
Kittredge and Boaz were pleased with second and said Allen had the better propeller choice for the day. Boaz owns Hering Propellers in Osage Beach and the team will be taking a close look at the weather for Sunday before making a setup choice.
“Billy had a little more legs on longer runs,” Kittredge said. “We might have gone a little too small.”
Bumping Boats
The professional classes got underway on Friday with nine single-engine canopied V-bottoms in the Mod V class. At the start, owner/throttleman Kyle Miller and driver Jay Wohltman in the 29-foot Extreme, Speed Marine, continued to live up to the boat’s name, moving to the front. Owner/throttleman Steve Miklos and driver Steven Ferhmann ran second in their 29-foot Extreme, El Bandido, followed by owner/driver Kirk Hanna and throttleman Mark Rinda, in their 29-foot Extreme, NMBRV Resort and the Kildahls, Steve and Steven in their 29-foot Extreme, Boatfloater.com. The national championships in the class, driver J.J. Turk and throttleman Nick Buis, in their 29-foot Extreme, Statement Marine/XINSURANCE, spun in the harbor turn with a broken gimbal.
As often happens with fast boats in turns, Speed Marine and El Bandido were side-by-side in the harbor and the two boats made contact with both sustaining damage.
Experience and tenacity paid off for Steve Miklos and Steve Fehrmann in the Mod V-class El Bandido Yankee Tequila team raceboat.
For the first three laps, Speed Marine had the lead with El Bandido second and NMBRV Resort third, Boatfloater.com in fourth, and Ken Bolinger and Forest Riddle in fifth in the 30-foot Phantom, Fastboys. The 32-foot Phantom, XINSURANCE/Safe Cash, with Scott Jobin and Rick Raab, got mired in mid pack but moved up through the fleet during the seven lap race to challenge for a podium finish.
Eventually the damage from the collision forced Speed Marine into the middle of racecourse, which moved El Bandido to the lead for final four laps, giving the veteran team a checkered flag. NMBRV Resort finished second and Speed Marine is listed as finishing third with XINSURANCE/Safe Cash fourth and Boatfloater.com fifth.
“We were on the inside,” said Miklos of the incident with Speed Marine. “I don’t know who was ahead.”
Regarding the win, Miklos and Fehrman called on their own experience for the setup on Friday. “We brought back a setup from 2015 for this race,” Miklos said. “It was Steven’s first world championship. We won that day against Brit with the same setup and went with a bigger prop.”
Hanna and Rinda said their runner-up finish was the result of two things. “We put a lot of hard work and man hours into that boat,” Hanna said. Rinda rigged every nut, bolt and wire with the help of some custom-fabricated parts by Speed Marine.
When asked about the incident with El Bandito after the race, Wohltman preferred not to comment and leave it in the hands of the officials who awarded the team third after completing the required laps.
On the water with the Mod V boats were the competitors in the Bracket 200 and 400 classes. In 200, Joey Olivieri and Billy Glueck in their 39-foot Phantom, OC Racing, continued their impressive season with a wire-to-wire win. After having its best start of the year, the 36-foot Spectre, Two Conchs/Harpoon Harrys, pulled off on the fourth of six laps with mechanical woes. After changing impellers on Friday morning, the 35-foot Fountain, Team Woody, pulled out early in the race with more problems and Herbott Racing pulled out after two laps.
As it has all season, the Bracket 200-class OC Racing team ran wire to wire for the victory.
In Bracket 400, the 32-foot Phantom, SRQ Racing/Precious Vodka, with driver Corey Shantry and throttleman Larry Fontecha took the six-lap win. Hometown racers John Jeniec, Jr. and Michael Flammia finished second in their 29-foot Extreme, Framed Offshore Racing, and the 34-foot Phantom, Simmons Racing, with owner/throttleman Jim Simmons and driver Kevin Campbell in third. The 30-foot Phantom, Trump 2024, didn’t run any races this season, so it is not eligible for a world championship.
The beauty of competing in more than one boat is that a win can improve your spirits and that’s what happened for J.J. Turk and Nick Buis, who led from the start in Bracket 500 in their 30-foot Phantom, TFR/XINSURANCE/Golf-N-Gator. Second in the five-lap race went to owner/throttleman Fran Vellutato and driver Thomas Crowley in the 26-foot Scarab, Rum Runners, while owner/driver Greg DiRenzo and throttleman Ryan Beckley finished third in the outboard-powered 28-foot Manta, Sweat Equity.
“We got a great start and it was a good battle with them,” Nick Buis said of Rum Runners. “We could pull them in the rough water and we were trying to conserve everything for Sunday.”
Nick Buis and J.J. Turk made the most of their chance for redemption in the Bracket 500 class.
Vellutato admitted being in a 26-foot boat chasing a 30-foot boat in rough water is an uphill battle, but remains undaunted, especially with Sunday’s forecast looking calmer than Friday.
“One lap we would catch up and it was a washing machine and we’d fall back and the next lap, we would catch up a little again,” he said.
Making a cameo appearance in Bracket 600 were throttleman Johnny Saris and owner/driver Michael Lang in their 26-foot Modern Marine, Moderation, that is based out of the Lake George, N.Y., area. This is another team that isn’t eligible for a world title, but did win the Southernmost Continental championship on Friday.
When the green flag went up, Scott McCormack and former Seattle Seahawk Bob Spitulski took the lead in their 26-foot Velocity, Velocity Powerboats, with Moderation running second and the 25-foot Warlock, American Muscle, with driver Brandon Horrocks and throttleman Mike Eyre in third. Swap it Fast/Rollin’ Dirty Offshore with owner/throttleman Clyde Petty ran fourth.
It’s called bracket racing because each class has a speed limit and for Bracket 600, the magic number is 70 mph. Apparently, McCormack’s throttle hand got a little heavy because the boat was hit with a penalty for breaking out, but it didn’t matter for the victory because Moderation passed Velocity Powerboats on the last lap for the win. American Muscle finished second with Swap it Fast third.
“We just kept doing our best to find a rhythm,” said Saris. “It was all Mike. He just kept finding a better line.”
Owen Buis and Ricky Harmeyer took first place in the Bracket 700 class.
In Bracket 700, the defending national champions Owen Buis and Ricky Harmeyer in their 22-foot Activator, Bad Decisions/XINSURANCE, had an uneventful flag to flag win. Their teammates, driver John Iezzatti and Jerry Hartman in the 22-foot Velocity, Statement/XINSURANCE, moved up to second and Chris Colson and driver Raymond Evans also benefitted from adhering to the 60-mph speed limit, taking third in their 21-foot Superboat, Shocker Offshore Racing. Dirt Legal Velocity Factory Racing Team and Proven Marine both broke out and Jackhammer had engine problems and lost the cowling off its outboard.
In the new Union International Motonautique Class 3X, the 21-foot Hustler, Scratch and Sniff, with Michael Chandler and Austin Blocker, ran unopposed, but deserve credit for showing up at every race this season. In class 3C, the 24-foot Wicked Powerboats, TFR-XINSURANCE, with driver Cameron Turk and throttleman Micheal Stancombe, also raced alone.
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