Key West Worlds At 60-Plus Teams – Speed on the Water

On pace for its strongest turnout yet under Race World Offshore, the Key West Offshore World Championships presented by Performance Boat Center currently have more than 60 teams signed up for the November 6-13 event. There are still 19 days remaining before the first green flag flies on Wednesday, November 8, for the three-race mini-series that will decide American Power Boat Association and Union Internationale Motonautique World Championships.

There are 10 Super Cat teams currently signed up for the upcoming Race World Offshore event in Key West, Fla. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

Though the 2023 UIM Class 1 World Championship title series concluded more than a month ago in St. Petersburg, Fla., and the 222 Offshore Australia team of Daren Nicholson and Giovanni Carpitella claimed top honors, six Class 1 teams are registered for the Key West event. The most recent Class 1 entry, the 222 Offshore team joined the fray on Tuesday.

“I was really happy to see that 222 signed up,” said Larry Bleil, the president of Race World Offshore. “I had heard that they might not be coming, but they signed up earlier this week.”

In the Super Cat ranks, a season-high 10 teams are registered. Not surprising but still impressive, the current Super Stock roster has 11 teams slated to compete, and there could well be more coming. And the 450R Factory Stock class is coming in with a strong six teams—a combination of Doug Wright and MTI catamarans—in the mix.

Northwing is one of 11 Super Stock teams currently signed up to compete early next month at the famed Florida Keys venue.

With five boats registered, the Mod V class currently has enough teams signed up to meet the minimum boat count for an official UIM world title. The Extreme V class currently sits at three teams with at least two entries currently on the sidelines. But Key West being what it is in the pantheon of offshore racing the battle for a Race World Offshore world title in that class—Race World Offshore will as usual present its own world titles in all classes—the competition is sure to be strong.

This year in Key West, UIM world titles also will be up for grabs in Bracket classes that meet the minimum boat count. The Bracket 200 class currently has five teams registered, while Bracket 400 and 700 class presently stand at four teams each.