Purses Added For Mod V And 450R Factory Stock Classes In APBA Series
Offshore racers in the thriving Mod-V and still-growing 450R Factory Stock classes will have more than bragging rights to compete for in the 2023 American Power Boat Association Offshore National Championship Series thanks to a backer who prefers to remain “anonymous.” That’s the word from Larry Bleil, the head of Key West, Fla.-based Race World Offshore, which is producing two of five races currently on the 2023 series schedule. (United Kingdom-headquartered Powerboat P1 is producing the other three contests.)
The prize-money pot has been sweetened for Mod V (above) and 450R Factory Stock teams this season. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
“We have been talking about getting teams prize money since we started,” said Bleil. “It’s exciting to have sponsors coming aboard to offer purses and it looks like we are getting a few of them.”
National series champions in each class will receive $50,000, according to Bleil, with the second-place finishers earning $35,000 and third-place finishers earning $25,000. The purse also includes per-race payouts for both classes of $5,000 for first, $2,500 for second, $1,500 for third, $1,000 for fourth and $500 for fifth.
According to a Race World Offshore press release sent today, “Teams must start at all the APBA National Offshore Championship races to qualify for the overall payout.”
The 2023 APBA Offshore National Championship Series races are:
• 7 Mile Grand Prix, April 28-30, Marathon, Fla.
• Thunder On Cocoa Beach, May 18-21, Cocoa Beach, Fla.
• Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix, June 30—July 2, Sarasota, Fla.
• St. Petersburg Grand Prix, September 1-3, St. Petersburg, Fla.
• Clearwater Nationals, September 22-24, Clearwater, Fla.
The 450R Factory Stock class season is shaping up to be a true factory battle between Doug Wright Powerboats and MTI.
For teams that don’t plan on running the entire APBA series schedule, such as the defending world champion 450R Factory Stock TS Motorsports team of Taylor Scism and John Tomlinson who campaign an MTI 390XR catamaran, the per-race payouts are still a welcome addition.
“We still think it’s super-exciting,” said Scism.
Defending 2022 Mod V-class national champion Stephen Kildahl, who shares the cockpit of the Boatfloater.com raceboat with his father, Steve, agreed.
“It’s great to have financial support for our class to help it grow,” he said. “Our class is going to be stronger than ever.”
Race World Offshore also will have prize money for the Super Cat and Super Stock classes this season, as well during the post-season at its November 5-12 world championships in Key West, Fla.
“We will be announcing that later this week,” said Bleil.
Thanks to teams moving over from the Stock V ranks, Mod V class competition will be ferocious this season.
Related stories
APBA Honors Race World Offshore With Key West Venue Award
450R Factory Stock Class Coming To Key West With Five Teams
Doug Wright Powerboats Adds SLT Collection As Newest Dealer
Waves And Wheels Receives First Doug Wright 36 Carbon Cat
2022 Key West Poker Run And Offshore World Championships Coverage
.
