Pyburn/Lilly And Buis/Turk Going Pro Class 1 Racing
Backed by XINSURANCE principal Rick J. Lindsey, reigning Super Cat-class world champions Brit Lilly and Bill Pyburn of Dirty Money team fame will have another title to chase in 2025. Lindsey has acquired a 45-foot Victory catamaran from Class 1 great Steve Curtis, and Lilly and Pyburn will campaign it in the Pro Class 1 category next season.
Rick Lindsey acquired the Victory catamaran from Class 1 racing legend Steve Curtis.
“With the exception of a few little glitches, we obviously had a great season in Super Cat,” said Pyburn, who will reprise his role as throttleman with Lilly handling driving duties alongside him. “We found this boat after Key West, looked at it and bought it. It’s an excellent boat.”
The new team will be based out of the Dirty Money team shop in Stuart, Fla., where the boat is currently being gutted before it is re-rigged with Mercury Racing 1100 Comp engines. Led by crew chief Bobby Adams, the Dirty Money group will maintain and campaign the catamaran throughout the 2025 season. Stephen Miles is currently designing graphics for the cat.
Bill Pyburn (left) and Brit Lilly will be chasing two national and world titles next season.
The working-title for the team is XINSURANCE South. That’s because the Utah-based insurer will continue to campaign its 48-foot MTI catamaran, which is based out of Missouri under crew chief Gene Greber. For the moment, at least, that Pro Class 1 team is dubbed XINSURANCE North.
“We will run out of two locations, each team will have its own stacker and hauler,” Pyburn explained. “But once we get to races we will be one XINSURANCE team.”
The 95 Victory cat was one of the fastest boats in the Qatar team stable.
For Lilly, the newly acquired Victory cat will be his third Class 1/Pro Class 1 ride in the past four seasons.
“Dreams are coming true,” he said. “I learned so much from Steve Curtis in the GEICO and Huski boats. I learned a lot from (crew chief) Gary Stray. I even learned in the one race I ran with John Tomlinson in the Morpheous 8 boat. So I have a lot of ideas to harness.”
With Lilly out of the MTI cat he shared this season with driver Randy Kent, that Pro Class 1 catamaran will see throttleman Nick Buis and driver J.J. Turk in the cockpit next season. (Kent will consult for both teams.) Buis and Turk ran together in the Mod V and Bracket 500 ranks this season, where they were successful in both classes.
Nick Buis and J.J. Turk will run the Pro Class 1 XINSURANCE MTI catamaran next season. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
“I am beyond grateful that Rick and the XINSURANCE Offshore racing Team have given me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Turk. “I am simply floored. This is a dream come true.”
Buis had a similar reaction when the ride was offered to him. “I was kind of speechless,” he admitted. “It’s a great opportunity, not the kind you get every day, that’s for sure.”
The duo is still undecided about their future in the Mod V and Bracket 500 classes. But they are leaning in favor of exclusively devoting the 2025 season to the Pro Class 1 team and supporting the offshore racing efforts of their young sons Owen Buis and Cameron Turk.
Turk (left) and Buis hope to continue their winning ways in Pro Class 1.
“It’s a big responsibility, so I think we will focus just on Pro Class 1,” Buis explained. “But we haven’t completely decided yet.”
As for the reigning Super Cat world champs, they will return to defend their title in 2025.
“My focus is to bring home two world championships next year,” Lilly said. “That’s what I’m going for.”
The new Pro Class 1 outfit brings the XINSURANCE-backed offshore racing stable to eight teams. Asked why he continues to add teams to his roster, Lindsey offered a simple answer.
“I think offshore powerboat racing is the last great grassroots motorsport where people do it simply because they love it,” he said.
The new Victory cat will be kept in the Dirty Money facility along with the team’s Super Cat.
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Source: https://www.speedonthewater.com/pyburn-lilly-and-buis-turk-going-pro-class-1-racing/
