Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix Fleet At Season-Leading 64 Teams And Counting
With five events in the books so far, the American Power Boat Association Offshore National Championship Series has averaged 43.6 registered boats per event. The Powerboat P1-produced Shootout Offshore event in Missouri attracted a series-high 49 teams, while the Race World Offshore Ocean City Grand Prix—a new event this year for the Key West, Fla., race-producer this year—attracted a season-low 32 boats.
A season-high 10 Mod V teams currently are registered for the Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix. Photo by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Helmkamp Photos.
But with 64 teams registered so far and a full week before the first green flag flies, the P1-produced 40th anniversary Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix in Southwest Florida is on track—by far—to have the best team-turnout of any event of the 2024 APBA series.
“Sarasota will have the biggest fleet of the season,” said Ryan Beckley of the Super Stock-class Atlas/Professional Plumbing team. It’s super-cool for what has become my hometown. The town and local fans are definitely excited about the return of racing for the 40th year.
As usual, the Super Stock class is bringing the biggest show to town. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
“We are having an open-house cocktail party at our shop (Kinetic Animation in Bradenton, Fla.) on Thursday night from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for the Offshore Vintage Museum,” he added.
As it has for the past few years, the Super Stock class tops the roster with 11 registered teams. But with 10 teams signed up, the Mod V is right there with the Super Stock group. Super Cat has a super-solid seven teams in for Sarasota, and Class 1 will match its season-high turnout so far with five teams registered.
Seven also happens to be the lucky number (of teams) for the 450R Factory class.
With seven boats in the mix, the Super Cat race is sure to be a battle.
The Super V ranks have already matched their season-high registration with three teams—enough to fill a podium, at least. But even with just three Super V teams on the course, the class with make more noise than any other category in the Sarasota mix.
On the Bracket-class side, eight 500-class teams have signed up so far, as have a season-high seven teams for the Bracket 700 class.
The 40th annual Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix is shaping up to be a monster event.
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