Victory Team, Pro Floors Racing and CR Racing Rock St. Clair Race
Aside from some delays caused by freighter traffic and weather, the 25th annual St. Clair River Classic was a roaring success, as a couple of dozen offshore race boats delivered the goods Sunday on the St. Clair River in Michigan. It was the fifth OPA race of the season, and the fourth collaboration with Powerboat P1 in its APBA Offshore Championship Series.
Three boats turned out for the series’ Class One USA competition: Victory Team (with Salem Al Adidi and Eisa Al Ali), Miss Geico (with Steve Curtis and Miles Jennings) and 222 Offshore Racing (with Darren Nicholson and Giovanni Carpitella). The Victory and Miss Geico teams were racing for the first time since both of their boats flipped at the July 7 meet in Sarasota, FL. The St. Clair race was won by the Victory Team, in a thrilling bout that saw them battling 222 Offshore Racing, which had prevailed in Sarasota. Miss Geico came in third.
In the Super Cat class, NZ-11 Pro Floors Racing racked up another win for the season, repeating its first-place showing after taking the checkered flag at the season-opening Cocoa Beach race, and second-place finishes at the Lake of the Ozarks and Sarasota. The New Zealand team (with owner/driver Wayne Valder and throttleman Grant Bruggemann) are currently leading the class in high points. WHM Racing, Broadco and Performance Boat Center/Jimmy John’s finished in second, third and fourth place. Competitor M-CON rolled over about halfway through the Super Cat skirmish; team members Tyler Miller and Tyson Garvin escaped the 40′ Skater safely.
Super Stock boats put on another great performance, with S-8 CR Racing (with Casey Boaz and Rob Unnerstall) enjoying a substantial lead for most of the race to finish on top. Performance Boat Center/Auto Alert, featuring Rusty Williams and Myrick Coil, finished second, and Gary Ballough and Lorne Leibel in FJ Propeller came in third place.
Complete podium finishes:
ClassONE USA
1st – 3 Victory
2nd – 222 222 Offshore
3rd – 113 Miss GEICO
SUPER CAT
1st – NZ-11 ProFloors Racing
2nd – 5 WHM
3rd – 05 Broadco
SUPER STOCK
1st – S-8 CR Racing
2nd – S-21 Performance Boat Center
3rd – S-19 FJ Propeller
VEE EXTREME
1st – 66 Tug It
2nd – 20 Knucklehead Instigator
SVX
1st – 22 Punisher
2nd – 17 Marker 17
3rd – 2 BoatFloater
PROSTOCK VEE
1st – 66 LSB Racing
2nd – 77 Done Deal
3rd – 33 Showtime
CLASS 3
1st – V6 Strictly Business
2nd – V1 Wazzup
CLASS 4
1st – 404 Simmons Marine
2nd – 499 Rumbelphish
3rd – 466 Edward J Painting
CLASS 5
1st – 516 Bronx Phantom
2nd – 512 Specialized Racing
3rd – 533 All Fired UP
CLASS 6
1st – 651 Deception Offshore
2nd – 691 Liquid Addiction
3rd – 611 Smith Brothers
CLASS 7
1st – 721 Shadow Pirate
2nd – 766 Chug It
3rd – 749 On A Mission
P1 SUPERSTOCK
1st – 09 Visit St Pete Clearwater
CLASS 2
1st – 212 Summerset Boat Lift
