The 2025 offshore racing season officially kicked off this weekend as competitors set course for Powerboat P1's Thunder on Cocoa Beach, as the event returned for its 16th year on Florida's Space Coast. Famous for its notoriously rough water conditions, this year's race saw calmer-than-usual waters on the 6.9-mile-long course—as well as a lighter-than-usual boat count, as Class 1 and other teams sat out the event this year amid a dispute between the governing bodies of offshore racing.
The two-day schedule culminated with four Super Cat competitors facing off (compared to last year's roster of seven). CR Racing, a 388 Skater piloted by Rob Unnerstall and Casey Boaz, took the lead in Lap 1, but quickly lost momentum, eventually dropping back due to a mechanical issue and did not finish the race. Brit Lilly and Bill Pyburn, driver and throttleman of reigning World Champion Dirty Money/BOXO USA (another 388 Skater), displayed their typically hard-charging ways by intercepting the lead and keeping it until they captured the checkered flag. Second place went to Graydel/CJ Grant Racing (with Chris Grant and new throttleman Jay Muller); third place went to Chris Hopgood and Jax Muller in Wicked.
A large fleet of 12 boats came to compete in Super Stock class on Saturday, but competition came to an abrupt end when Team S-12 ‘Nuff Said / Hamilton Princess flipped during the second-to-last lap of the race. Both throttleman Andy Stoneham and driver Luis Martins emerged from the overturned pink boat’s bottom escape hatch and later checked out OK. The official winners were Raymarine/Big East, featuring owner/driver Cole Leibel and veteran throttleman Gary Ballough. Second place went to a new competitor in this class: Team TFR (Tschida Family Racing) Motorsports/Wozencraft, with first-time racer Jeremy Tschida and champion veteran throttleman Julian Maldonado of Manatee Marine Unlimited. Third place went to The Firm, with World Champion driver Pete Riveiro, alongside esteemed throttleman and two-time National and World Champion Ricky Maldonado. Also competiting were another new team, Diggin Deep (with Todd DeFilipps and Andrew Miller) in fourth place; Team Allen Lawn Care (with Billy Allen and Randy Keys) in fifth place; and Team Bermuda (with David Selley and Steven Bridges) in sixth place.
Sunday's Factory Stock class competition was notable, as this was the first official race to feature boats running Mercury Racing twin 500R outboards. Three Doug Wright hulls squared off against one MTI and one Skater. In the MTI 390XR 151 Express were Ian Morgan and Nick Imprescia, who had qualified first on Saturday with a time of 3:41.92. That earned them the #1 pole position, and the team led the race to take the win. In second place was Heritage Canados, a Doug Wright hull featuring Michel Karsenti and Ervin Grant. Third place went to Montlick Injury Attorneys, with defending national champions Logan Adan and Giovanni Carpitella. In fourth place was the father/son team of George and Mike Stancombe, who raced Yardarm/Peppers/JBS Racing, a Skater hull originally equipped with I/O engines, but now sporting the 500R outboards. In fifth place was a new team: Al & Al, a 38' Doug Wright piloted by Roberto Lo Piano and Alfredo Amato. This team, which has competed successfully oveseas in the X Cat series, qualified #2 on Saturday, but slowed down with an apparent mechanical issue on Lap 6.
In Mod V competition, NMBRVresort.com, with Kirk Hanna and Mark Rinda, took first place out of five entries in their 30' Phantom. They were followed by Steven Fehrmann and Steve Miklos in El Bandido Tequila/Sunprint, taking second place on the podium. In third place was Boatfloater.com, with the father-son team of Stephen and Steve Kildahl.
The new entry-level class Cat 300, featuring canopied boats powered by a single outboard engine. Lakeside/Lanier Custom Boats, with driver Sean Lanier and throttleman Mike Bethan, ran unopposed with the Bracket 700 competitors. Lanier Custom Boats was founded by the legendary Errol Lanier, a former teammate of Bob Kaiser.
Some bracket class results:
Bracket 200—OC Racing (with Joseph Olivieri and Billy Glueck) took first place, followed by Justice League (with Jack Fowler and Richard Davis).
Bracket 400—Simmons Marine (with Jim Simmons and Jason Zolecki) took first place, followed by Superior Offshore (with Mark Fernandez and Damon Marotta) in second place.
Bracket 500—Tunnel Vision (with Mike McColgan and Robert Bryant) took first place, followed by Yabba Dabba Doo (with Nelson Sawyer and JD Ivines).
Bracket 600—Team Velocity (with Bob Spitulski and Scott Mccormick) ran unopposed.
Bracket 700—Pist'n Broke Offshore Racing (with Jeff Pritchard and Scottie Young) took first place, followed by Dirt Legal Velocity Racing (with Brad Christopher and Connor Langheim) in second and Proven Marine (with Greg Blutter and Craig Chiddenton) in third.
APBA is now enforcing their new change for 2025—a zero-tolerance rule regarding bracket-class boats that break out of their respective speed limits. In Cocoa Beach, that rule cost Superior Offshore (Class 400) and Dirt Legal Velocity Racing (Class 700) their wins after initially capturing the checkered flag.
Offshore racing continues June 20-22 with the Lake of the Ozarks XINSURANCE Offshore event, hosted by PRO and WPRA, which will feature the inaugural WPRA National Championship Series. P1 Offshore/APBA racing continues June 27-29 with the inaugural New Orleans event, which is part of the offshore powerboat racing producer’s new Triple Crown series.