Offshore racing came to Michigan City, IN, over the weekend for the XINSURANCE Great Lakes Grand Prix, produced by Race World Offshore. Brit Lilly and Bill Pyburn beat out five Pro Class 1 competitors in their XINSURANCE South entry to take the checkered flag on both days of racing—first in Saturday’s qualifying heat, then in Sunday’s action-packed bout.

In second place was Willy Cabeza and Grant Bruggemann in Marine Technology/GC Racing, an MTI 482R; they were followed by Monster Energy/M•CON, the 43' Skater hull piloted by Tyler Miller and Myrick Coil. Pothole Heroes (with Carlos de Quesada and John Tomlinson) finished up in fourth place, while

XINSURANCE North (with JJ Turk and Nick Buis) finished in fifth. WHM Motorsports (with Billy Mauff and Jay Muller) went out with a mechanical issue.

Several of these racers worked double-duty over the weekend, campaigning boats in Super Cat and Factory Stock classes, respectively. When Super Cat racing convened on Sunday, Dirty Money (with Bill Pyburn and Brit Lilly) battled CJ Racing/Graydel (Chris Grant and Jay Muller) for the lead. Unfortunately, Dirty Money both spun out and missed a buoy on Turn 1, so Pyburn and Lilly had to circle back to make the correction—similar to what CJ Racing/Graydel itself had done weeks earlier at the XINSURANCE Offshore race at the Lake of the Ozarks (and they came back to win it). It looked like the same thing might happen again with Dirty Money: Pyburn and Lilly fought their way back to the #2 position, gradually gaining precious ground on Graydel. But it was Graydel that took the checkered flag at the end, Dirty Money only a rooster tail and a few seconds behind.

However, in a double-twist, race officials later determined that Graydel had committed a “rolling start,” and relegated the team to third place behind newly christened winner Dirty Money and second-place finisher Team Farnsworth/Hancock Claims Consultants (with Christian McCauley and Anthony Smith). EWB Racing was fourth, Rollin Transport with owner/throttleman Vinnie Diorio and new veteran driver Sean Conner taking fifth and CR Racing with Rob Unnerstall and Casey Boaz in sixth.

“I couldn't believe it,” Lilly told Speedboat. “After we missed the buoy, I thought, ‘We need to get back to the podium—we need the points. Let's run hard and play smart. And then I thought, ‘We might actually get to second.’ Then I thought we might actually catch him! Typically, by the eighth lap, you're like, ‘Man, when's this thing gonna be over?’ But at Michigan City, all I could think was, ‘I just need two more laps!’”

Pyburn and Lilly ran a qualifying race on Saturday, which was the posthumous birthday of his famous father, offshore racing legend Art Lilly, who passed away last year at age 77. “It was an emotional weekend,” Brit confided. “We did everything that I could ever want this weekend. I was totally fine with getting second place in Super Cat. It was so exciting. People were saying, “Dude, you guys were on a mission!’ That's what racing's all about. If you want to learn how to get good, let everybody see if you can catch back up. That'll teach you how to race.”

Meanwhile, Miller and Coil were back on the water to race in Factory Stock class, featuring catamarans powered by twin Mercury Racing 500R outboards. Miller and Coil took the wheel of MTI Vice President Taylor Scism’s 390XR T/S Motorsports. The pair, hot off their victory at Lake of the Ozarks, faced off against three other competitors: Mead Family Racing (with Caleb Mead and John Tomlinson), GC Racing (with Willy Cabeza and Grant Bruggemann), and Jackhammer/Manatee Marine Unlimited (with Reese Langheim and Julian Maldonado) competing for the first time together in the new race boat. GC Racing turned out to be the team to beat, as the boys carved out a wide lead for themselves, while T/S Motorsports appeared to encounter a Guardian mode issue and fell back behind the remaining cats. Mead Family Racing finished second and Jackhammer finished third.

As has become the norm, Super Stock class featured more entries than any other class, this time with a total of 13. Among them: Raymarine/Big East Construction (with Cole Leibel and Gary Ballough), which has been virtually unstoppable this season, and reigning World Champion Team Allen Lawn Care (with Billy Allen and Randy Keys).

Hi-Tech Deck, with Shaun Torrente and new driver Matt Jamniczky (formerly of SV Racing/Rollin Transport), grabbed the lead and were performing flawlessly when Mikalyzed/The Firm Racing (with Pete Riveiro and Ricky Maldonado) flipped over and landed upside down, stopping all action with a red flag. (The racers emerged, with some minor injuries.) When the course was clear again, Hi-Tech Deck charged ahead of the pack after the restart and remained there to take the checkered flag. Coco’s Monkey (with AJ and Pete Bogino) was second, and Raymarine finished third. At this stage of the season, based on their previous first place finishes, all Raymarine needs to do is get on the podium to earn a WPRA National Championship. Team Allen Lawn Care did not compete.

Mod Vee and Super Vee classes each lured three teams to Michigan City. Mod Vee featured two XINSURANCE entries: Statement Marine/XINSURANCE (with JJ Turk and Nick Buis) and Safe Cash/XINSURANCE (with Scott Jobin and Rick Raab); the third entry was Boatfloater.com, with the father/son team of Steve and Stephen Kildahl, fresh off their wins at LOTO and New Orleans P1 Offshore race. Turk and Buis took the lead, and the win, followed by Boatfloater.com and Safe Cash.

Super Vee racing was dominated by "Evil" Ed Smith and Brian Klinec in Knucklehead, with Team Farnsworth/Hancock Claims Consultants (Elijah Kingery and Anthony Smith) finishing second and Cortez Cove/Fountain Racing (with Kirk Britto and Rob Lockyer) in third.

Cat 300 class pitted Jackhammer Mini (with Ricardo Maldonado and Connor Langheim) against TFR/XINSURANCE (Cameron Turk and Owen Buis). Jackhammer dominated with a significant lead to take the win.

American Custom Marine, with Michael Knoblock and Chris Uzzi, ran unopposed in Extreme class.

Here were the winners in the bracket classes:

Class 200—Team Woody Racing, with Chad Woody and Billy Shipley.

Class 400—Saris Racing Engines, with Johnny and Jason Saris.

Class 500—Pump It, with Joey and Mikey Dacey.

Class 600—Moderation, with Michael Lang and Johnny Saris.

Class 700—Shocker, with Ray Evans and Chris Colson.

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