151 Express—the MTI 390X UIM Offshore Class 2 competitor formerly raced by driver Ian Morgan and throttleman Nick Imprescia—is getting some new pilots.
Vinnie Diorio, owner/throttleman of the #88 SV Offshore Racing / Rollin Transport team in the Super Cat class, will be joining forces with his driver Sean Conner in the 151 cockpit for upcoming races in Englewood and Key West, FL. Diorio, owner of the Wisconsin trucking company Rollin Transport, moved from performance pleasure boats and poker runs into racing. He has been a longtime Outerlimits supporter and client—V-bottoms and cats—and also runs a recreational Outerlimits 37' outboard cat with his wife, Danielle.
The deal was brokered by fellow offshore racer Bill Pyburn, who throttles the Dirty Money / BPR / Club Car Wash boats in Super Cat and Class 1. Pyburn reached out to Diorio and Conner to let them know that the Class 2 boat needed some new pilots. Diorio told Speedboat that he then met with 151 Express owner Jorge Arellano at the Clearwater Nationals Offshore Grand Prix this past weekend, along with crew chief Ray Vera, who pitched him on the idea of racing the boat for the remainder of the season, and possibly beyond.
"We had lunch with them and then tested the boat at On Harris Lake in Leesburg, FL," Diorio said. "Sean and I got acclimated very quickly. We had a good time in it and got some good speed out of it. It's a competitive boat, and it was fun."
His partner, Sean Conner, is a California-based yacht broker/consultant with a longer racing résumé. He worked on the Miss GEICO/AMF crew in the mid-2000s, then drove Super Stock cats (Doug Wright, MTI, Victory, LPC, CMR Roofing). He has off-road, jet-ski, and closed-course experience and is originally from the Reno, NV area. He joined Diorio as driver in 2025.
Conner told Speedboat that he and Diorio were stoked to get into the MTI on Harris Lake for the first time. "The boat was ready to go and well balanced, so it made the learning of the boat a lot easier," he said. "We'll use Englewood as kind of an expanded test session—you learn more on the race course than anywhere else. So we're going to race Englewood to learn the boat even further—what it likes, doesn't like, move some weight around, and then get ready for Key West. That's where we really want do well."
Next season, Conner hopes to continue racing both 151 Express in Class 2 and Rollin Transport in Super Cat with Diorio. "We've been friends for years, so we click really well, communicate really well, and we're comfortable in the boat together."
151 Express team owner Jorge Arellano said he was enthusiastic about adding two seasoned pilots who bring a lot of experience in catamaran racing to the team. He said his role as team owner is to provide the pilots with the best possible equipment and support, while they hone their skills to refine the boat.
"I'm so excited about this opportunity," he told Speedboat. "I think that Sean and Vinnie are going to bring a lot of value to my team. My job is to provide them with the tools they need to succeed, and we're going to give them the best tools that I have at my disposal."
Meanwhile, Ray Vera, who has been 151 Express's crew chief since 2019, told Speedboat, "We're going to do what we always do—set the boat up right and give them a winning machine. Everyone has different abilities, so I'm eager to see how Vinnie and Sean bring their their abilities to this class. Every class is different. I think they felt very comfortable in the boat. I think it's going to go very well."
Milestones for 151 Express include a 2022 Mod-V World Championship, its first Factory Stock race win at Thunder on Cocoa Beach in 2025, and its first Factory Stock APBA World Championship at Englewood Beach Waterfest later that season. (The boat sat out the 2025 Key West Worlds.)
The Englewood Beach Waterfest runs Oct. 9-11, while the Race World Offshore Key West World Championships take place Nov. 1-8.