Super Boat Race Article

3rd Annual Super Boat Great Lakes Grand Prix, Michigan City, IN

Teams Take to Lake Michigan for August Power Boat Race

KEY WEST, Fla (August 1, 2011) – Super Boat International (SBI) will be coming to Lake Michigan August 5th through the 7th for the 3rd Annual Super Boat Great Lakes Grand Prix. Michigan City is the 4th race on the SBI National Series powerboat racing circuit. Super Boat fans can expect another great race weekend by the Northern Indiana coastal city in Laporte County.

Teams will converge on Washington Park to prepare their boats for Sunday’s race. They will bring in all their support equipment, tools, extra engines and props as they set-up their boats for what should be an unbelievable race. Super Boats are the world’s fastest offshore race boats and can hit speeds in excess of 200 mph in calm conditions. Lake Michigan is known for not always having calm waters. “I remember a lot of years back when I raced here, the waves seemed bigger than they are at home [Key West, Fl],” comments Super Boat President, John Carbonell.

“The City and Laporte County does a great job planning for this event and it has grown every year. This is our only fresh water race of the season and as much as we (SBI) like coming here, I know the race teams do as well,” continues Carbonell.

Many of the best Super Cat and Vee Bottom teams will be competing this year. Fans are encouraged to come down to Washington Park starting Friday, August 5 and see the raceboats up close. The local race team favorites, who will be running along side the SBI National Points leaders, can expect exciting deck to deck racing and can only hope for good conditions on Sunday.

Last year the teams of Team Cintron, Team STIHL, Watch Your Back and Global Warmer excited fans and this year will not be any different. “I’m really looking forward to coming back to race in Michigan City this year.  The town and the fans are just awesome… what a great community and they really support us,” comments JR Noble, owner and driver of the Super Cat Team STIHL.

Teams will compete in various classes based on the size of the race boats, number of engines and horsepower, and hull design.

Boats will start arriving Thursday August 4th to Washington Park off 200 Heisman Harbor Drive. Friday August 5th teams will be in the Dry Pits (Washington Park) all day with a concert in the evening starting at 8:00 pm in the Jaycee Pavilion. On Saturday August 6, teams will be testing from Noon to 5:00, via rules of the road on the water. At 6:00 pm, the Annual Taste of Michigan City boat parade will begin and culminates with a block party on Franklin Street in the evening.  Sunday August 7th, teams will attend the mandatory drivers meeting, with the first race scheduled to start at 11:00 am and the second race scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm. Be early and be aware of daily activities as the schedules could be modified.

This year’s event will be streamed live on Superboat.com so you won’t miss any of the action. The Super Boat racing season starts in the middle of May and runs through the second week of November, culminating with the Key West World Championships in Key West, Florida
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