The biggest and fastest boats on the water lived up to the hype Sunday at the inaugural Charlotte Harbor Super Boat Grand Prix.
Tor Staubo and his crew from Oslo, Norway, drove the 48-foot Gasse to victory in the Superboat Unlimited class, averaging 119.47 miles per hour, as they sliced through the waves in the Gulf of Mexico.
Gasse edged out another 48-footer, CMS, which finished second at an average speed of 116.71 mph.
In all, 30 boats entered the water to race in seven different classes in the biggest boat race ever held in the Englewood area.
The Charlotte Harbor race was the first scheduled stop of the Super Boat International tour for 2014. The SBI circuit will be back in the area the first week of July for its annual race in Sarasota.
“We tested the boat on Saturday and everything went great,” Staubo said. “We had a First of all, it was a great day because there were no accidents,” Staubo said. “The next best thing was we had no mechanical problems. The boat held up great.
“And, of course, to make it an extra special day, we also won, as well.”
The Stihl boat, driven by Robert Noble Jr. of Orlando, took the title in the Superboat Class. The 38-foot vessel averaged 103.20 mph to defeat Broadco, which finished second.
Broadco, driven by Chuck Broadous of St. Clair, Mich., averaged exactly 99 mph.
Driver Michael Janssen of Denver made his long trip worth it by winning the Super Boat Vee class. Janssen averaged 81.03 mph as he drove Snowy Mountain Brewery to the win over second-place Sun Print, which averaged 80.03 mph.
The Snowy Mountain Brewery boat was one of the smallest on the water Sunday at 29 feet.
Robert Nunziato of Dania Beach drove the 32-foot boat called The Hulk to the win in Superboat Stock at an average speed of 90.83 mph.
Also, Gary Jones of Bradenton averaged 82.05 mph at the helm of the Black Pearl to win the Production 3 class.
plan coming in and we stuck to it. It worked out perfectly and we are very happy.”
The Gasse’s fastest lap was its first at a sizzling 123.8 mph.
However, the fastest lap of the day belonged to the CMS, driven by Bob Bull from Macks Creek, Mo. The CMS hit a brisk 128.5 mph on its first lap of the day.
It’s called the Unlimited class because there are no limits to the amount of horsepower the boats can possess. Of course, racing a boat with so much power can become a game of simply trying to keep the vessel from breaking down.
It can also be downright dangerous for the drivers trying to keep everything in one piece.
The defending world champion in the Super Unlimited class, Miss Geico of Riviera Beach, suffered mechanical problems and was not a factor on Sunday. First of all, it was a great day because there were no accidents,” Staubo said. “The next best thing was we had no mechanical problems. The boat held up great.
“And, of course, to make it an extra special day, we also won, as well.”
The Stihl boat, driven by Robert Noble Jr. of Orlando, took the title in the Superboat Class. The 38-foot vessel averaged 103.20 mph to defeat Broadco, which finished second.
Broadco, driven by Chuck Broadous of St. Clair, Mich., averaged exactly 99 mph.
Driver Michael Janssen of Denver made his long trip worth it by winning the Super Boat Vee class. Janssen averaged 81.03 mph as he drove Snowy Mountain Brewery to the win over second-place Sun Print, which averaged 80.03 mph.
The Snowy Mountain Brewery boat was one of the smallest on the water Sunday at 29 feet.
Robert Nunziato of Dania Beach drove the 32-foot boat called The Hulk to the win in Superboat Stock at an average speed of 90.83 mph.
Also, Gary Jones of Bradenton averaged 82.05 mph at the helm of the Black Pearl to win the Production 3 class.
