Outdoor Sports

Miss GEICO Racing to Compete in the 2019 Lake of the Ozarks Lake Race

Miss GEICO challenges other Class One competitors during the 2019 Thunder on Cocoa Beach Power Boat Races.
Miss GEICO challenges other Class One competitors during the 2019 Thunder on Cocoa Beach Power Boat Races.

LAKE OZARK, Mo.May 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — The Miss GEICO Offshore Racing Team vies to clinch a first-place finish during its second race of the 2019 season during the Lake Race on Saturday, June 1.  The seventh annual Lake of the Ozarks race will offer spectator viewing on the water and also at Camden on the Lake.

The Miss GEICO team completed the 2018 season with six regular season wins and an 11th world championship racing title.  On the heels of a near perfect racing season, the team looks forward to competing in a new race organization with new rules for competition.

The Offshore Powerboat Association (OPA) and Powerboat P1 have joined forces to create the newly formed American Power Boat Association (APBA) Offshore Championship Series, which is comprised of six races at the most desired race locations across the U.S.

Powerboat P1 CEO Azam Rangoonwala says the aim of the new partnership is to strengthen the future of offshore racing in the United States by uniting the race teams in a way that has been missing for a long time and will deliver an expanded, cohesive, world-class race series split equally between northern and southern states. “We want to stage events that excite and entertain, ensuring enjoyment for spectators and TV audiences with sponsor value and a real economic impact for the host venues,” Rangoonwala said.

The freshly painted and rebuilt Miss GEICO will compete in Class One, which is comprised of the biggest and fastest race boats in the world. All boats in this class will weigh 12,500 pounds.  The race engines will be sealed and governed by Mercury Racing to insure fairness.   The 47-foot Miss GEICO Victory catamaran is made of carbon, Kevlar and S-glass for high performance.  The boat sports a pair of brand-new and recently released Mercury sealed 1,100 horsepower engines and can reach top speeds of more than 160 mph.

On the water, Miss GEICO is under the control of driver James Sheppard and throttleman Steve Curtis. The duo has been unbeatable the past two seasons and are aiming for a three-peat.  Collectively, these racers have earned numerous international, national, and world championship titles.

The second race of the new series takes place Saturday, June 1 with pre-race events starting Friday, May 31.  Powerboat teams will participate in race boat testing during the afternoon and the Festival of Speed on Land and Sea party on Friday evening at Toad Cove.  Races will take place all day Saturday with Miss GEICO performing in the last race of the day at X p.m. followed by an awards party at 7:30 p.m.  The race village will be open to the public starting at 11 a.m. on Friday and at 9 a.m. on Saturday.  For more information on the race and race activities, visit http://www.lakerace.com/home.html.

SOURCE  Miss GEICO Offshore Racing