P1: P1 USA Kentucky Grand Prix preview

Lake Cumberland to Host Second SVL 'P1 USA Class' Event

Following a successful debut at Biloxi, MS, in May Powerboat P1 USA prepares for the second of nine sponsored Super Vee Light (SVL) boat races during the Offshore Super Series (OSS) Kentucky Grand Prix June 3-6 at Lake Cumberland, KY.

Being self dubbed 'P1 USA Class,' SVL racers received $10,000 in prize money following 'Smokin the Sound,' the OSS season opener, with all nine boats in the class receiving a check based on a sliding payment scale agreed upon beforehand by the racers.

Powerboat P1 USA has put up $90,000 in prize money for theSVL 3 boats Shoot 2 thrill, Pete Boden Super Vee Lights in an effort to increase boat count and improve the competition at various offshore races, as well as highlight the professionalism of the class. Working with four different race series -- and the SVL racers who last year agreed among themselves to race as a group in different race organizations -- Powerboat P1 USA established a list of sponsor criteria and a minimum boat count which must be met for the up to $10,000 per race, and $10,000 season high points prize package to be in effect. As a result, the nine SVL boats in Biloxi represented the largest race class.

"Under this sponsorship agreement, everybody wins," said P1 USA Operations Director Martin Sanborn. "Race promoters can rely on a solid fleet of SVL boats; the racers can rely on a guaranteed, unprecedented prize purse; and the fans, racers and promoters alike can enjoy some high-quality, highly competitive offshore boat racing."

Powerboat P1 USA, along with its corporate parent, London-based Powerboat P1 World Championship has developed and implemented a model that is designed to improve offshore boat racing as a marketing platform with fewer classes, more participants, a level of professionalism fans have come to expect from motorsports in general and, eventually, establishing an actual world-wide competition with a bi-annual World Championship race rotating between the United States and an international venue under the auspices of the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM).

In addition to OSS, Powerboat P1 USA will sponsor events in the Offshore Powerboat Association (OPA), the Pacific Offshore Powerboat Racing Association (POPRA) and Super Boat International (SBI). Tentative races scheduled to participate are Sunny Isles Beach, FL (OPA); Sarasota, FL (SBI); New York City (SBI); Atlantic City, NJ (OPA); St. Clair, MI (OPA); Orange Beach, AL (OPA/POPRA); and legendary Key West, FL (SBI).

-source: prpower.biz