Great Lakes Grand Prix - Outstanding action in Michigan City

by Super Boat International on 9 Aug 2013 Teams took part this past weekend in the fifth annual Great Lakes Super Boat Grand Prix and treated what appeared to be record crowds to an outstanding show. It was JD Byrider who ultimately took the checkered flag and the win in the Super Boat class. Mother Nature provided a chamber of commerce day and even put an extra bump in Lake Michigan to keep the racers in check and to excite the fans with high flying boats.

One team that couldn’t wait to arrive in Michigan City was Dr. Mike Janssen and his Snowy Mountain Brewery Outerlimits Super Vee. 'I really love coming here… everyone is so nice and thoughtful; it is just a wonderful place to race. Our team had a great race today. I really like this two-race format that Super Boat is doing as it allows everyone to race the first race and then come in and make changes as necessary. It’s like a 45-minute pit stop and, then, we are back on the course for the second race. We are really happy to come away with a win and my team did a great job to get us there,' comments Janssen. 'The beach was phenomenal with people all down the entire race course.'

'Even though there were less boats than last year, this year’s race provided some very exciting action,' comments President of Super Boat, John Carbonell. 'Everyone in every class put on a great show and those teams really excited the fans. Even with the fewer boats, I heard comments from fans that it made it easier for them to keep the classes straight and know who is leading.'

One other team who enjoyed coming [to Michigan City], but did not enjoy the outcome of the day was team STIHL. Owner / driver, JR Noble did his best to stay in sight of a first place finish, but ultimately finished third behind JD Byrider and WHM Motorsports. 'On the last turn of the last lap, we were getting hosed down and couldn’t see a thing. At the last minute when the windshield cleared, the turn buoy was instantly there and it went down the left side of the boat …that would be the wrong side. We chose not to turn around and pick it up and just headed to the finish line. It was a real bummer,' commented Noble.

WHM Motorsports owner / driver Billy Mauff comments on the value of the pit stop. 'Today was rougher than yesterday (Saturday) and I’m glad we had a chance to come in and change props. The second race was rougher than the first and when we went to a smaller prop, it made all the difference. I’m really happy for Tony (JD Byrider) on his win today. He had said if he didn’t win, he wasn’t coming to the next race. Thankfully, he won and now we are all off to New York. These people are great here and, hopefully, we can get more boats to come next year and put on an even bigger show.'

Other class winners included GB Racing in the Super Stock class, Lucas Oil in the Extreme class and Dare Devil in Manufacturer P3.

The next Super Boat International race will be at New York, NY, the weekend of September 6th – eighth. The 23rd Annual New York Super Boat Grand Prix showcases one of the most unique backdrops in offshore racing, the Manhattan skyline. Launching the race boats by the Statue of Liberty, fans can watch the race from both sides of the Hudson Super Boat International