Lycamobile Racing take the weekend win as P1 SuperStock serves up a thrilling race spectacle under the Sarasota sun
P1 SuperStock’s unique racing formula stole the headlines in Sarasota this weekend with five close-fought battles in front of huge crowds who flocked to the beach over the Independence holiday weekend.
Two firsts and a third place for the Lycamobile Racing team on Saturday saw the pairing of Lee Baker and Sandy Kenigsman take an early lead in the standings at the halfway mark of the Grand Prix weekend. Strong performances on Saturday from reigning champions GD Environmental keep them in the hunt together with father-and-son pairing Bill and Elijah Kingery in Team Alisyn Oil.
The likeable pairing from Ohio rued an early mistake in race one when they ran wide on the south side of the course and lost their early lead over the rest of the fleet. They fought back to regain second place behind a Lycamobile boat which looked to be running very competitively all weekend.
There were battles aplenty in the final race on Saturday, with no less than four boats vying for third place in what can only be described as one of the most closely fought finishes in SuperStock racing history. Southeastern Lighting Solutions eventually claimed the third spot, followed by GD Environmental, Advanced Masonry and HalloweenMegaStore.com, with less than two seconds splitting the four protagonists.
Sunday’s opening race – the fourth of the weekend for the P1 SuperStock fleet – was dominated by Team Alisyn Oil who led from the opening lap to the chequered flag. Southeastern Lighting Solutions finished in second place and HalloweenMegaStore.com in third, with both boats recording their best positions of the weekend. Following the race, Lycamobile Racing received a one minute time penalty for missing a mark which relegated them to 8th place.
In the final race on Sunday afternoon, held in baking hot conditions, Team Lycamobile Racing put the disappointment of the earlier penalty behind them to take a commanding win – their third of the weekend – by more than 20 seconds, securing them the overall victory of the weekend. With the sweet taste of champagne still on his lips, an ecstatic Lee Baker said: “To take three wins out of five this weekend is a dream come true and we fought so hard all weekend. Conditions on Sunday were tougher than Saturday but we worked our way through the field and knew that we had a chance of the overall win if we finished consistently.”
P1 Chief Operating Officer, Robert Wicks, said: “P1 is delighted to have been part of this amazing event for the first time and it’s great to know that there are several charities that will benefit as a result. The feedback from spectators about our SuperStock and AquaX race classes has been terrific and I have no doubt about the significant impact our racing has made to the overall weekend. We very much look forward to including Sarasota on our 2016 schedule and will be working closely with Lucy and her team to ensure the continued success of the event.”
The US teams now have a three week break before the next round of the Championship in St. Cloud, Florida at the end of July.
Overall Weekend Results Position Number Team Points 1 02 Lycamobile 85 2 17 Team Alisyn Oil 81 3 07 GD Environmental 79 4 31 HalloweenMegaStore.com 68 5 15 Boatwrench 66 6 55 Southeastern Lighting Solutions 59 7 33 Advanced Masonry 47 8 09 Livorsi 42 9 94 Visit Jacksonville 32
Overall Championship Standings Position Number Team Points 1 07 GD Environmental 176 2 02 Lycamobile 159 3 31 HalloweenMegaStore.com 137 4 55 Southeastern Lighting Solutions 133 5 15 Boatwrench 129 6 17 Team Alisyn Oil 128 7 09 Livorsi 110 8 94 Visit Jacksonville 86 9 33 Advanced Masonry 47
