EVENT REPORTSARASOTA GRAND PRIXLIDO BEACH JULY 1-2, 2017

Huge crowds celebrate with P1 Powerboat Grand Prix teams and racers at Sarasota Block Party

ECONOMIC IMPACT• $36.2million economic impact• 18,500 room nights• $3.3million in total hotel impact

SOCIAL MEDIA• 143,891 followers• 188,666 video views over the week• 80,376 engagements over the week• Total reach was 990,936• Largest audience was Male 25-34

LIVE STREAM• 100,395 viewers• 36,647 minutes watched on Extreme class live stream• Peak live viewers at 484

Live Stream Times:Saturday July 2: 10am-5:00pmSunday July 3: 9am-5:00pm

FIRST AIR TIMESComcast Chicago: P1 SuperStock - 22-Jul-17 at 7pm, P1 AquaX - 15-Jul-17 at 9pm, GP of the Sea - 30-Jul-17 at 8.30pmFox Sports Sun: P1 SuperStock - 02-Aug-17 at 7pm, P1 AquaX - 17-Jul-17 at 6pm, GP of the Sea - 22-Jul-17 at 8.30pmEleven Sports Network: P1 SuperStock - 20-Jul-17 at 8pm, GP of the Sea - 20-Jul-17 at 8.30pm

P1 SuperStock shown 21 times across all networks internationallyP1 AquaX shown 31 times across all networks domesticallyP1 Grand Prix of the Sea shown 12 times across all networks internationally

Also aired internationally on Sky Sports, Fox Africa, Fox Europe, Kwese, Nautical Channel & Max Power in over 50 countries and 785 million homes.

Despite running only three races it was an eventful weekend of racing in Sarasota as Spectre produced a stunning display to remain unbeaten

Spectre take clean sweep to announce championship ambitions in Sarasota

Craig Wilson, who drove GEICO to four victories and a second at the 2016 SuperStock USA Championship finale, put in yet another scintillating performance to sit atop the podium at the end of the weekend.

Marine wildlife holds put paid to any chances of completing the fourth race that could have seen Spectre close the gap on championship leaders Frank & Al’s Pizza even more.

Visit Jacksonville put a disappointing round in St Pete Beach behind them to finish second, whilst three-time champions Team Barbados secured third spot ahead of Frank & Al’s by just one point.

Visit St Petersburg/Clearwater and GEICO tied on 36 points for the weekend meaning that the former now slip to third in the title race, 11 points off the pace going into the final round.

There was plenty of drama in race three as FJ Propellers and Southeastern Lighting Solutions both had identical hull issues as the fibreglass underbody broke up mid-race.

Sarasota Ford could only manage one completed race and once again prop up the overall weekend standings with just nine points.

The final round in Islamorada on 19/20 August will now host five races to ensure the championship is decided across a total of 20 races.

Baldwin makes championship charge with victory

Riva Racing’s Brian Baldwin picked up his first weekend victory of the 2017 season in a weekend full of controversy.

After results were adjusted because of a timing error in the only race on Saturday, only one race could be completed because of marine delays on Sunday and Baldwin took advantage as he put in a consistent performance amongst a real mixed bag of results for a number of the top riders.

Sea-Doo star Erminio Iantosca picked up second place but will be disappointed to have not taken top spot after his win in race one was followed up by a 14th placed finish in race two.

The world number one and reigning champion Chris MacClugage put a DNF in race one behind him to land his fourth race victory of the season and with it the final spot on the podium, just knocking Frenchman Cyrille Lemoine off the third step on countback.

There was controversy before podium celebrations as Ford rider Eric Lagopolous was disqualified due to a technical infringement after securing enough points for a podium spot.

Chris Saxon was once again the top rookie as he finished inside the top five with consistent performances whilst

others struggled around him.GEICO sponsored racer Jason Russo

was another who posted a seasons best as he finished sixth, featuring in perhaps the best battle of the weekend in which he came off second best in a duel with Baldwin in race 2.

Denmark’s Marcus Jorgensen was another who put a disappointing opening race behind him to finish an impressive second in race two and that pushed him into a top ten finishes.

Eric Francis was another who improved his position on Sunday but yielded second to Jorgensen because of a mechanical issue on the final lap that saw him limp home in third – eighth for the weekend overall.

Jay Edworthy (8th) and Tommy Olswang (10th) were the final names to make it inside the top ten.

With just two races completed four races will now be scheduled for round four in Islamorada on 19/20 August to ensure the championship will remain at 18 races.

There was plenty of drama on the water over the weekend as invitational powerboat racing wowed crowds in Sarasota.

33rd Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix a huge success

The invitational classes provided plenty of thrills as some of the finest racers went head-to-head with each other, providing breathtaking competition and fierce battles throughout.

In the Extreme division, there was a race to remember between Miss Geico and Alex and Ani, who were almost inseparable throughout the contest as they battled it out for first place. The duo were side-by-side on a number of occasions and put on a superb show for the crowd, with it almost impossible to call who would come out on top. Eventually, the Miss Geico crew of Marc Granet and Scotty Begovich won, claiming victory by 13 seconds.

There was disappointment for Team Twisted Metal, who could no complete the 16 laps, leaving them in last behind third place Lucas Oil Silverhook.

The Supercat class provided a real dominant performance from WHM Motrosport who breezed to victory by a massive two minutes and 15 seconds over their closest rivals the Salt Terminator by CRC Industries. Despite having six entries, only half the field would finish the contest and Pro Floors Racing were unfortunately disqualified after going out of bounds. Cleveland

Construction and STIHL were unable to finish, with the team of Myrick Coil and John Tomlinson (Performance Boat Centre/Jimmy Johns-US) securing the last place on the podium.

A red flag halted the P5 category halfway through when the No Vacancy crew were injured after their boat flipped over. Driver JJ Turk was ejected from the boat and subsequently taken to hospital after suffering a fracture to his leg.

Despite the incident, Two Cruel collected the win, joining Amendment USA (P3) and Perdition (P4) as the winners of their respected categories.

There was also success for Gettel in the Cat Life class and BoatFloater.com in the Super Vee Lite race, with Professional Plumbing and Mr.Technology finishing second respectively. Nick’s Creative Marine would perhaps have taken that position from Professional Plumbing but were penalised by a minute for destroying a buoy earlier in the race.

The City of Sarasota and Sarasota Board of County Commissioners both awarded special proclamations naming June 24-July 4 as Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix Festival Week!

© 2017 Powerboat P1 Management Limited, 2320 Clark Street, Suites A1-A3, Apopka, FL 32703 USA

Located on Southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast, Sarasota County provides the quintessential white-sand beach getaway, perfect for absorbing the noise, power and excitement of a double-bill of world class powerboat and jetski racing. The vibrancy and carnival atmosphere of a P1 event perfectly complements Sarasota’s unique circus heritage.

The Sarasota Grand Prix is one of the most historic events on the offshore powerboat racing calendar in North America, having just completed it’s 33rd year.

The location of the pits across from the Hyatt Regency is a key part of the event with fans able to interact with the race teams. With beautiful marinas and inter-coastal waterways, where the color of the water is unmistakable, Sarasota provides the perfect platform for an on-water festival.

P1 USA Director, Azam Rangoonwala, said: “The Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix is picking up momentum again with rising boat counts over the last three years. Powerboat P1 is striving to continue this growth with better television coverage, growing social media numbers and competitive racing.”

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2017 P1 CalendarVENUE COUNTRY SERIES DATE

Mumbai INDIA World 3/4/5 March

Daytona USA Florida 22/23 April

Kissimmee USA Florida 20 May

Jacksonville USA Florida 3 June

Normandy FRANCE Europe 3/4 June

Aalborg DENMARK UK 10/11 June

St Pete Beach USA Florida 17/18 June

Greenock SCOTLAND UK 24/25 June

Sarasota USA Florida 1/2 July

Estavayer-Le-Lac SWI World 1/2 July

Milford Haven UK UK 15/16 July

Vichy FRANCE World 29/30 July

Whiting USA Great Lakes 12/13 August

Islamorada USA Florida 19/20 August

Torquay UK UK 2/3 September

Chicago USA Great Lakes 9/10 September

So Fun Village FRANCE World 9/10 September

Port Bilas SPAIN Europe 14/15 October

Ft Lauderdale USA Florida 18/19 November

Key West UK World 9/10 December