With a little more than a month to go in the 2015 Super Boat International regular season the Superboat Unlimited-class Alex and Ani team is planning to make its first start of the year at the SBI National Championships (Sept. 25-27) in Clearwater, Fla. That’s the word from Jimmy Cazzani, the owner and throttleman of the 42-foot Platinum catamaran powered by a pair of turbocharged Stotler Racing Engines mills reportedly in the 1,900-hp range.

Last seen on the offshore racecourse at the SBI World Championships in Key West, Fla., in November 2014, the team left the event with a significantly damaged raceboat and without its title sponsor. Jewelry giant Alex and Ani is back on board, along with fellow “marketing partners” Clean Care of New England and Go-Pro, and the catamaran has been repaired with a new engine program that is on track, according to Cazzani.

If the current plan holds, Alex and Ani will be back on the offshore racecourse for the first time since Key West in 2014. Photo courtesy/copyright Jay Nichols/Naples Image

The team reportedly had planned on having the boat ready for SBI’s midseason event in Pensacola, Fla. The cancellation of that race gave Cazzani and company much-needed additional time to prepare for Clearwater.

“Our boat was in the body shop for six months repairing the damage from Key West,” Cazzani said. “It was an expense and delay I wasn’t prepared for. It’s tough to keep going and updating when money is tight because there isn’t much happening, but we are almost ready and very optimistic.

“Stotler Racing Engines’ team—Herb (Stotler), Levi and Brady—are on her now,” he continued. “We have all the pieces to the puzzle. Herb has done such a phenomenal job engineering and dialing in these turbos with a meager budget. I wish I could provide him more funding and am very appreciative of all his efforts. I couldn’t be in better hands.”

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