Crowning Achievements At The 2025 Englewood Beach World Championships

Four years after entering his first race in the Super Stock class, Canada’s Lorne Leibel won his first world championship at the 2025 American Power Boat Association/Union Internationale Motonautique Offshore World Championships on the weekend of October 11 and 12 in Englewood, Fla. World and national championships were earned at the season finale of the APBA Offshore season in Englewood, Fla., a venue that is becoming a racer favorite. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix. It was the culmination of a 2025 season in which owner/driver Leibel and throttleman Gary Ballough dominated the Super Stock class in the 32-foot Victory, Raymarine. The owners in the Super Stock category voted on a schedule and raced in events put on by all the promoters and sanctioning bodies in the sport. Leibel and Ballough were on the podium at every race they entered, winning more than anyone else en route to the Super Stock national championship. Leibel, who is the nephew of offshore racing legend Lorne Leibel, bought his first outboard-powered catamaran when he was 15 years old. It was a 28-foot Skater powered by twin Mercury Racing 2.5 EFI Offshores. “I love the outboards,” he said when asked why he chose Super Stock. “It also had the most boats and there were always boats at every race.” Not only has Leibel committed himself to the class by purchasing a new 32-foot Victory catamaran that he and Ballough hope to campaign next year, he started Big East Marine on Lake Simcoe in Ontario, Canada, two years ago. “We always had a marine aspect,” he said. “I started with heated storage, then it evolved to winterizations and oil changes and now we offer full service.” Ballough, who has raced with Lorne Leibel, said that he and Cole kept mantras of Lorne and of John Tomlinson in mind during the Super Stock race in Englewood. “Lorne would always say, ‘Get me to the front,’ and Johnny always says, ‘You have to keep chopping at the tree.’” Ballough said the conditions in the Gulf of Mexico off Englewood Beach were perfect for the Super Stock boats. “It was a fun race because the water was a little challenging,” he explained. “It was so much better than it being flat or so rough that everyone was going to break their boat in half.” A total of 41 boats registered for the APBA season finale. Traditionally, the organization would crown national champions based on a season-long points tally and then crown world champions at the annual three-day stand-alone world championships in Key West, Fla., in the first full week of November. Because the World Powerboat Racing Association broke away from APBA before the 2025 season, the APBA Offshore commission chose to crown world champions the way the UIM does, using the season-long points total. Politics aside, racers and livestream broadcasters who had never been to Englewood raved about the venue. “I like the venue,” said first-time attendee Chad Rudesil, who raced in the Super Stock and Factory Stock classes. “The street party was really good and had a big turnout.” Added CELSIUS Super Stock team owner Chris Hopgood, “I’m a huge fan of offshore racing and the spectating in Englewood is fantastic with people all over the beach, it was just like Key West. It was unbelievable.” The Big Show Throughout the 2025 season, the Super Stock class had the most entries at every race with numbers averaging will into the teens and high teens. At Englewood, 11 catamarans in the 32-foot range powered by twin Mercury Racing 300R outboards ran two qualifying heats on Saturday to set the lanes for the Sunday race that would decide the APBA/UIM world champions. In heat one on Saturday, six boats competed and when the green flag waved, throttleman Pete Bogino and driver A.J. Bogino sprinted to the lead in their 32-foot Doug Wright, CoCo’s Monkey. Owner/driver Hopgood and throttleman Jay Muller ran second in the 32-foot Doug Wright, CELSIUS, and driver David Selley and throttleman Steven Bridges held third in the 32-foot Doug Wright, GL Construction/Team Bermuda. It didn’t take long for Muller and Hopgood to take a lead they wouldn’t surrender. CELSIUS took the checkered flag followed by CoCo’s Monkey and GL Construction/Team Bermuda. A heat-winner on day No. 1, CELSIUS didn't fare as well in Sunday's main event. In the second race, Raymarine jumped to the early lead and held the point until the checkers. Owner/throttleman Bill Allen and driver Randy Keys ran second in the 32-foot Doug Wright, Team Allen Lawncare, while owner/throttleman Jeremy Tschida and driver Reese Langheim took third in the 30-foot Victory, TFR/Wozencraft. The finishes from Saturday set the lanes for Sunday with Raymarine in lane one, Celsius in lane two, Team Allen Lawncare in slot three and CoCo’s Monkey in four. Wozencraf and GL Construction/Team Bermuda were outside of them. Before the Super Stock teams took to the five-mile course, the winds picked up to about 10 to 12 mph with stronger gusts. From the start, Raymarine took advantage of the inside lane and moved to the lead with CELSIUS in second. Wozencraft had its usual pairing of throttleman Julian Maldonado and Tschida on the wheel and they had CELSIUS in their sights. CoCo’s Monkey was also making a charge. While the bright green Raymarine had clean water up front, Wozencraft and CoCo’s Monkey managed to get around CELSIUS. Not long after,Team Allen Lawncare passed Hopgood and Muller, too. By the end of lap three of eight, Raymarine had a 15-second lead. Wozencraft had dropped out with a blown engine, moving CoCo’s Monkey into second and Team Allen Lawncare into third followed by CELSIUS and owner/driver Andy Miller and throttleman Todd DeFilipps in the 32-foot Doug Wright, Diggin’ Deep, in fifth. For full results check the APBA website. When the checkers waved, Raymarine took the win followed by CoCo’s Monkey, Team Allen Lawncare and CELSIUS. “Five days ago weren’t even planning to come to this race,” said Ballough who won his 19th world championship and 18th national title in Englewood. “It didn’t matter for me. I just wanted to get one for Cole’s family.” He’s been racing twin-outboard-powered catamarans for more than 30 years and says the level of competition is at an all-time high. “There are guys who take it more seriously now,” he said. “Everything has to be right. You need to have a guy who can drive, a guy who can throttle. You have to pick the propeller and you need to test and you need to trust the telemetry.” As it proved yesterday, Coco's Monkey is always a threat for a podium finish. CoCo’s Monkey driver A.J. Bogino said that some boats got pinched at the start, but once he and his dad cleared the traffic, they began a march to the front. When he saw smoke coming out of one of Wozencraft’s engines, but he knew he had to take advantage. “I don’t think we can complain much,” said Bogino. “We started in fourth and wound up with second.” Team Allen Lawncare owner/throttleman Allen is typically a man of few words. He said he was pleased with third in Englewood and he was looking forward to Key West. “I think everybody is getting faster,” he said. A Stellar SeasonThe Factory Stock class ran five laps on Saturday and six on Sunday. On Saturday, throttleman Nick Imprescia and driver Ian Morgan shot to the lead in the 39-foot MTI, 151 Express. They were followed by Reese Langheim and Tschida in the 38-foot Valor, Jackhammer/Manatee Marine Unlimited and owner/throttleman Rob Lockyer and driver Christian McCauley in the 38-foot Doug Wright, Good Boy Vodka/GoGPS. The 38-foot Doug Wright, Montlick Injury Attorneys, with throttleman Giovanni Carpitella and driver Logan Adan was off the pace with mechanical issues. Lockyer and McCauley got around Jackhammer and set their sights on 151 Express, seeming to gain on the leader on every lap. Attempting to make a pass on the last corner of the last lap, Good Boy Vodka/GoGPS rolled. Driver and throttleman were not hurt but the boat sustained enough damage that it could not race on Sunday. At the start of Sunday’s race, Reese Langheim had his usual throttleman, Julian Maldonado, back in the boat and they roared to the lead in Jackhammer. Montlick Injury Attorneys looked to be back to its usual form, challenging for the lead. Owner/driver Chad Rudesil and throttleman Rusty Williams ran third in the 39-foot MTI, Say Less MF, and 151 Express ran fourth. At the north end of the course, Montlick slowed and pulled into the inside of the five-mile course with a blown engine. Then while leading, Jackhammer took a flyer, landed hard and slowed, while 151 Express passed everyone and moved to the lead by the end of lap two. Say Less ran second while Jackhammer held third. The 151 Express team had a picture-perfect weekend. Imprescia, Morgan and 151 Express crew chief Ray Vera got the setup right both days and continued their outstanding 2025 season, winning the APBA/UIM world and national championships. Say Less finished second on Sunday, but Montlick took second in world and national standings with Jackhammer in third. Despite the slow start on Sunday, Imprescia said he and Morgan stuck to their game plan. “We said, ‘Get out of the wash, go to the outside’ and the next thing we know, we see Montlick slow down,” said Imprescia. “Then at the dogleg, Jackhammer did a half spin and we got around him.” The win turned is the first national championship for Morgan and Imprescia while the world title was the second. The duo won the Mod V championship in Key West in 2022. “To go from our first win in Cocoa Beach to being super competitive and winning the whole thing in one season is unbelievable,” said Imprescia. “We owe a huge thanks to our team.” For rookie driver Rudesil, the Englewood course was likely challenging enough, but on the second or third lap, his steering column broke. “The whole race I was dealing with that,” he said. “I can’t believe we held on for second.” A Fun FinaleThe final race of the weekend could have been anti-climactic had it not been for an unexpected battle between two classic V-bottoms. In Saturday’s Class 1 race in the 47-foot Victory, DeFalco Construction, with owner/driver Mike Falco and throttleman Billy Moore ran to a convincing win over owner/driver Billy Mauff and throttleman Jay Muller in the 40-foot Skater, WHM Motorsports. The latter entered the class at the start of the 2025 season and has been using the races to work on their setup. The boat showed speed on Saturday but appeared to be having issues with Mercury Racing’s Guardian engine-protection system. Cortez Cove Fountain Racing came back of a disastrous Saturday for a dramatic win on Sunday. On Sunday, DeFalco Construction took the lead again and looked to be comfortably out front until WHM Motorsports had to leave the course with mechanical issues. Once Moore and Falco had covered enough laps to take the win, they pulled off to save the equipment for Key West. DeFalco Construction won the world and national championships in Class 1. WHM earned second for the Englewood Waterfest championship and finished third behind the 43-foot Skater, Monster Energy/M CON in the world championship standings. Two boats battled for the title in Super V class with owner/throttleman Bill McComb and driver Ed Wendt in the 40-foot Skater, Dart Competition Products, taking on owner/throttleman Lockyer and driver Kirk Britto in the 39-foot Fountain, Cortez Cove Fountain. After the Fountain had some engine problems during Saturday’s race, Britto took the boat to Sarasota, Fla., where he and legendary engine builder spend most of the night making repairs to the motors. Britto returned to the Englewood Beach pits at 3:30 a.m., according to Lockyer. WHM Motorsports battled mechanical issues both days but still managed to put on a show for the fans. Whatever they did worked. McComb and Wendt got a good start and held the lead for four laps but for those watching the race, it was clear that Cortez Cove was making up ground. On the fifth out of six laps, Cortez Cove made the pass and took the hard-fought victory to finish the weekend. In the final standings, Dart Competition Products won the Englewood Championship while Cortez Cove won the APBA national title. “We had a lovely run today,” Lockyer said after the race on Sunday. “I have more experience in the rough and for me that was the perfect race.” McComb said he enjoyed the close race. “Everything went as well as it could for us. It got a little rougher on the outside and we didn’t want to break things before Key West,” he said. “We didn’t push it.” He said he couldn’t trim one of his drives, which limited his ability to control the boat. Dash for CashTeams in the Mod V class voted to not race on Saturday and have one winner-take-all clash on Sunday, with the three boats entered running 9 laps. It was an up-and-down weekend for the No. 33 NMBRV Resort team. From the start, owner/driver Kirk Hanna and throttleman Mark Rinda bolted to the lead in their 29-foot Extreme, NMBRV Resort. With owner/throttleman Steve Miklos sitting out with back issues, Brit Lilly, who’s best known for his driving prowess, substituted on the throttles and joining driver Steven Fehrman in the cockpit of the 29-foot Extreme, El Bandido Tequila. While he didn’t build Miklos’ boat, Lilly now manufacturers Extreme race and pleasureboats at his shop, Lilly Sport Boats in Arnold, Md. The father-son team of Steve and Stephen Kildahl ran third in their 29-foot Extreme, Boatfloater.com. With their red rocket running flawlessly, Hanna and Rinda built up a lead of more than 50 seconds by lap six. At the end of the eighth lap, El Bandido slowed and came off plane, letting Boatfloater.com move up to second place. In the end, NMBRV Resort took the win with Boatfloater.com second and El Bandido third. For good reason, Boatfloater.com has become one of the most respected teams in Mod V-class racing. For the last two years, an anonymous donor has put up the money for a prize purse for the Mod V class, with the winner getting $50,000 at the end of the season followed by $35,000 for second and $25,000 for third. Because of the high stakes, race officials did a more thorough post-race technical inspection for the Mod V boats including pulling one cylinder head off the engine. When all the inspections were complete, Boatfloater was declared the winner. NMBRV Resort and El Bandido Tequila both failed. “We found out about two hours before the awards,” said Stephen Kildahl. “It’s definitely not the way we wanted to win, but you take them if you get them.” The result gave the Kildahls their second world championship, plus the national and Englewood championship and the $50,000 first place check. Hanna had no comment on the inspections. Regarding the race, he said he and Rinda made a last-minute setup change. “We watched what happened Saturday and at the last minute, we rolled the dice,” he said. Enjoy more images from yesterday's action in Englewood Beach, Fla. Lilly said his race was cut short by a fuel system issue, but said he had a great time. “I’m super thankful to Steve for the opportunity,” he said. “The only thing that made me feel better was getting beat by something I built.” He built the hull for the NMBRV Resort team. In the Cat 300 class, the 23-foot Argo, Jackhammer, that had been dominant for most of the season rolled during Saturday’s race. Throttleman Brad Christopher and driver Connor Langheim were OK and the Manatee Marine Unlimited team got the boat back up and running for Sunday’s race. On Sunday, usual throttleman Ricardo Maldonado joined Langheim in the cockpit and the team continued its winning ways. In the 24-foot Wicked, Lanier Custom Boats, Sean Lanier and Mike Bethan were running off the pace, but because they had finished Saturday’s race, they completed the required laps on Sunday to claim world and national championships for the class. BracketologySeven boats in the bracket classes competed for championships in five categories. In Bracket 200, owner/driver Joey Olivieri and throttleman Billy Glueck ran basically unopposed in the 39-foot Phantom, OC Racing. There was plenty of Bracket-class action to enjoy on both days in Englewood Beach. In Bracket 400, the boat that is most likely the winningest hull in offshore racing, the 34-foot Phantom, Simmons Marine, continued to pile up victories. Throttleman Jason Zolecki and driver Jake Coons won both days of the weekend to claim the world, national and Englewood championships. Second went to Jimmy Wessel and Bruce Dudley in the 29-foot Phantom, Miss Stress, while the new team of Andrew Foster and James Norvill took third in the 32-foot Phantom, Team UK. The competition in Bracket 500 was tough on both days of the weekend with Damon Marotta and Damon Jr. in the 29-foot Warlock, Fuel 1 Team, battling with throttleman Robert Bryant and driver Mike McColgan in the 28-foot Pantera, Tunnel Vision. Larry James and Don Jackson held third in their 29-foot Warlock, Hammerheads. J.D. Ivines and Byron Unger ran fourth in the 30-foot Spirit, Yabbadabbado. When the results were tallied and speed breakouts were calculated, Tunnel Vision claimed the world and national championships while Hammerheads took the Englewood title. In bracket 600, the 26-foot Velocity, Team Velocity, took on a trio of 24-foot bat boats including two managed by the Ultimate Boat Racing Experience crew and one privately owned and campaigned by the Team Frist Responders organization. When the spray settled, Velocity Powerboats president Scott McCormick and former NFL linebacker Bob Spitulski sacked the bat boats in Team Velocity, winning all three championships. Second in the world championship went to Kevin Stackpoole and Robert Goodwin in Cigar Monster/Ultimate Boat Racing Experience. Charles Weidner and Robert Partch took third in Team First Responders. As usual, Dirt Legal was a force to contend in the Bracket 700 class. The team that had dominated the standings all season in Bracket 700 continued to do so in Englewood. Conner Langheim and Brad Christopher took the win in their 22-foot Velocity, Dirt Legal Velocity. That earned the duo all three championships. Second in the world championship went to Owen Buis and Ricky Harmyer in the 22-foot Activator, Clouatre/Blind River Bar. Greg Blutter and Craig Chittendon took third in the 21-foot Superboat, Proven Marine. For full results check the APBA website. 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