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HomeIn the NewsEx-Speed Racer Broadco MTI to Debut in OPA Opener

Ex-Speed Racer Broadco MTI to Debut in OPA Opener

You’d never guess it from the photos in this article, but the 40-foot catamaran from Marine Technology Inc. (MTI) pictured is the former Speed Racer race boat that competed in Cat Lite with twin Mercury Racing HP525EFI engines.

The former Speed Racer 40-foot MTI has a completely new look thanks to Kinetic Animation. Photos courtesy Chuck BroaddusThe former Speed Racer 40-foot MTI has a completely new look thanks to Kinetic Animation. Photos courtesy Chuck BroaddusPurchased earlier this year from Missouri performance boater Randy Wild by offshore racer Chuck Broaddus, who owns Broadco Property Restoration—the name on the side of the boat—in Michigan, the 40-footer will make its racing debut with a pair 1,000-hp Scorpion Racing engines in a couple of weeks.

Competing in the newly modified Offshore Powerboat Association (OPA) Extreme class, Broaddus and throttleman Jay Muller just started testing the boat, which received the final touches on its complete graphics overhaul yesterday from Kinetic Animation in Sarasota, Fla. According to Broaddus, the boat is en route to North Carolina where Reggie Fountain III of Real Fast Marine will be putting the finishes touches on the MTI.

“We’re pretty fired up about the new boat,” said Broaddus, who can’t wait for the OPA season opener on Lake Hopatcong in New Jersey on May 10-12. “I was planning to race in Class 100 again until OPA changed the Extreme class, which became pretty appealing with the 135-mph top speed. We’re planning to run the entire OPA season and I’d like to squeeze in a couple of Super Boat International races such as the Sarasota Grand Prix and the Michigan City Grand Prix.

Chuck Broaddus and Jay Muller will campaign the Broadco Property Restoration boat in the 2013 OPA series. Chuck Broaddus and Jay Muller will campaign the Broadco Property Restoration boat in the 2013 OPA series.“We’ll definitely be in Key West and I want to do the Lake of the Ozarks (Lake Race) in June,” continued Broaddus who lives in St. Clair Shores, Mich. “I think we’ll probably do a few charity poker runs this season as well, but it all depends on the schedule.”

Even though there’s not an ounce of Speed Racer left on it—“Anything that was red is now yellow,” in the words of Kinetic Animation’s Ryan Beckley—former owner Randy Wild is excited to see the boat in action this season.

Speed Racer was absolutely the most fun boat I’ve ever had—between the crowds it would draw and the kids that loved it, it was just awesome,” said Wild, adding that the boat ran around 125 mph with the 525-hp engines and guesses it could run upwards of 180 mph with the power Broaddus is putting in it. “It wasn’t the fastest boat out there, but it got the most attention.”