Among those assets are three 41-foot Victory catamarans, one with twin Mercury Racing 1650 engines that is ready for racing in Super Boat International’s Superboat Unlimited class, the turbine-powered 50-foot Mystic catamaran Curtis and Qatar’s Sheikh Hassan bin-Jabor Al Thani used to set the 244-mph Lake of the Ozarks Shootout speed record, a 42-foot MTI catamaran with twin 750-hp Ilmor Racing engines that is ready-to-race in SBI’s Superboat division, a 38-foot Cigarette Top Gun sportboat, various hauling vehicles and trailers and assorted turbine engines and parts. With the exception of the Lamborghini-engine powered Victory boat, which is still in Qatar, most of the team’s assets are at the Offshore Racing Services Shop in Orlando.

Curtis declined to disclose how much his company will pay for the team’s assets. “A lot more than I wanted to,” he said, then laughed. “Actually, I got a reasonable deal and we were bidding against a few other parties. I went over there (to Qatar) in December. It was a very amicable process.

“We are planning to sell quite a bit of it as well as go racing,” he continued. “Sheik Hassan is over there working on a sponsorship deal. The Qatar name will be removed from all the boats. It won’t be the same way it was before—it will be run as more of a commercial operation.”

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For a look at some of the Spirit of Qatar team’s powerboat assets check out the slideshow above. Photos courtesy/copyright Cigarette Racing Team, Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix and Andy Newman.

While no offshore racing class currently exists for the turbine-powered Mystic cat, Curtis said that the boat could be used as a “turnkey” vehicle for a potential propeller-driven powerboat speed record. The most likely ride for a Curtis-and-Sheikh-Hassan return to the domestic offshore racing is the Mercury Racing 1650-powered Victory cat, he said, but he didn’t rule out the possibility of running the Lamborghini-powered cat with Sheikh Hassan in Union International Motonautique Class 1 competition.

“We’re going to sell some of the assets for sure, but it’s not a ‘fire sale’ or anything like that,” he said. “Hopefully, it keeps these boats racing.”

Editor’s Note: Speedonthewater.com will follow this story as it develops.

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