Today’s Race World Offshore Great Lakes Offshore Grand Prix—the organization’s second and final race of the 2018 season—in Dunkirk, N.Y., saw the Performance Boat Center duo of driver Myrick Coil and throttleman John Tomlinson take the SuperCat class win in the Missouri-based team’s Skater Powerboats 388 catamaran powered by Sterling Performance engines. With a double-heat format, the two-time defending champions won the first round averaging 100.12 mph, while holding off the WHM Motorsports and Pro Floors Racing NZ-1 teams.

With its win in Dunkirk today, Performance Boat Center notched back-to-back victories in the two-race RWO season. Photos from the RWO Cleveland Construction Grand Prix courtesy/copyright Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

Unfortunately for New Zealanders Chris Hanley and Wayne Valder in the Pro Floors Racing MTI catamaran, they failed to insert their data logger card in the first heat and were penalized with a last-place finish. That moved the M-Con team, also based in Missouri, to third place.

Valder and Hanley made up for their error and ran away from the field—turning several laps in excess of 105 mph—in the second heat. The Kiwis led every lap except for the first, with M-Con trailing closely. WHM Motorsports took third place and Performance Boat Center claimed fourth and went home in first place overall.

“We kind of backed into the win with Pro Floors getting disqualified early,” Tomlinson said. “This was a great race course that was fun for the fans but, it was tough to pass. We were able to get to the front in the first heat.”

In ProStock Cat, the CR Racing team of Casey Boaz and Rob Unnerstall led all the way and took the checkered flag averaging 93.6 mph over the 51.33 mile course. The co-owner and driver of the team, Rob Unnerstall said a last- minute setup change, which he credited to Boaz, made the difference.

Team Allen Lawn Care finished second in the class and FJ Propeller took third.

Joined in the cockpit by well-known performance-boat owner Vinnie Diorio (the Wisconsin-based transportation company owner has an Outerlimits SV 43 sportboat), Brian Forehand returned the racecourse in a 29-foot Outerlimits dubbed Marker 17 Marine and took the win in the ProStock Vee class. The world-championship-winning boat was formerly owned by Michael “Doc” Janssen, who retired from the sport and sold the 29-footer—then called Watch Your Back— to Forehand, his former teammate. Team Octane took second place in the class.

The RWO Great Lakes Offshore Grand Prix was captured for a one-hour television broadcast that will air in February 2019 on the CBS Sports Network.

Editor’s note: A veteran offshore powerboat racing reporter, Todd Swofford is a host for WKWF sports radio in Key West, Fla. Photos from today’s event were not available when this story went live. For complete results as they become available, visit the Race World Offshore website.

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