The organizers behind the new Race World Offshore announced its inaugural season opener is going to be held in Key West, Fla., May 21-25, 2018. Named the Restore The Keys Grand Prix Memorial Weekend Festival, the event is being billed as a full week of downtown festival-style activities and world-class offshore powerboat racing dedicated to helping citizens throughout the lower Florida Keys.

The first race of the Race World Offshore series is taking place in Key West, Fla., in late May.

“Key West is already making substantial progress in recovery from the storm,” said Larry Bleil, president of Race World Offshore, LLC and former president of the Conch Republic Offshore Powerboat Racing Association. “But the islands from Big Coppitt up to Islamorada were completely devastated, leaving many residents with severely damaged homes or some with no home at all. A lot of these folks work in the hospitality and service industries here in Key West and are one of our most important assets in making the town the great tourist center that it is. Our commitment is to help these residents and businesses get back to a new normal.”

The Restore The Keys Grand Prix Memorial Weekend Festival announcement comes a month after Race World Offshore announced it was bringing a race to Texas in conjunction with the annual Texas Outlaw Challenge (June 20-24, 2018) in an effort to help with the recovery efforts following Hurricane Harvey (read the story).

“We are heavily engaged with Paul Robinson and his team in Houston in preparing to run our races in conjunction with the Texas Outlaw Challenge to help contribute what will undoubtedly be much needed revenue to the businesses and people of that region,” Bleil said. “It’s just very unfortunate circumstances for people living in both these areas who have had their lives disrupted by the storms. We’re grateful and proud to be in the position to help both of these communities while providing our racers and fans with the greatest show on the water.”

According to Bleil, the remainder of the 2018 season schedule is going to be announced over the next several weeks.

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Texas Outlaw Challenge Teaming with Race World Offshore to Bring Offshore Race and Support to Devastated Texas Communities
Key West-Based Offshore Racing Series Forming for 2018