The third stop of the Super Boat International 2015 regular season happens this coming weekend in Michigan City, Ind. At present, 26 teams have registered for the event—a solid roster so far—and the current list of teams holds more than a few intriguing developments and plot twists.

While the CMS teams will do battle among themselves—if both of its MTI catamarans take to the course on Sunday—in the Superboat Unlimited class, the Superboat Extreme V-bottom class should have three teams on the course. New to the fleet is Outerlimits, an SV 40 driven by Joe Srgo and throttled by Steve Curtis, that will compete against Billy Glueck and owner/driver Brett Lee Furshman in Furshman’s 42-foot Twisted Metal Fountain and throttleman Nigel Hook and driver Jay Johnson in Lucas Oil, a 48-foot SilverHook V-bottom.

In the Superboat Extreme class, Twisted Metal will do battle with Outerlimits and Lucas Oil in Michigan City. Photo by Jay Nichols/Naples Image.

The manager of the Spirit of Qatar team based in Orlando, Fla., Curtis was banned late last year from competing in the 2014 SBI World Championships in Key West, Fla., for his involvement with the Offshore Powerboat Grand Prix Series. As for Hook, his inclusion in the Superboat Extreme class at the season-opener in Cocoa Beach, Fla., reportedly surprised the two other teams in the class. According to Hook, he was informed by SBI officials in March 2014 that his 48-footer would be moved from the Superboat Unlimited class to the Superboat Extreme class for the 2015 season.

In the Superboat catamaran class, Cleveland Construction, WHM Motorsports, Sailor Jerry-Autonation and Team AMSOIL (coming off a victory at last weekend’s Offshore Powerboat Association St. Clair River Classic in Michigan) are registered. While the STIHL team is on the current roster for Michigan City, J.R. Noble—the team’s owner and driver—confirmed that repairs for damage sustained during SBI’s last race in Marathon, Fla., have not been completed and that the team won’t compete in Michigan City.

Registered to run its first SBI race in 2015, Mr. Technology, a new 32-foot Phantom designed, built, throttled and driven by Will Smith will join the three-boat Superboat Vee-class fleet that includes throttleman/owner Steve Miklos and driver Jack “Huck” McGonnel in Sun Print and owner/driver Mark Niemann and throttleman Tom Maddelena in Phantom 9.

Editor’s note: Speedonthewater.com will carry the Livestream from this coming weekend’s SBI event in Michigan City. The two races are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. (CST), with the Livestream starting 15 minutes prior to each race.

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