offshore powerboat racing lake michigan

• March 28, 2024

XINSURANCE Great Lakes Grand Prix

31 jul All Day 04 aug XINSURANCE Great Lakes Grand Prix

Event Details

The award-winning 15th Annual XINSURANCE Great Lakes Grand Prix features many of the world’s fastest and most powerful offshore power boats racing along the southern shores of Lake Michigan. Throughout

The award-winning 15th Annual XINSURANCE Great Lakes Grand Prix features many of the world’s fastest and most powerful offshore power boats racing along the southern shores of Lake Michigan. Throughout this exciting free event, walk through Washington park and chat with racers, team members and owners which also appear in the boat parade and block party. All weekend long, enjoy live entertainment, family fun, food, drinks and Racing!

July 31 (Wednesday) - August 4 (Sunday)

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Marquette mall 4073 south franklin street michigan city, in 46360-7328.

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Powerboat Racing

About powerboat racing, august 9th-11th, 2024.

Sheboygan, WI welcomes powerboat racing back to the western shore of Lake Michigan for a second year! This year's event will be open to all offshore classes. Race teams are expected from around the world, including Australia, Italy, Sweden, Canada, and Norway.

Speed seekers, water enthusiasts, and families will all enjoy this inaugural competition and exhibition weekend in Sheboygan, WI on the pristine waters of Lake Michigan right in front of Blue Harbor Resort. Bring your own chairs or blankets, food and drinks for watching the races from one of the public viewing areas. You will also find food trucks stationed in various spots near the viewing areas.  

Stay tuned for further information as it becomes available!

Powerboat Racing Photos

Mercury racing midwest challenge powerboat launch.

Mercury Racing Midwest Challenge Powerboat at Dock

Mercury Racing Midwest Challenge Powerboat

Mercury Racing Midwest Challenge Powerboat in Action

Powerboat Racing FAQs

Typically offshore powerboat racing is for ocean-going powerboats at speeds over 160 mph and consists of races hosted by Powerboat P1 USA.

The Powerboat Racing Midwest Challenge will be held August 9th-11th, 2024, with events throughout each day.

The Powerboat Racing Midwest Challenge will be held on Lake Michigan off shore below South Pier in front of Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan, WI as well as above North Pier.

There are several viewing areas along the Lake Michigan shore in Sheboygan, WI where you will be able to view the Midwest Challenge.

Free spectator viewing is available for the Midwest Challenge in Sheboygan, WI! 

VIP packages are also available to purchase if you would like front row reserved seating with up-close-and-personal viewing of the powerboat races plus hospitality services.

Powerboat Racing Hotel Reservations

Make your hotel reservations early for front row seats!

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Great Lakes Grand Prix returns to Michigan City

The countdown is underway to the twelfth annual Great Lakes Grand Prix in Michigan City this weekend (August 7-8) with a double bill of offshore powerboat racing and personal watercraft action.

The Grand Prix has become the city’s largest event and it returns to the delight of racers and fans alike. Jack Arnett, Executive Director of La Porte County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said: “After the enforced break last year, we are coming back bigger and better and have a full program of much-needed entertainment in store for everyone over the four days. There is a huge wave of anticipation and excitement going around our community. It is without doubt our marquee event and visitors to Washington Park will be able to enjoy food and drink from local vendors, a downtown boat parade and family fun.”

Celebrating its tenth season of personal watercraft racing, P1 AquaX made its first ever visit to Stone Lake in La Porte last weekend as part of the city’s inaugural LakeFest summer festival and the action now moves to southern shore of Lake Michigan. “The Great Lakes is one of the biggest markets for personal watercraft and outstanding locations and host venues contribute enormously to our event offering, with the focus on raising the profile of the venue, attracting visitors, encouraging local involvement and boosting the local economy,” explains P1 USA Championship Manager Michelle Petro. “Standing on the shore of Lake Michigan, the only Great Lake that sits entirely within the United States, it is hard to believe that you are looking at a lake and not an ocean,” adds Petro.

The decision to expand the Grand Prix in 2019 produced all-time records for both attendance and earnings, and Petro is expecting close on forty AquaX riders to be on the water this weekend together with the fleet of offshore powerboats. The warm reception from locals makes it a popular venue with the powerboat racers, as driver Myrick Coil enthused: “I always look forward to racing here – the people are great and what the local organisers have done to build activity around the racing is fantastic.” Coil, who sits top of the Super Stock standings with teammate Rusty Williams, added: “With our race class being such a close contest, we really want to have a good finish this weekend.

Lake Michigan can quickly produce big water conditions, posing a challenge to powerboat teams attempting to make crucial set-up decisions. On the unpredictable nature of the lake, Mod-V class points leader Boatfloater.com driver Stephen Kildahl explained: “The variability of the winds and water can make it difficult for us to manage our set-up and choose the right one. As we are leading the championship, consistency is the key factor for us – we need to keep doing what we’re doing.” With unpredictable conditions that can change so quickly, championship battles getting fiercer and some teams dealing with mid-season APBA rule changes due to the ban on tunnel-tabs, there is sure to be some exciting and dramatic action for spectators this weekend.

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St. Clair River Classic Boat Races

July 25 - july 28.

Annual St. Clair Boat Race is now a four day event!  Thursday – Sunday July 25-28, 2024 you’ll see OPA Offshore boats & teams on the street, watch testing, enjoy live music, food, and vendors followed with final boat race of several classes on Sunday.

This is a free event!

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Offshore powerboat association releases 2023 schedule.

Offshore Powerboat Association has released its 2023 schedule that includes nine stops starting with the LOTO Powerfest in Lake of the Ozarks, Mo., in June.

The June 1-3 race in Lake of the Ozarks has formerly Lake Race and will be held at Shady Gators and Camden on the Lake at the 7-mile marker. The offshore tour heads to Point Pleasant Beach in New Jersey for the Point Pleasant Beach Grand Prix (June 9-11) and then to Eastlake, Ohio, for the Eastlake Grand Prix (July 14-16).

Two weeks later, the boats head to St. Clair, Mich., for the St. Clair Classic (July 28-30). OPA’s August races include the Great Lakes Grand Prix in Michigan City, Ind. (August 3-6) and the Ocean City Grand Prix in Maryland (August 18-20)

Leading up to the Offshore Powerboat Association National Championships at the Pompano Beach Powerfest in Pompano Beach, Fla., on October 6-8, is the Crystal Coast Grand Prix in Morehead, South Carolina (September 8-10).

The OPA World Championships are slated for November 16-19 in Englewood, Florida, at the Englewood Beach Waterfest.

OPA classes include Super Cat, Factory Stock, Super Stock, Vee Extreme, Modified Vee, Stock Vee and various bracket racing classes.

The 2023 schedule is available at www.oparacing.com

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Official 2024 APBA Offshore National Series Schedule Robust

Between longtime events and new ones produced by Powerboat P1 and Race World Offshore , teams competing in the 2024 American Power Boat Association Offshore National Championship Series have a diverse eight-event mix of venues and waterways to consider. This preseason has seen more last-minute shuffling than most—more specifically, the annual event at the Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri to be produced by Powerboat P1 is officially part of the APBA series as well as the now five-event Union Internationale Motonautique Class 1 World Championship Series.

Both Powerboat P1 and Race World Offshore are APBA member-organizations.

In addition to longstanding events such as Thunder On Cocoa Beach, the 2024 APBA Offshore National Championship Series includes first- and second year-events. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix .

Here’s a quick look at the APBA lineup for 2024:

April 27-28 —Marathon, Fla. (RWO) May 17-19 —Cocoa Beach, Fla. (P1) May 31-June 1 —Lake Ozark, Mo. (P1) June 7-9 —Ocean City, Md. (RWO) August 9-11 —Sheboygan, Wis. (P1) September 13-15 —Sarasota, Fla. (P1) September 27-29 —Clearwater, Fla. (RWO) October 18-20 —St. Petersburg, Fla. (P1)

Neither part of the ABPA Offshore National Championship Series nor the UIM Class 1 World Championship Series, the RWO Key West World Championship is set for November 3-10 in Key West, Fla.

“The sites have continued to increase both in numbers and geographically,” explained Rich Luhrs, the chairman of the APBA Offshore Racing Commission. “Progress has been made in addressing the ‘all-Florida’ issue with further northeast and Midwest sites on tap for 2025. In fact, there is room for one more event on the schedule in July of this year.

The Super Cat class likely will have 10-plus teams competing this season.

“Boat count has climbed, race sites are increasing and true progress continues to occur,” he continued. “We still have significant work to do on developing regional and divisional events, especially on the West Coast.”

As in years past, the Super Cat and Super Stock classes will have their own internal series of races selected by the team owners. The Super Cat owners released their schedule earlier this month. According Super Stock-class representative Ryan Beckley, the Super Stock owners are hoping to complete their internal schedule today.

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