Powerboat P1 has announced that 345 Racing, a new Cayman Islands team owned by Mario Rankin and Jason Butcher, will be competing in this year’s UIM Class 1 World Championship with Alex Pratt as throttleman alongside driver Miles Jennings.
The team will be based in Florida and make its first appearance in the six-venue series at Cocoa Beach in May.
Twenty-seven-year-old Alex Pratt joins the crew of the newly created 345 Racing team’s 42-foot Victory hull boat with its twin Mercury Racing 1100 Competition engines.
The principal team sponsor will be Xinsurance, a business established some 40 years ago that provides customised specialty insurance.
Pratt explained
Xinsurance President, CEO and Chairman Rick J. Lindsey and his team provide solutions for almost every industry across the board. They genuinely think outside the box for their customers. One of the best products they offer is true umbrella coverage. Rick is an exceptional individual, and I am very excited to continue working with them.
Speaking from Salt Lake City, Lindsey said
The company was initially built by providing coverage to high-risk classes such as white water rafting and helicopter skiing, and we continue to provide solutions to those classes and many others, putting our support where it matters the most. All the events we are involved in are with good people and those are the kind of relationships we will support and insure – it’s a good rule for life and business.
In 2020 Pratt founded Good Boy, a premium, lifestyle vodka brand, which is positioned to support animal charities and veterans. It’s slogan of ‘Every Pour Helps a Pup’ means a portion of every bottle purchased is donated to foundations supporting its mission. He has been involved with motorsports for many years, initially racing motorcycles in Unlimited Supersport Road Racing Events before moving into performance boating.
Five-times World Champion and former ‘Naughty Boy’ Miles Jennings said
Class 1 is the summit of the sport with the best boats, best drivers, and the best equipment in the world. The Mercury Racing 1100 turbos have brought a modern, reliable package to the class and P1’s international TV broadcast deals and live streaming take the racing into fans’ homes worldwide.
Earlier this month, Powerboat P1 announced the race calendar for the 2022 Class 1 World Championship that will see eight races at six venues in the United States from May to November. In October 2020 the UIM assigned to P1 the international rights to Class 1 offshore racing in a ten-year agreement and P1 CEO Azam Rangoonwala has confirmed that five teams from three continents have already committed to racing this season.
Rangoonwala said
The pairing of Alex and Miles in the new 345 Racing team, with backing from XINSURANCE, is an exciting addition to our international fleet and we are delighted that Alex will become the youngest racer in the championship.
The Good Boy Vodka 50” Mystic photo by Pete Boden.
