Based in Kansas and currently focused on defending their APBA Super Cat national title, the M CON team of Tyler Miller and Myrick Coil will be competing next year in a canopied Skater 438 catamaran powered by Mercury Racing 1100 Competition engines and transmission package.

Team owner and throttleman Miller explained,

We decided earlier this year to race Class 1 in 2023 to continue to elevate our racing program and because of our pure passion to race offshore powerboats in the premier class. Our decision to run Skater Powerboats was based on the long-standing pedigree of safe and competitive masterpieces Peter Hledin has created for many years, together with the success M CON Racing has had to date in powerboats built by Skater.

The new, purpose-built Class 1 boat will be a Skater 438, equipped with the strongest cockpit canopy ever built by the company, surface drives and rudder steering. Miller anticipates the boat being completed at Michigan-based Skater by early March and, under the supervision of driver Myrick Coil, it will then move to Performance Boat Centre in Missouri for rigging. All initial testing will be carried out on the team’s home waters at Lake of The Ozarks. The M CON plan is to become a two-boat team next year by continuing to race their Skater Powerboats 388 catamaran in the Super Cat class.

Skater Powerboats founder and owner Peter Hledin, who for more than forty years has been the industry leader setting the pace by continually bringing innovation and advanced designs to the market, is excited to be building the new boat

The first 438 we built was dubbed Rockette, powered by twin Mercury Racing dual-calibration 1550/1350 engines, and now we have the first race version built for the Class 1 series. I think it will do extremely well and I’m really glad this is happening for Tyler. He’s a great gentleman and a loyal customer.

Hledin has built two race boats and a pleasure boat for Miller, making the new 43-footer Miller’s third Skater powerboat, and he sees this as an opportunity to build the Class 1 series and get people excited.

Powerboat P1 CEO Azam Rangoonwala commented

M CON Racing is one of the most professionally run teams in offshore racing and this is an exciting decision by the current Super Cat national champions. They are always looking to break new ground in promoting and marketing the team, with Tyler and Lindsey bringing to the sport the outstanding energy and skills they demonstrate in running their successful M CON company. This significant development is testament to our ambition to return the UIM Class 1 championship to the pinnacle of powerboat racing. Peter Hledin is the ultimate craftsman so I expect this combination to really make a mark in the Class 1 series next year.

Huski Racing throttleman Steve Curtis said

I will be really excited to go head-to-head with Tyler. His record speaks for itself, so you know he’s going to be extremely fast. He also has the full backing of Skater Powerboats with his new boat. It’s great for Class 1 as we want the best of the best from around the world to compete against.

Images supplied by Powerboat P1

Yes baby… that’s a win in Michigan City. Wow, conditions were crazy out there and we’re just glad everyone finished the right way up. Well done to all the teams – everyone’s necks and kidneys will be hurting tonight. This is a team win – our crew bust their arses after long flights to get us on the water and give us a competitive boat. Thank you, boys.

At the drop of the green flag, Huski Racing and 222 Offshore commenced battle to the first turn buoy ahead of the new entry GBX Racing, and JBS Racing.

It was Nicholson and Carpitella in their 222 Offshore Victory catamaran that would prove to have the right boat setup for the day, as they out accelerated the Huski Racing crew of Steve Curtis and Travis Pastrana, opening a sizeable lead, and never looking back.

Huski Racing Technical Director, Gary Stray explained

It started out as an extremely competitive race with us battling with 222 Offshore, but on the third lap we had a turbo temperature sensor fail which put us into guardian mode for the rest of the race. We are glad that we manage to finish the race and pick up some more points towards the Class 1 championship.  We would like to congratulate 222 Offshore on their win and we look forward to St Pete in September.

GBX Racing’s Alex Pratt and Miles Jennings produced the heartstopper of the day, taking a massive jump and standing the boat straight up in the air and landing on its side.

The Anglo-American pairing would continue to finish third, despite considerable damage to their MTI catamaran.

Pratt commented:

There was some big water out there today which provided a steep learning curve for me in my debut race season. The team will need to carry out some repairs before the next race on Florida’s Gulf Coast and I can’t wait to get back into action next month.

Jeff Stevenson and Micheal Stancombe of JBS Racing did not finish the race, pulling out with a mechanical issue after seven laps.

With Huski Racing still leading the championship, the next round will be in St. Petersburg, Florida, on September 2-4.

Photo credit: Paul Kemiel

We take a moment to chat to crew chief of the team and world-renowned racer in his own right, Peter “Muddy” McGrath about the Michigan City race and his thoughts on the teams’ chances to take the Championship.

Pete, we’re at the halfway mark, how do you feel the year is going for the team?

We’ve had a little bit of a tough start, but really, the boat has performed well given it was parked up for two years without being touched.  It’s always hard when you’re based in another country and you’re trying to run a boat in a competition from the other side of the world.  We fly into the US about two weeks prior to each race and then spend a week after the race doing mechanical checks before heading home to Australia.  At the first race in Cocoa Beach, we had a great start, but we had a mechanical failure a few laps from the end.  It’s a long way to come not to finish a race!!

What are your thoughts on the upcoming race in Michigan City?

The Michigan City race is a little different to what we normally do – firstly it’s a lake, but it’s also freshwater, so we sit lower in the water than we would in seawater.  Conditions wise, our boat is ideal in rougher weather, so we always like a bit of chop on the water.  It’s funny, because most people when they see it’s rough always say ‘conditions will be tough out there, I bet you guys wish it were nice and smooth’, but the reality is that we like it rougher.  In 2019 we had a little chop on the day, so it wasn’t too bad – because it’s freshwater, the chop gives us some air under the boat and it doesn’t suck to the water, so we tend to be a little quicker.  In a perfect world if we could order the conditions this Sunday, we’d have a strong wind come in it’ll be a nice rough day on the water.  But whatever the conditions, we adapt and change our set up to suit, so let’s see what the day brings.

You came second in the 2019 UIM Class 1 Championship behind the Victory Team, but without them racing this year, how do you feel your chances are at taking the Championship?

We certainly had a strong end to the year in 2019 and we felt we were competitive in the latter races, so going into 2020, we were going to build on that momentum.  Of course, in 2020, the entire world came to a halt, and we were grounded in Australia.  With the gear left standing for two years without any attention, we’ve had some gremlins pop up in the boat and it cost us the win in Cocoa Beach.  But we’re starting to build that momentum again, but racing is certainly unpredictable, so anything can happen.  At this stage, we have as good a chance as any of the teams to take the Class 1 Championship – we’re all competitive, so it’s shaping up to be a good year here in the US.

Images supplied by P1 Offshore.