Miss GEICO defends unlimited title at Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix

For fleeting moments during the Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix’s unlimited division race, the Scuderia Cazzani Offshore Racing boat would nudge ahead of Miss GEICO. It was always during one of the straightaways off the coast of Lido Key in Sarasota, where the Alex and Ani-sponsored boat could manage itself on equal footing with offshore powerboat racing’s powerhouse team.

The Gulf of Mexico race course, though, is littered with turns. Looping U-turns from right to left. Drifting, wide-angle maneuvers from right to left. Marc Granet, the driver, and Scotty Begovich, the throttle man, for the Miss GEICO boat have raced together for more than a decade. Their chemistry is unparalleled. Granet is Begovich’s arms. Begovich is Granet’s legs.

“I trust my life with him,” Begovich said. “He trusts his life with me.”

Together, they were able to build to a nearly 15-second lead by the end of Sunday’s race and cruise to a second straight win in the Sarasota Grand Prix’s extreme division. Miss GEICO crossed the finish line after running 16 laps in 35:45.83. Scuderia Cazzani, driven by Herb Stotler and Serafino Cazzani, finished in 35:59.68. The Lucas Oil SilverHook rounded out the podium at the Grand Prix’s premier event with a third-place finish.

Five other boat races were run throughout the two days of racing, with fields ranging from two boats to more than a dozen. Second Amendment Offshore Racing from Punta Gorda took the top spot in the P1-3 race, Perdition Offshore Racing from Wenham, Mass., won one P4-6 race and Ruskin’s Two Cruel Offshore Racing won the other. WHM Motorsports Offshore Racing from Port Jefferson, N.Y., won the super cat race and Clearwater’s Spectre Powerboats won the SuperStock race.

Miss GEICO and Scuderia Cazzani ran neck and neck for most of the race’s first 15 minutes before GEICO’s experience showed itself.

The Miss GEICO boat is one of the sport’s most well-known and successful for a reason. With Granet and Begovich at the helm, the Riviera Beach team has won eight world championships and almost always finds itself somewhere near the top of the podium in Sarasota. While Scuderia Cazzani could match Miss GEICO in terms of acceleration, the more precision-intensive portions of the course let GEICO separate itself.

“It’s got right-handers, it’s got left-handers,” Begovich said. “We’re a really good turning team and it’s got a lot of turns, so it’s right in our wheelhouse.”

Begovich and the Miss GEICO team knew this was where their advantage would lie. The way Scuderia Cazzani’s engine is propped emphasizes straightaway acceleration while giving up some maneuverability.

With two hairpin turns at the Sarasota Grand Prix, Scuderia Cazzani didn’t have wiggle room to make many mistakes, and whenever the Alex and Ani boat did, Miss GEICO was able to capitalize and add another win to a bulky resume.

“I think we wore them down a little bit,” Begovich said. “If they made a little mistake, they didn’t have the top end to keep it up, so we just capitalized on a few mistakes they made and were able to pull it out.”

This story was originally published July 2, 2017 at 9:25 PM with the headline "Miss GEICO defends unlimited title at Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix."