Johnny Tomlinson is on the throttles of GC Racing’s No. 32 Class 1 catamaran this weekend at the XINSURANCE Great Lakes Grand Prix in Michigan City, Indiana, alongside owner/driver Willy Cabeza. The 17th running of the event takes place at Washington Park on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, with racing Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2 on a course of close to five miles. It is round two of Race World Offshore’s UIM World Championship Series and drew 79 entries across 14 classes, including seven boats in Class 1, a season high for the category. Michigan City is a favorite stop for racers because of the crowds and the viewing: the beach and shoreline at Washington Park put fans right on top of the course, and admission is free. Class 1 is the fastest category in the sport, with twin engines making well over 1,000 horsepower each and race speeds beyond 150 mph, so a deep fleet on a big lake course makes lane position and clean water worth fighting for.
The GC Racing entry is a 48-foot MTI out of Miami, developed under MTI founder and former Class 1 champion Randy Scism. Tomlinson and Cabeza tested together in February and have been building on it all season, finishing on the podium in both races at St. Petersburg in March, taking third at New Orleans and second at Cocoa Beach. After Michigan City the series heads to the Clearwater Nationals September 25 through 27 and finishes at the Key West World Championships November 1 through 8, where the Class 1 crown is a full world championship title.
