Coleman’s are crowned 2019 P1 Superstock USA Champions for Miss GEICO Racing
It was smiles all round for the Coleman family as they returned home to Saundersfoot following the final round of P1 Superstock’s 2019 USA season as champions.
Since forming Coleman Racing in 2016 they have been crowned World and twice UK Champions but their fourth and possibly biggest triumph to date has come with conquering the P1 USA Championship. Having had to miss out on opportunities to race stateside in 2018, their patience was rewarded when the opportunity to join the hugely successful Miss GEICO Racing team arose earlier in the year. The 2019 title will taste all the sweeter following the hiatus and continues their record of winning a championship in each year of competition together.
Ambition achieved
The dynamic duo have had their sights firmly set on crossing the Atlantic to contest the P1 USA Championship since defending their UK title back in 2017, and their lucky break came when they were asked to race for the most renowned offshore race team in the world; 13 times World Champions Miss GEICO Racing in their P1 Superstock 28R Panther.
So a new boat design to what the Coleman’s are used to, with the 28R being a closed cockpit boat came into being. With very limited testing time they secured top step of the podium with victories in four out of five races at St. Pete, a 3rd overall in Sarasota then onto win the last round in Fort Myers to be crowned P1 USA National champions.
“It’s been an honour to represent GEICO at this level. The Miss GEICO racing team have been hugely supportive and a massive thanks goes out to them, our sponsors at GEICO and of course our friends, family and supporters whom without this wouldn’t have been possible,” commented Daisy.
Amazing atmosphere at races
Sam followed: “Racing in the USA has totally exceeded our expectations! The events have been incredible experiences, the way the cities and people come out in force to support the racing is mind-blowing, 70,000 people on Ft Myers beach, with a spectator fleet of 1000 boats lining the course too! It really shows the appetite for the racing and we’re excited to be able to put on a show. There’s been 70 race boats at each event, including the spectacular 170mph Class One catamarans, the racing is going from strength to strength and the crazy boat parades and block parties just sum up the buzz around the events.
“It was a tough year! We didn’t have the luxury of getting to know the boat inside out with weeks of testing, for the St Pete Beach race we only received our boat on the Friday and had 30 mins run time to get acquainted! We’ve had to fly by the seat of our pants, but we have learned so much from everyone at Miss GEICO Racing, their professionalism and experience is unrivalled and we’re thrilled to bring home some silverware for the team.
“The desire to race is stronger than ever, we’ve still so much to learn and we’re not done yet…I don’t know what 2020 will bring but we hope we can continue our journey with the GEICO family.”
**To keep up with their progress head to colemanracing.co.uk, and if anyone is interested in getting into powerboat racing don’t hesitate to drop the team a line too. The team are always looking to forge new partnerships and would welcome any interested parties to get in touch via social media or by e-mailing info@colemanracing.co.uk
