M-Con leads class after Day 1 of Key West powerboat races

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — Offshore powerboat racing team M-Con leads the Super Cat class after the first of three race days during the

Driver Myrick Coil of Osage Beach, Missouri, and throttleman Tyler Miller of Wathena, Kansas, took a first-lap lead and maintained it throughout Wednesday’s first event.

M-Con outpaced rivals including Canada Homes, throttled by Miami’s John Tomlinson and driven by Lorne Leibel of Toronto, Canada, who finished in second place.

Leading the Extreme class is Huski-Alegra Motorsports. Headquartered in Stuart, Florida, the boat is driven by Carlos De Quesada and throttled by Steve Curtis.

The Super Stock race included a dramatic flip when CMR, based in Fort Myers, Florida, overturned after the second lap. Race officials said driver Eric Belisle and throttleman Shaun Torrente were uninjured.

Performance Boat Center took a first-day lead in the 12-boat Super Stock field. The boat was driven by Coil and throttled by Rusty Williams, also of Osage Beach.

Boatfloater.com ended the Modified V race in the lead, powered by the father-and-son team of throttleman Steve Kildahl and driver Stephen Kildahl, both from Sarasota, Florida.

Competitors in the fleet of nearly 50 registered boats are vying for world championships in 14 classes, including four Union Internationale Motonautique world titles. The action is to continue Friday and conclude Sunday, with four multi-class races scheduled each day.