David Selley and Steven Bridges had plenty of cause for celebration after securing honours in the Super Stock class in their 32ft twin-engined catamaran at the St Petersburg Powerboat Grand Prix in St Petersburg, Florida, on Sunday.

The local professional powerboat racers were the fastest team heading into the only offshore race after securing pole position during qualifying the previous day and they lived up to those lofty expectations to take the coveted checkered flag for their first win at this level, much to the delight of throttle man and boat owner Bridges.

“This weekend meant a lot — back-to-back wins and a chance to stand on top of the podium, which has been a long time coming,” an elated Bridges told The Royal Gazette.

“The boat ran well and we have a great boat underneath us.

“A lot of hard work and effort goes into winning a race at the level, and we appreciate everyone who’s been part of the journey so far — our crew, families, friends and fans.

“Couldn’t do it without our Sponsors — GL, Maxcem, Waterfront Marina, CTX Racing, Johnson’s Marine, Selley’s Marine and Wizard. Special thanks to Scott Porta.

“Plenty of work ahead. But this is a positive step going into the season and looking forward to the next race.”

Driver Selley described the milestone victory as a total team effort.

“After competing in this race series for three seasons, today represents the result of an extraordinary amount of hard work dedication and teamwork,” he said.

“This victory is not just a personal achievement, but a reflection of the effort and support of an exceptional team.”

Bridges and Selley won the four-lap race in 12min 24 sec with a fastest lap of 3min 44sec and received a huge confidence boost heading in after securing their first-ever pole position with the fastest time (10min 49sec) during qualifying on the mile-long offshore course 24 hours earlier.

They also produced the fastest lap (3min 35 sec) and average lap time (3min 36sec) on the way to securing top spot on the starting grid.

Also flying the island’s banner at the event was the team of Luis Martins and Nick Imprescia who placed sixth in their 32ft twin-engined catamaran, Nuff Said, in 13min 01sec with a fastest lap of 3min 58sec.

The pair had much to be proud of having also finished at the front end of the racing fleet but things might have panned out even better for them had they not misjudged a turn on the race course.

“We had a great race but unfortunately miscalculated a turn and had to correct and by the time we corrected we were behind and there wasn’t enough laps to catch the front runners,” driver Martins said.

Martins and Imprescia also started at the front end of the 16-strong racing fleet after producing the fifth-fastest time of (11min 50sec) during the three-lap qualifier.

They had a fastest lap of 3min 41sec and average lap time of 3min 56sec and had been hoping to build on their podium finish (second) in their previous outing at last November’s Race World Offshore Key West World Championships in Florida.

STR Allied finished eight seconds behind winners Team Bermuda in 12min 32sec to take second and Wozencraft a close third in 12min 37sec to round off the podium finishers.

The St Petersburg Powerboat Grand Prix marks the opening race of the IHRA Offshore Series National Championship and features some of the fastest offshore powerboats in the world competing on Tampa Bay.