Steven Bridges and David Selley are hoping to build on their flying start to the season when they make their debut in the New Orleans Powerboat Grand Prix on the weekend.

The professional powerboat racers could not have asked for a better start to the 2026 campaign after winning the St Petersburg Powerboat Grand Prix in their season opener in Florida last month.

Driver Selley and throttle man and boat owner Bridges started on pole and went on to claim the coveted checkered flag in their 32ft twin-engined catamaran, Team Bermuda, in the main event to celebrate a maiden win at the professional level.

“We are hoping to get another good result at New Orleans but this is racing so anything is possible and could go wrong,” Bridges told The Royal Gazette.

“A small thing could ruin your race but we will be as prepared as we can be and go all out.

The Bermudian duo will again have their work cut out against some of the world’s elite in the Super Stock class and will have a big target on their backs after their breakthrough victory.

“It is a very competitive class and on any given day it’s anyone’s race to win, so we can just do our best and hope for great results,” Bridges said.

The local team arrived in New Orleans yesterday and can hardly wait to test their boat on the water.

“Testing will be on Friday and as we have never been to this particular event it will be new course and layout, so we will have to see how the boat performs in these waters and figure out the best set-up to run,” Bridges said.

“Every race is different and conditions can change day to day, so set up is always a moving target.”

Driver Selley is also hoping for more success on the weekend.

“Looking forward to a great weekend at New Orleans and hopefully we can get a good result and are satisfied with how the boat performs in lake conditions,” he said.

“Obviously we are still riding high off of our win in Florida and will use that momentum going into this weekend and give it our all.”

Also flying the island’s banner at the event is the team of Luis Martins and Nick Imprescia in their 32ft twin-engined catamaran, Nuff Said.

The pair also competed at last month’s St Petersburg Powerboat Grand Prix in Florida, where they posted the fifth-fastest time and finished sixth in the four-lap race contested in choppy conditions.

“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.

“Not the finish we were chasing but we are taking what we learnt and dialling things in for the next one.”

Martins and Imprescia did themselves proud after finishing second overall at last November’s Race World Offshore Key West World Championships in Florida.

The New Orleans Powerboat Grand Prix, featuring offshore powerboat and personal watercraft, will be held on Lake Pontchartrain from April 10 to 12 and is the second stop of the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Offshore Series National Championship.

Qualifying takes place on Saturday followed by racing on Sunday at the levee between Bonnabel Boat Launch and Bucktown Harbor Park in Metairie, Louisiana.

The Super Stock class is a popular and competitive category in offshore powerboat racing, designed to be accessible to a wider range of teams while delivering fast speeds.

Boats typically range from 28 to 40 feet in length and feature deep-V or modified-V hull designs for speed and stability, and are powered by twin engines, usually V8 or V10, capable of producing between 500 and 800 horsepower per engine.