Pastrana to return to race on water in UIM Class 1 Powerboat Championship Series
Travis Pastrana, famed extreme sports competitor who has dabbled in just about everything on two and four wheels, will be coming back to Florida in about a month (June 30-July 2) to compete in the UIM Class 1 Championship Powerboat Series event in Sarasota.
He's already the defending UIM Class 1 World Champion from last season and after missing this season's first race, will be back in the water piloting the POTHOLE HEROES entry from Alegra Motorsports, a once IMSA-based race team that has shifted primarily to powerboat racing.
This year has already been a big one for Travis, having run in the Daytona 500 for 23XI Racing for Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan, finishing just outside the top 10 in his first Cup Series race before getting into a late-race wreck in The Great American Race.
Now he turns his attention to the water and Sarasota, a race he had to work into his schedule with all the other forms of racing he's doing.
"(Owner/driver Carlos de Quesada) has motor racing commitments to fulfill in Le Mans that weekend, so I decided to skip the racing I had planned," Pastrana said. "Not only to jump at the chance to get back into a Class 1 and go up against my teammates from last year, Steve (Curtis) and my good friend Brit (Lilly), but to race alongside the great Johnny Tomlinson," he said.
"Steve and Brit did great to take the win (the season-opening race) in Cocoa Beach (May 18-21), but I am looking forward to pushing them as hard as I can and showing them who’s boss in Sarasota," Pastrana added.
Alegra Motorsports, which used to run a GT Mercedes in the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship in IMSA in the GTD class, has become a very successful powerboat team since turning towards the water from the asphalt.
Alegra only competed in one race last season in Class 1 offshore powerboats, winning the season finale in 2022 in Key West, where they showed solid speed in the race and were quick leading into their race-winning weekend.