Jackhammer Team Replacing Delaminated 22-Footer

The sister-ship of the Super Stock-class 32-foot Victory catamaran dubbed Jackhammer and driven by Illinois-based owner Reese Langheim and driven by Ricky Maldonado, a 22-foot Velocity of the same name that competes in the popular and competitive Bracket 700 class delaminated on the first lap of last weekend’s St. Petersburg Grand Prix. The boat, which is piloted by Julian Maldonado (Ricky’s son) and Brian Guy was hauled off the racecourse before it could sink to the bottom of Tampa Bay.

Shortly after this images was captured during last Sunday’s St. Petersburg Grand, the Bracket 700-class Jackhammer boat delaminated and began sinking. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

But Maldonado and Guy are not out for the season. They already have a new raceboat in the form of a 21-foot Superboat and will compete in the upcoming Offshore Powerboat Association contest in Morehead City, N.C.

“With the OPA Northeast Championship coming up this weekend, we didn’t have much time to react and fix the Velocity,” said Maldonado. “So we decided to put together the 21-foot Superboat, which turns out to be a much-better all-around boat for us.”

The raceboat will be equipped with the team’s Mercury Racing 300R outboard engine, which the Jackhammer team purchased and installed in late June.

Maldonado and Guy already have a replacement boat and will compete in North Carolina this weekend.

“We are so thankful Mercury Racing came up with such a dependable, factory-sealed engine,” said Maldonado. “The engine was almost completely underwater and it fired right back up once we brought the boat back to the launch ramp in St. Pete and pumped the saltwater out of it.

“Brian, myself and the rest of the Jackhammer crew are 100-percent committed to finishing the American Power Boat Association season with boats in both the Bracket 700 and Super Stock classes,” he added. “That’s what led us to get another boat ready.”

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