JBS Racing Poised For Lake Of The Ozarks Shootout Competition

If current plans hold, spectators at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout will see JBS Racing, a 42-foot MTI catamaran currently competing in the Class 1 World Championship Series, later this month in the event on the Central Missouri waterway. Owner/driver Jeff Stevenson and throttleman Micheal Stancombe plan to compete in the top-speed competition on the three-quarter-mile course, and it will be the first time an active Class 1 raceboat/team has run in the 34-year-old event.

For the first time in its 34-year history, the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout will have an active Class 1 raceboat competing. Photo from the 2022 Great Lakes Grand Prix by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

The 42-footer is powered by 1,000-plus-hp V-16 engines from Detroit-based Sixteen Power. Stevenson and Stancombe have run the cat in the first three of eight races in the P1 Offshore-produced Class 1 series and currently sit third behind Huski Chocolate and 222 Offshore Australia in the points chase.

But beyond the standings, according to Sixteen Power representative Tom Robinson, the offshore racecourse has delivered an exceptional proving ground for the large-displacement engine platform.

“The engines have performed flawlessly,” he said. “They’ve had one oil change, the plugs look good and we haven’t had reason to even open a valve cover.”

Robinson was quick to point out that there’s more to keeping a Class 1 boat running than engine reliability.

“Cocoa Beach was very rough, Sarasota was a rougher than expected and Michigan City was insanely rough and there are a lot of other subsystems that can break on a race boat,” he explained. “Things like alternators, battery boxes, engine mount bolts, tailpipe clamps and more can all come between you and the podium.

“It’s been quite an education, but it’s an important part of the development process and it’s a big deal when you can tell customers that your engines survived the offshore racing,” he added, then chuckled. “But I am looking forward to the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout—flat water and no turns.”

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