Although the Team Warpaint crew has been fairly quiet since its dramatic accident in Key West, Fla., during last year’s Super Boat International Key West World Championships, Bob Vesper and Danny Crank insist they’ve had every intention of returning to the racecourse this season from the day after last year’s crash on the last race of the championships.
The proof is in the new 42-footer built by Marine Technology Inc. that the two have been working on for the past several months to replace the team’s Michael Peters-designed Apache, the US-1 Warpaint built by Ontario Yachts.
No matter what… the team is sure to be the center of attention when it comes to its return to Key West in mid-November.
“I’ve always like the design of MTI’s boats—they’re very close to our old boat with the low-slung canopy design,” he continued. “This particular boat isn’t one of those light boats you add weight to so you can race. It was built specifically to be a Superboat in the 9,500-pound category. It’s a solid boat with heavy lamination for the cockpit. That’s one thing that turned us on to it. MTI covers the safety aspect very well, providing a substantial roll cage for the boat.”
Read more about the new Team Warpaint 42′ MTI Cat here.
Source: www.offshoreonly.com; Jason Johnson; September 19, 2012.