After a long month, we’re set to begin racing again with our Midwest venues. I love racing these events because the fans are so appreciative of our attendance, not to mention the weather is usually outstanding and water conditions are calm and beautiful.

Lately our competition has either broken or not shown up. Our good friend, Aqua-Mania driver Gregg Rosen, is on the road to recovery, and for that we are truly grateful. We are enthusiastic about the Turbines being together to race at the next couple of events. This year, the St. Clair (Mich.) event could break the record for fastest offshore race held by Miss GEICO and Bud Select in 2007.

I’m asked about running the Turbine class boat all the time. Mostly it’s “How fast does it go?” or “What’s the key to success?” Unlike some other classes of race boats, operating a turbine-powered offshore cat is rarely “just pin it and hold on.” This class and speed level is about managing the power, managing the equipment and retaining focus. The trick is getting to the big numbers as quick as possible.

One of my racing mentors taught me something early on, which made sense when I started, but only now do I understand what he meant by: “You must first learn how to win before you can be a truly great racer.”

The common denominator of the best in boat racing is the ability to have the patience to manage the extreme focus that allows you to be faster, test smarter and run longer than your competitor. Pushing a bad line or making your glory move too early leads to disappointment more often than not, while stalking your prey and executing a comeback is strategic and deadly.

This goes for off the course as well as on the course. Once again, I’ll go back to my list of greats like the Seebolds, Gilbreath, Tomlinson, Scott, Ballough, Fountain, Villwock, David, Imprescia, Teague and Curtis. Patience and preparation is the key to long-term victories. Think of these guys—do you ever see them hyped up on a public forum or running around the pits squawking. No, they manage their emotions, focus on their game and are ready to execute. They have “learned how to win,” and they have learned to patiently focus on their game and not on what the other guy is doing. Each one has learned that true strength in racing comes from being able pull back as well as push the throttles forward. Sure, you’re going to lose sometimes, but the odds begin to stack in your favor as the preparation pays off.

The Miss GEICO team has been testing in Orlando, Fla., the past week. It was a good test session and thank goodness we went because we found a couple of weak links that we were able to address. Our crew has worked really hard to get the boat where we need it. I wish we had more time to test the new boat but right now our schedule is tight.

Whispering Turbines has done a tremendous job of giving us a beautiful set of engines to work with. Around the shop, the Qatar team continues with its safety modifications. Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis were in Australia racing with the brave Aussie Offshore Series. They did well, then again the Aussies love rough water events so every finisher is a winner in my book.