Michigan City 2021 Great Lakes Grand Prix

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Schedule

Thursday, August 5, 2021

ALL DAY
Arrival of Race Boats; Race Village - Washington Park, Michigan City, IN
Crane Area - Washington Park (200 Heisman Harbor Dr., Michigan City, IN)
Ramp Area - Washington Park (200 Heisman Harbor Dr., Michigan City, IN)
Wet Pits - Washington Park (200 Heisman Harbor Dr., Michigan City, IN)
Dry Pits - Washington Park (200 Heisman Harbor Dr., Michigan City, IN)

There will not be a fuel truck on site. Come Fueled!

Friday, August 6, 2021

11am-3pm REGISTRATION - Oasis Splash Park
11am-4pm GPS REGISTRATION - Oasis Splash Park
12pm-4pm Race Boat Inspections - Race Village
12pm-4pm Dunker Testing - Michigan City HS (8466 W Pahs Rd)
12pm-7pm AquaX Registration ‐ Race Village
12pm-7pm AquaX Inspections ‐ Race Village
5pm Water OPS Volunteer Meeting - Sunset Grill (6 On the Lake, Michigan City, IN)
7pm-7:30pm Rider Meeting for AquaX
6pm Racer Meet & Greet ‐ Blue Chip Casino (777 Blue Chip Drive)

Saturday, August 7, 2021

10am-12am Race Village open to the Public
11am-2pm REGISTRATION - Oasis Splash Park
11am-4pm GPS REGSITRATION - Oasis Splash Park
10am Racer Meeting ‐ Sunset Grill @ Washington Park
9am-5pm Race Boat Inspections & Walk‐Throughs ‐ Race Village
10am-4pm Boat Ramp & Crane Operational
11am Race Control Operational
10am AQUAX RACING
12pm-3pm OFFSHORE TESTING
3:15pm AQUAX RACING
4:30pm Parade & Block Party Staging
5:30pm Parade
6pm‐8pm Downtown Street Party

Sunday, August 8, 2021

9am Race Village Open
8am Set Course Buoys
7:30am Racer Physicals ‐ Sunset Grill @ Washington Park
7:30am AquaX Riders Meeting
8:30am RACERS MEETING ‐ Sunset Grill @ Washington Park
9am Medical/Dive briefing ‐ Sunset Grill @ Washington Park
9am Patrol Briefing ‐ Sunset Grill @ Washington Park
9am Boat Ramp & Crane Operational
9:30am Race Control Operational
10am Course Support Fleet on station
9am AQUAX RACING
10:45am National Anthem

OFFSHORE RACING (times are subject to adjustment)
11am RACE 1
12pm RACE 2
1pm RACE 3
3pm RACE 4

6:30pm Awards Ceremony ‐ Blue Chip Casino

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Boat racers in Great Lakes Grand Prix set to get big 'welcome back' in Michigan City

MICHIGAN CITY — Festivities leading up to a weekend of powerboat racing in Michigan City begin on Wednesday.

Racers in the Great Lakes Grand Prix could be given even more of a warm welcome because the annual event, consistently drawing over 100,000 people, was canceled due to COVID-19 last year.

“I think everybody is really excited, obviously, being under the circumstances we all lived through last year,” LaPorte County Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Jack Arnett said.

The races are the third stop in the six-race American Power Boat Association National Championship Series.

Among the competitors will be the Miss Geico Offshore Racing Team, which holds the top ranking in the Class ONE division.

The Class ONE division was created in 2019 to attract top-ranked teams in the fastest class of racing.

“The Great Lakes Grand Prix is one of the top events of the year. I love Michigan City and can’t wait to be back in the driver’s seat of the Miss Geico to compete in the races,” racer Brit Lilly said.

Lilly will again be paired with throttleman Steve Curtis in trying to win another championship in the 47-foot boat powered by twin 1,100 horsepower engines, according to the Miss Geico team.

According to the LCCVB, a golf outing at Michigan City Municipal Golf Course at noon Wednesday kicks off the festivities.

Registration is at 11 a.m.

All drinks, lunch and prizes are included in the $100 entry fee per player and $400 per foursome.

Thursday features a VIP Party from 6-8 p.m. at Sunset Grille and Aftermath, a classic rock and country music band, performing at Washington Park Beach from 7-11 p.m.

The Taste of Michigan City downtown on Franklin Street is scheduled for 4-11 p.m. Friday, along with the classic rock band WYSIWYG playing at Washington Park Beach from 7-11 p.m.

Saturday’s activities begin with Four A’s Vintage Car Show from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Taste of Michigan City returning from noon to 11 p.m. downtown.

The racing on Saturday runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Powerboats along with Jet Ski racers from the P1 Aqua X series out of Florida will take turns racing on the water.

A boat parade and block party on Franklin Street will run later 6-8 p.m.

The classic rock band, Point’n Fingers, will perform from 7-11 p.m.

Powerboat and Jet Ski racing will resume from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Arnett said the awards ceremony will be held at the shoreline for the Jet Ski racers and at Blue Chip Casino for the powerboat racers.

This will be the 12th Great Lakes Grand Prix, which set an attendance record of more than 200,000 for all of the events during and leading up to the race in 2019.

More than $13 million was also generated for the local economy, according to the LCCVB.

“We’re ready to roll," Arnett said. "We expect this Grand Prix to probably set some records numbers-wise just because of folks wanting to get out and enjoy the good weather.”

https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/...a008e1e05.html

[Ratickle]

Great Lakes Grand Prix racing this weekend

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (WNDU) - It’s not the “greatest” spectacle in racing but perhaps it’s the wettest.

The 12th annual Great Lakes Grand Prix is on tap this weekend in Michigan City.

In 15 minutes, Miss Geico can apparently travel 42.5 miles.

“We run a 47 foot, victory hull, all carbon fiber boat powered by twin 1100 horse power Mercurys. The boat is capable of 170-miles an hour,” said Team Geico crew member Scott Begovich. “You know when you hit the accelerator, when those twin turbos kick in, the only thing I can liken it to for the lay person who has never done it before, is when you’re on the runway getting ready to take off in a jet, and he powers up.”

Jason Geddes is former Michigan City resident who now lives in West Lafayette. Today he returned to his hometown to get a look at the boats. “The big boats that run on Sunday, it’s just amazing to watch how fast they go on that water and so forth. It’s a sport you don’t get to see up close a lot.”

But plenty of ‘in your face’ moments are built into the Great Lakes Grand Prix.

Saturday night, the boats will trailer up, slow to a crawl, and parade through the downtown.

“Every one of these boats with their rigs polished up, the crews on top, waving, throwing beads, you know, throwing toys out and we go downtown, people everywhere,” recalled Begovich.

There will be racing after 10:00 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday. The event has consistently produced a bonanza for bean counters.

“This brings a lot of money into our communities in many ways. Anywhere from $12 to $15 million,”said Jack Arnette with the LaPorte County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. “It’s probably one of the largest events in the region north of Indianapolis. We’ve been doing this 12 years and everybody knows and expects the first week of August they need to be here.”

The racing can be viewed for free from the beach at Washington Park but beach goers are asked to park at Ames Field and board a shuttle bus as the beach parking lot will fill up quickly.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/gr...BingNewsSearch

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