Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix not returning to Lido Beach in 2025
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix will not return to Lido Beach in 2025 for its 41st year. The event, known as "The Indy 500 of Powerboat Racing," began in 1986 and is known as a fan favorite, attracting thousands of people from around the globe.
The race organizer, Powerboat P1, made the decision to put the event on pause, citing budgeting concerns and ongoing construction near Van Wezel and Centennial Park. Both locations are known to be used as staging and parking areas.

The Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix will not return to Lido Beach in 2025 for its 41st year.
What they're saying:
Thomas Covington, Commercial Director for Powerboat P1, said in a statement, "We are incredibly grateful for the many years of support and partnership from Visit Sarasota, who has been instrumental in the event’s long-standing success as a Presenting Sponsor. Because of this support, Sarasota has become a premier destination in offshore racing, and we deeply value everything Visit Sarasota has contributed, making this an iconic event for the community and a highlight of the race season."
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Covington added the organizer did not want to do an injustice to the legacy Sarasota built and scale down the event.
Director of Sports for Visit Sarasota County, Pete Harvey, said, "While it’s disappointing to pause the Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix in 2025, this event has been a cornerstone of our community for nearly four decades, bringing excitement, economic impact, and international recognition to our destination. We understand Powerboat P1’s decision and appreciate their commitment to maintaining the event’s high standards. We support their commitment to maintaining the event's high quality and look forward to its potential return in the future."

The Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix will not return to Lido Beach in 2025 for its 41st year.
Sarasota-native Joey Olivieri owns and drives for OC Racing. "It's kind of almost devastating for the locals here. We look forward to it every year on the 4th of July weekend. When they took that away from us and moved it to a different date, that was bad enough," he said, "Now to cancel it completely is just...don't really know why. It's kind of crazy."
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Olivieri said his team was looking forward to returning to the Sarasota circuit. "Local sponsors helped us out. We did take the checkered flag, so it was a great feeling to win the Sarasota race. I don't think there's a race out there that would say they didn't like the Sarasota race. It was one of the most popular races throughout the entire year," he said.
What's next:
Powerboat P1 did say it will explore ways to bring the event back next year. He said, "The fans, the locals here loved it. It's been here for so long."
Powerboat P1 will still host races in St. Pete this September.
The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis.
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