Andrew Tate Takes First F1 Victory at Bradenton Opener

Andrew Tate won the inaugural round of the 2026 IHRA F1 Powerboat Series at the Bradenton Area River Regatta, completing a commanding weekend on the Manatee River that gave him his first F1 win in the series and also produced victories for Mason Rinker in Tri-Hull and Shelby Love in Formula Lights.

The event marked the first sanctioned powerboat race in IHRA history, staged in front of large crowds that lined the banks and packed the bridge overlooking the course.

Andrew Tate: A Career in Every Class

Tate’s win was no surprise to anyone who has followed American powerboat racing over the past two decades. A fourth-generation racer, he began competing in stock outboard hydroplanes at nine years old and has since accumulated nine APBA National Championship titles, over 100 race victories across multiple classes, and induction into the APBA Hall of Champions five times.

His credentials in unlimited hydroplanes are equally formidable. He was named H1 Unlimited Rookie of the Year in 2016 after winning the Seattle Seafair Cup in his debut season, the first rookie to take that race since 1956. He went on to win the 2018 APBA Gold Cup and the H1 Unlimited National High Points Championship that same year, making him and his father Mark the only father-and-son duo to both have won the Gold Cup, He took a second H1 Unlimited National Championship in 2024.

A Hull with History

The boat Tate campaigned at Bradenton is a DAC, built in Italy. It is the same hull Alberto Comparato drove to the 2018 UIM F2 World Championship. After that title campaign, it passed to Brent Dillard, who raced it in the same class before eventually shipping it home to the United States and selling it on. Significant development work has been carried out since, and the hull now runs a Mercury APX 4-stroke motor.

Tate set the pace from the opening seeding round, winning Heat 1 of 4 in the F1 class with a fastest lap of 34.922 seconds. In the main qualifying session he led every lap from lap two onwards, covering 14 laps in 8:51.447, 2.9 seconds clear of Jared Jensen in second.

The Race

Tate held his advantage through the 30-lap final, crossing the line in 17:47.615. Behind him, Jensen produced the drive of the day. Starting from 10th on the grid after a difficult second qualifying session, he charged through the field to finish second, recording the fastest lap of the race, a 33.323 that was two seconds quicker than anything Tate managed on the day.

Jeremiah Mayo completed the podium in third, 13.980 seconds behind the winner. Spencer Love finished fourth, Dylan Anderson fifth, and Chris Rinker sixth in his Mercury 2-stroke powered Moore hull, a lap down on the leaders. Dustin Terry retired from the final with 26 laps completed.

Speaking to the press afterwards, Tate was uncharacteristically at a loss for words.

Honestly, I don’t know what to say or do. I didn’t even know where to go after we won. It’s the first time for all of us here. So thanks to the team, sponsors, David DeWald, family. Everyone’s family. I grew up with all these guys racing boats. So to do it here in F1 is something really special for all of us.

He singled out the reaction of his crew as the moment that captured the day.

I will say it was rather exciting to see the crew come running around over the bridge and they’re all just sprinting. And that’s a haul to get over there where your spotters were. So a lot of excitement and it’s good. You know, it’s just good feeling overall.

Yeah, I think they just got their workout in. So they earned their beers tonight.

Tri-Hull: Mason Rinker Takes the Honours

Mason Rinker won the Tri-Hull final, covering 20 laps in 11:19.990 to beat Cole Wehring by 8.725 seconds. Neal Marsh was third, Bryston Sherman fourth.

Formula Lights: Lovin’ It

Shelby Love won the Formula Lights final, covering 11 laps in 6:56.735. Jake McKee finished second, 7.607 seconds behind, with Brandon Bobalik third. Mark Schmerbauch, who led the 2025 FL championship standings heading into Bradenton, was beaten into fourth by three rivals.

Love had set the pace in the opening qualifying session, and although McKee edged her in the second session by 0.850 seconds, she had her fastest lap on the board when it mattered in the final.

Torrente on IHRA’s Role in the Sport’s Future

Four-time UIM F1H2O World Champion Shaun Torrente, who lives locally, attended the event and spoke about what IHRA’s involvement means for tunnel boat racing in the United States.

He said IHRA was “bringing much needed resources” to a class that had struggled for visibility and investment, and praised Tim Seebold for keeping the series alive before IHRA’s acquisition of F1 Powerboat Racing. The format and the crowds at Bradenton, he suggested, were exactly what the discipline needed.

You need to be in front of eyeballs.

His broader reflection on racing, drawn from his own career, captured what the weekend demanded of every competitor.

Anybody can be fast for one lap. It’s hard to be fast for an entire season and not tear it up.

Organisers and a Crowd to Remember

Seebold’s team, working in conjunction with the Bradenton Area River Regatta, staging its eleventh event, delivered the weekend under IHRA sanction with an elevated media and live streaming offer that gave the series a presence beyond the riverbanks.

The Bradenton Police Department drew particular praise for their management of the spectator areas and road closures. Their presence and organisation was a significant factor in keeping what could have been a complicated safety situation well in hand.

The inaugural IHRA race came to Bradenton with a promise and left with a result. Big crowds, three competitive finals, and a winner with a CV that stretches from stock outboards to the Gold Cup. For a series staging its first-ever race, that is about as good a starting point as anyone could have written.

As a British observer fortunate enough to be there, it is a memory I will cherish.