Speedboat has learned that throttleman Alex Pratt and driver Miles Jennings will be temporarily replaced as pilots of the Class 1 offshore race team XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka for the remainder of the 2023 offshore race season.

The decision was made following a catastrophic crash of a Nor-Tech Center Console speedboat on the Lake of the Ozarks, MO, late Saturday night. Pratt, the 28-year-old founder of Good Boy Vodka, was a passenger on the boat along with seven others, all of whom were ejected from the vessel near the 1.3 Mile Marker when it hit land, struck a house and overturned; all were sent to the emergency room with serious to moderate injuries. The boat's driver, 47-year-old Adam Ramirez of Huntington Beach, CA, was listed in critical condition.

Pratt, who reportedly required more than 100 stitches on his back during surgery, is expected to make a full recovery. However, Rick J. Lindsey, President and CEO of XINSURANCE, made the call on Tuesday to continue the race season and replace the pilots with team manager Randy Kent (founder and former owner of Marine Concepts Motorsports) as driver, and Grant's Signature Racing founder Grant Bruggemann, who currently throttles with driver Wayne Valder in the Super Cat entry Valder Yachts, for the remainder of the highly competitive Class 1 season.

"We're watching out for Alex's safety," Kent told Speedboat. "We're going to finish the season out and give him some time to heal. Then we'll revisit who is going to be in the boat for next season." Pratt and Jennings most recently raced XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka, a 2014 48' MTI, in Sarasota earlier this month, but the boat did not finish, due to a bad fuel issue that fouled the engine.

Bruggemann, who previously tested with the XINSURANCE team, resides near Kent in Bradenton, FL, so the partnership is advantageous for practice and learning the boat—especially given that Jennings lives in the UK. "Once we decided to put Grant on the throttles, it just made more sense for me to jump back on the driver's side, which is what I used to do. And our shops are right next to each other. We see each other all the time, and it'll be easier to get some seat time with him."

"It's a new boat to us but obviously it's got a good pedigree (having found success as Team Abu Dhabi)," continued Kent. "Our main goal is to get the boat dialed in. (Pratt) will still be at the races on-site, supporting the team."

The next race is the Great Lakes Grand Prix in Michigan City, IN, scheduled for Aug. 5-7, 2023.