Nick Imprescia and Ian Morgan: Offshore Boat Racing Duo Embrace Opportunity
When it comes to offshore powerboat racing, I have always admired from afar. The fierce competition and intensity of the races is incredible. Because my friends at Speed on the Water do such a good job covering races, I seldom write about them and I’m admittedly a fan but not any kind of expert on racing. After going to this years World Offshore Races in Key West I thought it would be a good time to talk about one of the teams; Nick Imprescia and Ian Morgan have made a deep impression this year on a new team, making the competition that much better.
I have met and talked to Nick Imprescia over the years, partly because of our mutual love of similar boats and I did a write-up a few years ago about him winning the King of the Cut in NY. Nick is about as passionate as they come and even though he’s incredibly friendly, you can tell he has a extremely competitive side; in a good way. We had the chance to talk before the holidays and Nick shared some insight about the season in their Mod V class 32’ Phantom, some things they worked on and the pleasure of running with his friend Ian Morgan.
One reason the team has found success is the chemistry with both Nick and Ian, with each trusting each other and communicating effectively. Ian Morgan drives with Nick Imprescia on the throttles.
One thing that stands out with the best teams is the amount of testing that goes into the boats and the team. For Nick, he had an incredible opportunity with Ian to join the “Visit St. Pete / 151 Express” team. The benefit of this was that the team has resources and is organized so that Nick and Ian can focus on the boat, with Ian driving and Nick on the throttles. Coming up in Bracket Class 700 and with some other teams, often you are also the one turning a wrench and doing many other tasks, taking away a little bit from actually racing.
For Nick, he said him and Ian spent days in the boat before racing and working on the setup to get ready. They love the boat, it’s fast yet they have enough experience that they feel really comfortable in it. With testing and setup changes they improved the performance of the Phantom by almost 10 MPH in a short time, getting it into the high 90s. Nick said this was all in the setup and adjusting to the boat. One difference he mentioned was how the the twin step hull boat settles in after getting up to speed where it runs more in the water.
The fact that Nick and Ian are only 20 years old is great news for the sport. It’s great to see young people involved. Ian and Nick have lots of experience on the water for younger guys and have great mentors in their corner, including Nick’s dad Joey and Nick works with world championship racer Shaun Torrente. Nick mentioned how they have imparted wisdom like being accountable in and out of racing in a professional sense. Being prepared, being efficient and being a good steward of the sport were important for Nick and the team.
Nick and Ian dong what they do best, running all in, here’s the 32’ Phantom in action.
Having young people like Nick and Ian being ambassadors for the sport speaks well for the future of the sport. There are many great ambassadors already but every sport needs an injection of youth to shake things up and inspire new entrants to get involved. Offshore racing is blessed to have these guys paving the way.
Finishing second overall in P1 for the 2021 season and winning 1st in St. Pete and Fort Myers were great milestones for the team. As well, in Key West for the Race World Offshore event, Nick said they managed to do almost everything, including coming back from a crash in the first race to complete the races and gain 2nd in points. The year was a season with ups and downs but mostly ups for the duo I think we will have to keep our eye on Nick and Ian, they are just getting started and they’re moving fast.
The World Offshore Race in Key West 2021. Nick and Ian had a crash in the first race but got back on the course and finished second overall.