Racer Spotlight: Seizing World Record Titles With Shaun Torrente
By Christy Wagner, Editor
Photos Courtesy of Shaun Torrente and Sean Conner with S2 Powerboats & SpeedontheWater.com
In an epic quest to continuously shatter world records and help raise the most money that has ever been donated in the history of the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout last year, Shaun Torrente partnered with Vision Marine Technologies to clinch the fastest speed ever recorded for an electric powerboat at the 35th Annual Shootout. In doing so, Torrente beat his previous word record speed which he had obtained in 2022.
RACER: Shaun Torrente of Fort Myers, Florida, Co-Owner and Founder of S2 Powerboats & Word Record Speed Setter
2024 SHOOTOUT DRIVER/THROTTLEMAN: Shaun Torrente
2024 SHOOTOUT OFFSHORE DRIVER/THROTTLEMAN: Super Stock Class: Driver Sean Conner & Throttleman Shaun Torrente | Stock 450 Class: Driver Caleb Mead & Throttleman Shaun Torrente
2024 SHOOTOUT VESSEL: Torrente is again partnering with Vision Marine Technologies at the Shootout this year in a custom-built, carbon-fiber-hull S2 Powerboats catamaran with numerous modifications made to it within the past year.
2024 SHOOTOUT OFFSHORE VESSEL: Super Stock Class: Sponsored by Allied REI and Raymarine, Torrente will be racing with a brand-new, custom-built 2024 S2 966-R with Mercury Super Stock 300-R engines. Stock 450 Class: Sponsored by MF Racing where Torrente will be operating in a 2022 MTI with twin 450 engines.
SHOOTOUT VESSEL TOP-RECORDED SPEED: 116 miles per hour (electric-powered vessel world record speed obtained in 2023)
SHOOTOUT OFFSHORE VESSEL TOP-RECORED SPEED: 120 miles per hour in the 2024 S2 966-R // 125 miles per hour in the 2022 MTI
NOTABLE RUNS/WINS: Torrente set the world record speed for electric boats in both 2022 (at 109 miles per hour) and 2023 (at 116 miles per hour) at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout with Vision Marine Technologies. He is also a three-time F1 Powerboat World Championship winner and highly accomplished Formula One boat racer.
LAST YEAR’S HIGHLIGHTS: “With the same horsepower in 2022 and 2023, to have improved by 7 miles per hour is quite a lot,” explained Torrente in an interview with South Florida’s Kim Sweers, aka the Boat Boss, and Vision Marine Technologies Owner/Founder Alexandre Mongeon. “Now that we have a good, safe, solid boat that was designed with us at S2 Powerboats, we are able to go much faster in 2024. Now, it’s time to add some real power to it. We were at about 330 horsepower per side in 2023, and we are hoping to be well above that number this year. I would like to thank Vision Marine, as well as my team at S2 Powerboats, who have worked around the clock to get everything done and really worked together as one team. We also could not do this without our loyal sponsors; especially Raymarine for their technical support and Charleston Composites who built the boat and created the molds themselves.”
FUN FACT: Torrente states that he has experienced zero mechanical issues arising with any of the electric boats that he has operated.
PERSONAL LIFE: Torrente is married to his wife and partner of nearly 30 years, Flavia, and together, they have a 19-year-old daughter, Isabelle, aka “Teenie,” who attends college in South Florida. Shaun and his family love the Lake of the Ozarks so much that he is currently building a secondary home along the 18-mile mark of the Main Channel.
WHAT’S IN STORE FOR 2024? Torrente hopes to break even more world records and make more waves, of course.
