Professional Racing Outboard (PRO) Racing is the oldest form of APBA Outboard Racing. First recognized as a separate boat racing category by the American Power Boat Association (APBA) in 1924, it has evolved into a highly sophisticated, technologically advanced level of outboard racing, where twelve to fourteen foot long boats frequently exceed speeds of 100 miles an hour.
Just as in Stock and Modified outboard racing, PRO racing structures its classes by engine size (ranging from 125 to 1100 cc's) and hull design (hydroplanes and runabouts). Beyond those two parameters, the rest of the rules are pretty much wide open. Virtually unlimited engine modifications are allowed, and any fuel can be run. As a result, PRO Racing has come to be synonymous with "World Class" outboard racing, as in many cases the engines of choice are of foreign manufacture, such as the König engine from Germany, and the Yamato engine from Japan. Also, innovations are evident in hull design. Unlike the Stock and Modified categories, where most hulls are built to be driven in kneeling positions, it is not uncommon to see kneelers, laydown designs (where the driver is prone on his stomach) and sit-down design boats (where the driver sits down in the boat, harnessed in for safety reasons) competing against each other. In the future, however, the trend will be moving more toward the sit-down designs: the APBA PRO Racing commission has made capsules mandatory for selected classes beginning in 1995, with a gradual phase in of reinforced cockpits with restraint systems for specific classes by the 1997 season.
In APBA PRO racing, the premier event is the PRO National Championships, which are an annual event. This four day regatta attracts the very best racers from across the United States, vying for National Honors. PRO racers also have the opportunity to test their mettle against the finest racers in the world and the UIM (Union of International Motorboating) World Championships. The PRO class structure (defining engines by cc groupings) correlates with UIM class designations. With its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, the UIM is the official sanctioning body for all world championship powerboat racing events. APBA is an affiliate of UIM. The sites for UIM championships vary each year, and often differ depending on the class competing. In recent years, UIM World Outboard Championships have been held in Pleasanton, California and Lakeland, Florida.
PRO racing is also the home for Antique Outboard Racing, a sub-category of the PRO racing commission. Antique Outboard Racing mixes motors originally built in the 1930's with some of today's boat design theory and racing program. The Antique division of PRO racing is one of the post popular and competitive forms of outboard racing. Seattle Outboard Association has always been active in Antique Outboard Racing, and the Antique classes are a vital part of SOA's racing program.