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| The Lip Ship Racing Team is led by Phil Lipschutz himself. A 30 year veteran in boat racing, he is currently one of the most winning boat racers active today. In the last ten years he has won five National Championships and two World Championships.It all began when he attended his first APBA Hydroplane race at the age of 13. By teh age of 16 he had qualified as a Hydroplane driver. In 1971 he drove the 48 cu. in. Lip-Ship Y-269 to the finish line to become the winner of the Madison Gold Cup Regatta; the first of his 8 victories in that race. Phil competed in over 700 heats during his 17 year Hydroplane racing career in more than 20 diferent Hydroplanes and within all Inboard Limiited classes. He won in excess of 200 heats and became the 1982 North Amercan 5 litre Champion and was the 1988 Runner-up in the World Finals in a Modified Eliminator drag boat.
In 1985, following a move to Miami, Florida, Phil shifted gears and introduced the Lip-Ship name into the exciting sport of Offshore Racing. Within the first two years it was clear Phil found a new niche. In a 24' Skater owned by his older brother, Mike, and throttled by his younger brother, P-Nutz, Phil drove the Lip-Ship to 10 out of 13 wins. Some of his career highlights at that time also include becoming the 1986 Southeast and Central Division Champion and setting the World Kilo Straightaway Speed Record. 1985 also afforded Phil with the honor and responsibility of organizing Remesh Murjani's 6 boat racing fleet in Hong Kong where they won the Pedo Blanco 100.
Starting in 1989 Phil negotiated a corporate sponsorship of two race boats, the 24' Skater and a newly constructed 41' Apache. Both were known as the Doller Marine Special and in both, Phil continued to rack up the checkered flags and trophies One of his most prestigious wins came in 1989 in the Apache. Phil won "The Great Race" fromTrinidad to Tobago. In 12-foot seas and to this day, Phil is the only American to achieve this feat. Then duing the 6-race circuit in 1990, Phil earned three 1st place finishes while racing the Skater in APBA's Division C-Class. From there, Phil's sights turned to the Manufacturer's Super Vee Class where he embarked on a ten year adventure with the 41' Apache, the Doller Marine Special. In his first season, he earned no less than a 2nd place finish and took home five 1st place finishes to make him the 1990 National Champion in the Manufacturer's Super Vee Class. Phil kept his title the next year and went on to become the 1993 U.S. Offshore World Champion Overall and in Class in Fort Lauderdale, Floirda. The next year he won 2nd place in the World Championship in the same 41' Apache, Known by then as the "J.H. Electric/Lip-Ship Special". He then went on to reclaim his National and World Champion titles in 1997. In his last in the 41' Apache, Phil won the 1998 National Championship and place 2nd in the 1998 World Championship.
1999 marked his first season racing for the historic Cigarette Racing Team in the new Manufacturer's 2 Class, known as the most competitive class in offshore racing to date. After setting up the F-2 Racer, Phil took over the throttles to win four straight races and the coveted 1999 Superboat International (SBI) F-2 National Championship with Cigarette Racing team. For the year 2000, Phil returned the Lip-Ship name to the Super Vee Class with the sponsorship of Equiflor Corporation. The team is known as Rio Roses/Cigarette. Phil's success in boat racing is obvious due to his skill and experience, but these attributes developed over time. At the essence of Phil's successful acreer is passion - a passion for the experience of maneuvering and finessing a vessel within the open sea. Racing, for Phil, represents the ultimate challenge between man, mechanics and nature. Each race is an exhilarating test of his wits, skills and drive matched with an innate desire to win and as his record shows - he is a winner!
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