ABC-7 Top Story, SBI Race

SARASOTA - ABC-7 News Link - The Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix festival is in full gear. Thursday evening, the festival's parade of boats shut down the streets in downtown Sarasota. The festival is bringing in the crowds and their cash to the Suncoast at a time when it's really needed.

Thousands of spectators came out to watch the parade. The Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau says the festival gives the Suncoast a huge boost, bringing in an estimated $9 million to the local economy.

This is the 25th year of the grand prix, and the convention bureau's Erin Duggan says the festival is one of the biggest money makers during the summer. "In research that we did last year, in 2008, studies showed that about 50% of the folks going to the festival are not from Sarasota County. And as you can imagine, those 50% that are traveling here, a lot of them are choosing to stay in hotels and eat at our restaurants, and shop in our retail shops, and visit our attractions. So it has a huge economic impact on Sarasota County."

Hotels like the Hyatt Regency Sarasota are packed full with race teams and race fans. Come this weekend, the 294-room hotel won't have a room available. "It is critical, because July obviously is not our peak time. We've all seen the rain the last few days, and the race fans are coming regardless," says Mark Becker from the Hyatt Regency Sarasota.
"We as a crew come here and we occupy eight rooms for five nights...that's 40 days," says Bob Teague with Team Amsoil.

Most of the people that come with these teams spend quite a bit of money -- they go to the nicer restaurants, they stay in the nicer hotels.

Many race fans do the same. More than 50,000 people are estimated to take part in the festival, which is a favorite with both the fans and the racers they come here to watch. "For the last 25 years, we've spent our Fourth of July here in Sarasota, and we wouldn't know how to stay home, actually," says Teague.

There are plenty of other events gong on before the big race day on Sunday. For more information, visit www.suncoastoffshore.org

Here is the TV news spot.
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San Benedetto del Tronto Preview

Next and third round for the 2009 P1 season is San Benedetto del Tronto, the city in Marche, Italy, in the province of Ascoli Piceno situated on the Adriatic Sea. San Benedetto is a key fishing port, and one of the main seaside resorts of the renowned Adriatic coast. Powerboat P1 arrived in San Benedetto for the first time in the 2008 season, opening last year calendar and receiving a fantastic reception from power boating fans. This Grand Prix of the Sea in San Benedetto del Tronto will also run in conjunction with the exciting Italian Powerboat Series (IPS).

CIGARETTE SMOKES THE EVOLUTION FIELD AND DONZI PREVAILS IN SUPERSPORT TURKISH GRAND PRIX OF THE SEA ROUND 4

There was no looking back for Luca Fendi and Matteo Nicolini as their Mercury-powered #10 CIGARETTE SMASH POKER team took the lead at the start of Sunday’s 15-lap Endurance race; the team finished nearly a minute ahead of the second place Fountain #33 FURNIBO team, also Mercury-powered. The #53 PIGNOLO Metamarine diesel made a great comeback from its accident in Malta, with both team and boat injuries repaired, to take third in this race—even though it did not start on Saturday due to a fuel cell problem.

Typically, attrition plays a part in endurance races, but it began at the start as the Mercury-powered #88 SNAV OSG Outerlimits was not able to recover from engine issues experienced on Saturday in the Sprint race, when the boat retired quickly after breaking a supercharger belt. Though with a new engine, the boat tested successfully earlier in the day, it could not make the start, leaving the 6-boat field to take the course.

When the Cigarette launched ahead, the FURNIBO Fountain and #77 LUCAS OIL/BUDWEISER Outerlimits fought for position, trading second and third places for several laps while #66 CRANEFIELDS WINE Searex, #53 PIGNOLO Metamarine and #47 SILVERLINE Buzzi boats competed for 4th, 5th and 6th positions. Since water conditions were smooth and the strong current seemed to subside somewhat today, speeds were well in excess of 100 mph so racing action proved exciting until CRANEFIELDS WINE retired in the 4th lap with an overheated engine followed by LUCA OIL losing power in one of its Chief Engines in the 7th lap. Since a team has to complete 70% of the total laps to earn points in the race, the #77 Outerlimits struggled to keep the boat on plane for the 4 more laps required.

In the meantime, Cigarette SMASH POKER continued to dominate with the Fountain FURNIBO team running cautiously at times as it seemed to periodically experience some guardian mode engine issues, running at 113 for its top speed. The PIGNOLO team continued to pick up speed as the bigger, heavier boat burned off fuel, achieving speeds of 110 mph. In the end, it was Cigarette SMASH POKER ahead by 53 seconds while the Outerlimits LUCAS OIL “was making painfully slow progress” according to P1 Radio announcer, Steve Ancsell, and failed to achieve its 11 laps by the end of the race.

“We have been working on a new set-up,” said Eugenio Voltolina, of Sea Horse Marine, the Italian Cigarette team owner, “On Saturday, we decided to run conservatively for points as we did not want to repeat the mistake made in Malta when we ran very fast (and spun out). After the sea trail and practice here, we got it this morning and everything went very well!”

In the SuperSport class, the Team #26 SW1 CAPITAL Donzi made a dramatic comeback after breaking a shaft and losing a propeller in Saturday’s race. The incident exemplified the off-the-race-course camaraderie of racers as the British team arranged overnight transport of a prop shaft from fellow British racer, Martin Lai, who plans to have his boat ready for the next race in Italy. A set of used and slightly battered props from the #38 BAIA ATTOLINI team gave the young bucks all they needed to take a convincing first place in the Endurance race. “They did well!” said Donzi VP of Sales, Craig Barrie, “They need to slow down! In motorsports today, it’s all about the set up. When we set this boat up for them in Key West last year, I told them to be careful as this boat could run away from them. Then they called and told me (in the last race when they broke out of their speed limit), ‘It got away from us!’”

The Sterling-powered Donzi team was followed by last year’s World Champions, Angelo Tedeschi and Aaron Ciantar, in the new #43 Ilmor-powered Chaudron SEAGULL, with their championship boat from last year in 3rd, piloted by the all-female team of Shelley Jory and Audrienne Ciantar. However, the ladies fell into the same circumstances experienced by their Chaudron counterparts on Saturday and were penalized 1 minute for speeding, giving up second place to the #38 Donzi BAIA ATTOLINI Team. The 1st-4th place Donzi/Chaudron line-up was completed by the Nor-Tech #5 MASFORCE Spirit of Belgium team, then by the 2-boat Italian team, Al & Al Racing, #22 BIG SERGIO and #28 BLU SHAFT in 5th, 6th and 7th places.

The overall standings for the series, listed below may be surprising as the acclaim and podium celebrations generally focus on speed and winning. But many other factors come in to play as teams like the #47 SILVERLINE Buzzi boat can attest. This experienced team of Jan Falkowski and Drew Langdon who competed in Powerboat P1, the Round Britain and Cowes-Torquay-Cowes races last year, worked in the off-season to put a canopy on their former SuperSport boat and added new Sterling Performance engines to compete in the Evolution class. As P1 Radio announcer Martin Sanborn commented, “You don’t have to be the fastest boat, you just have to be consistent.”

The Powerboat P1 World Championship moves on to Italy’s San Benedetto del Tronto, the hometown of Marco Pennessi of Metamarine, over the July 3-5 weekend. Stay tuned!


Classified Results For Round 4 of the Turkish Grand Prix:

Evolution Class

1. #10 Cigarette Smash Poker (Luca Formilli Fendi / Matteo Nicolini) 00:54:47.75
2. #33 Furnibo (Frank Hemelaer / Pierre Colpin) 00:55:49.19
3. #53 Metamarine Pignolo 53 (Marco Pennesi / Max Ferrari) 00:57:40.25
4. #47 Silverline (Jan Falkowski / Drew Langdon) 00:55:49.85
5. #77 Lucas Oil Outerlimits (Joe Sgro / Nigel Hook / Mike Fiore) 00:55:53.70
6. #66 Cranefield Wines (Siegfried Greve / Gino Passchier) RETIRED
7. #88 SNAV OSG (Hannes Bohinc / Giovanni Carpitella) DID NOT START

Points:

1. #10 Cigarette Smash Poker 81
2. #33 Furnibo 90
3. #53 Metamarine Pignolo 53 0
4. #47 Silverline 73
5. #77 Lucas Oil Outerlimits 100
6. #66 Cranefield Wines 66
7. #88 SNAV OSG 0

SuperSport Class

1. #26 Team SW1 Capital (Daniel Cramphorn / Kim Collins) 01:00:17.59
2. #43 Seagull Chaudron (Aaron Ciantar / Angelo Tedesci / Viktor Shemchuk) 01:01:01.98
3. #38 Baia Attolini (Stefano Acanfora / Renato Guidi / Roy Capasso) 01:02:01.98
4. #44 Ikocasa (Shelley Jory / Audrienne Ciantar) 01:02:07.41*
5. #17 MasForce (Micha Robyn / Patrick Huybreghts / Marc Sluszny) 01:02:45.39
6. #22 Big Sergio (Alfredo Nuzzo / Alfredo Amato) 01:03:31.25
7. #28 Blue Shaft (Gianbattista Gabriele / Alfredo Zanardo / Federico Montanari) 01:02:33.47**

*Includes 01:00 time penalty ** 14 laps completed

Points:

1. #26 Team SW1 Capital 100
2. #43 Seagull Chaudron 90
3. #38 Baia Attolini 81
4. #44 Iko Casa 73
5. #17 MasForce 66
6. #22 Big Sergio 60
7. #28 Blue Shaft 55

Overall Points Standings 2009 to Date:
Evolution ClassTeam Total Pts

1. #47 Silverline 309
2. #10 Cigarette Smash Poker 281
3. #77 Lucas Oil Outerlimits 271
4. #88 SNAV OSG 181
5. #33 Furnibo 180
6. #66 Cranefieds Wine 132
7. #33 Metamarine Pignolo 121

SuperSport Class

1. #43 Seagull Chaudron 350
2. #38 Baia Attolini 334
3. #44 Iko Casa 320
4. #17 MasForce 294
5. #26 Team SW1 Capital 260
6. #38 Blu Shaft 236
7. #22 Big Sergio 133

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An empty weekend for OSG !

Istanbul - Sunday 21st June 2009: The unpredictability of motorsport was never more visible than in Istanbul this weekend as the OSG Racing team, fresh from a GP win in Malta looked to continue its winning ways and further extend its World Championship lead. Fastest in practice for the Turkish Grand Prix of the Sea and then heading the field on the opening lap of Saturdays Sprint race, the belt driving the superchargers snapped to force a premature end.

The Italian OSG team prides itself on its engineering excellence so despite the set back, SNAV OSG - powered by Mercury engines - was back on the water this morning in readiness for the afternoons Endurance event. Then an engine blew during practice and it was all hands to the pump with just two hours to spare.

After much furious activity and an impressive team effort, a new engine was fitted five minutes before the start but the boat would not fire-up and the opportunity to amass further championship points was lost. It was a major disappointment for pilots, Hannes Bohinc and Giovanni Carpitella and in particular for the hardworking mechanics and engineers of OSG and Outerlimits Powerboats.

Exhausted and unfulfilled, the team will now re group and prepare for the P1 Italian Grand Prix taking place in San Bernadetto del Tronto over the weekend of 3-5 July.

Todays 73 nautical mile Endurance race was won by the Cigarette boat of Nicolini and Fendi, with Furnibo, the Belgium boat in second and Italian team, Metamarine, in third.

The British boat Silverline now moves to the head of the leaderboard after four races with SNAV OSG slipping back to fourth place.

Hannes Bohinc, Driver, OSG Racing:

"We came here knowing that a win was a strong possibility but it was not to be and we must now look forward to Italy and put the disappointment of the weekend behind us. I would like to express my thanks to the OSG and Outerlimits engineers who did everything possible to get the boat race ready in the heat and with the clock ticking. It was an heroic effort."

Giovanni Carpitella, Throttleman, OSG Racing:

"This weekend promised so much and delivered so little. We were racing against time and in the end were beaten by an electrical pick-up problem. We shall now get the boat back to Lecco and make sure everything is ready for the next race."

Turkish Grand Prix of the Sea
Endurance Race Provisional Result- Evolution Class

1- 10 - Cigarette Smash Poker - IT -
2 - 33 - Furnibo - BEL-
3 - 53 - Metamarine Pignola - IT
4 - 47 - Silverline - GBR -
DNF- 77 - Lucas Oil Outerlimits - USA
DNF - 66 - Cranefields Wine - DE
DNS - 88 - SNAV OSG - IT

Powerboat P1 World Championship Provisional Standings after 4 rounds - Evolution Class

1 - 47 - Silverline - GBR - 313
2 - 10 - Cigarette Smash Poker - IT - 281
3 - 77 - Lucas Oil Budweiser - USA - 271
4 - 88 - SNAV OSG - IT - 181
5 - 33 - Furnibo - BEL - 180
6 - 66 - Cranefields Wine - DE - 132
7 - 53 - Metamarine - IT - 81

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No Turkish Delight for OSG !

Istanbul - Saturday 20th June 2009: Hannes Bohinc and Giovanni Carpitella were forced to retire SNAV OSG during the first lap of the third round of the World Championship when the belt powering the superchargers snapped. It was a disappointing end for Bohinc and Carpitella who were leading the first leg of the Turkish Grand Prix at the time.

With the World Championship leaders forced out of the race, Lucas Oils Outerlimits, moved to the front and therafter commanded the race, winning from the Belgium boat, Furnibo, competing in it's first race of the season. Third place went to the Italian Cigarette of Luca Fendi and Matteo Nicolini.

The OSG Racing team will now work on the boat to ensure that it is ready for tomorrows 73 nautical mile Endurance race.

Hannes Bohinc, Driver, OSG Racing:

"We were leading and the boat felt very fast. That's racing and we must now re group, get the boat ready and win tomorrow."

Giovanni Carpitella, Throttleman, OSG Racing:

"We moved into the lead and were lining up for the turn when the belt broke. Until that point we were very confident that the boat could win the race. Now we must ensure that we are back for tomorrows Endurance race."

Turkish Grand Prix of the Sea

Sprint Race Provisional Result- Evolution Class

1 - 77 - Lucas Oil Outerlimits - USA - 33.17,97
2 - 33 - Furnibo - BEL- 33.41,16
3 - 10 - Cigarette Smash Poker - IT - 34.03,77
4 - 47 - Silverline - GBR - 34.05,57
5 - 66 - Cranefields Wine - DE - 34.42,07
RET 88 - SNAV OSG - IT
DNS - 53 - Metamarine Pignola - IT

Powerboat P1 World Championship Standings after 3 rounds - Evolution Class

1 - 77 - Lucas Oil Budweiser - USA - 271
2 - 47 - Silverline - GBR - 236
3 - 88 - SNAV OSG - IT - 181
4 - 10 - Cigarette Smash Poker - IT - 181
5 - 66 - Cranefields Wine - DE - 132
6 - 33 - Furnibo - BEL - 90
7 - 53 - Metamarine - IT - 0

- ends -

FOLLOW THE HISTORIC “TURKISH GRAND PRIX OF THE SEA” ON P1 RADIO

The Powerboat P1 World Championship makes history this weekend with the first-ever Turkish Grand Prix of the Sea racing on the Bosphorus River in the heart of Istanbul and race fans worldwide will be following the action through Powerboat P1 Radio www.p1radio.com. The US manufacturers will be represented in the Evolution Class by Fountain which is racing under a Belgian flag, taking on the Italian Cigarette Racing Team and the Outerlimits American and Italian teams—as well as the Buzzi and Metamarine Italian-built boats and the German Searex. In SuperSport, U.S. boat builders Donzi and Nor-Tech will face the Maltese Chaudron and Blu Shaft boats.

The second stop of the 2009 season is historic, in part because the Bosphorus, a major shipping channel is being closed for the first time in seven centuries—an amazing feat accomplished by the Powerboat P1 management. The Bosphorus River, also known as the Istanbul Straits, splits the European and Asian sides of Turkey and via the Black Sea, Aegean Sea and another strait it eventually leads to the Mediterranean. It is the narrowest waterway used for international navigation and should provide for some interesting and unique racing. The flat water may favor some of the smaller boats, so the competition is expected to be tough for the Sprint race on Saturday and the Endurance race on Sunday.

"Racing in the heart of one of the biggest cities in the world, on one of the busiest waterways, should make for spectacular viewing and attract huge crowds along the Bosphorus shoreline" said the P1 chief, Asif Rangoonwala.
Race action begins Friday, June 19, with Powerpole competition to determine the starting line-up for Evolution and SuperSport competition on Saturday and Sunday.

Friday, June 19:
Powerpole 6:30 a.m. -7:30 a.m. EASTERN

Saturday, June 20: Sprint Race
Round 3 - Supersport 5:30 a.m. – 6:30 a.m. EASTERN
Round 3 - Evolution 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. EASTERN
Podium Presentation 10:45 a.m EASTERN
.
Sunday, June 21: Endurance Race
Round 4 - Supersport 5:15 a.m. 6:30 a.m. EASTERN
Round 4 - Evolution 7:00 a.m. – 8:15 a.m. EASTERN
Podium Presentation 11:00 a.m. EASTERN

While the time difference of 7 hours may pose a challenge for all but the most dedicated race fans in the U.S. to follow the live action, a podcast is available shortly after the conclusion of racing by clicking on the radio icon at www.powerboatp1.com.

Mercury's Mild Mannered Monster with a Split Personality

FOND DU LAC, Wis., June 11, 2009 – Mercury Racing is pleased to announce the release of the DualFuel 1200 SCi. A second onboard Propulsion Control Module (PCM) microprocessor enhances the versatility of the popular 1200 SCi –allowing owners to switch from the required 112 AKI race fuel at 1200 h.p. to the second PCM which enables the engine to run on 89 posted pump octane
(R + M)/2, or (95 RON) International fuel rating fuel at 1025 h.p.

The fuel requirements for the Gen 3 850 SCi sterndrive engine package have also changed from 91 posted octane (R + M)/2 or (98 RON) International, to a new minimum posted octane requirement of 89 (R+M)/2 or (95 RON).

Mercury Racing Engineering made the fuel requirement changes in response to the limited availability of fuels with the higher octane ratings at marinas and on-water facilities around the world.

The 1200 SCi and 850 SCi fuel requirement updates follow running changes made to 600 SCi, EU662 SCi and 700 SCi models earlier in the year. The revised fuel calibrations do not adversely affect engine life or performance.

Both the DualFuel 1200 SCi and Gen 3 850 SCi qualify for the recently announced Mercury Racing Lucky 7’s Sterndrive Promotion. From May 29 through August 28, 2009, pricing on select sterndrive engine packages is rolled back to 2007 levels.

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Bohinc on the Button for Turkish GP

Wednesday 10 June 2009: P1 World Championship leader, Hannes Bohinc, will look to emulate Jenson Button when he arrives in Istanbul next week for the Turkish Grand Prix of the Sea. The 49 year old Austrian will face another intense test of his talents as he prepares to defend the OSG Racing Team's lead in the Evolution Class.

Racing the 1500hp Mercury-powered SNAV OSG with Italian, Giovanni Carpitella, it will be Bohinc's first competitive race in Turkish waters. The former P1 World Champion, and one of only six men to win the coveted Cowes-Torquay-Cowes on more than one occasion, understands the demands upon the team after a victory in Malta .

"I have visited Turkey as a tourist but never as a racer. Yes, there is pressure but mainly from ourselves to perform to the best of our ability," confirms Bohinc. "We have a strong, experienced team and a good boat. If we are fully prepared, then it is down to tactics and good fortune."

The US-produced Outerlimits boat is one of the most competitive petrol-driven powerboats in the world with a top speed in the region of 114 miles per hour.

"Our boat was not the quickest in Malta and we know the waters in Istanbul will be flat and the competition fierce," continues Bohinc. "Speed will be all-important and we have made a number of modifications that should significantly improve overall performance."

The P1 Turkish Grand Prix of the Sea will take place on the waters of Istanbul over the weekend of 20/21 June.

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Biloxi 2009 to air Monday June 15

Hello Racers and Race Fans,

Here's the reminder email that you've been waiting for. The 2009 production of Smokin' the Sound from Biloxi will air this coming Monday - 6/15 at 3pm in most markets. The show will air Nationwide on Fox Sports Network, in some areas FSN piggybacks on other channels such as MSG-Madison Square Garden in the greater New York area. Please check the local listings at this link.

http://msn.foxsports.com/tv/schedule

The Biloxi race is the first TV show ever produced by Chris Davidson and the crew at Performance Boats Magazine. They've brought a fresh look to OSS and a rejuvenated level of enthusiasm to our TV show. We are proud to have them aboard and look forward to working with them at future races.

The race show from Lake Cumberland will follow later this month. As always, pay attention to these emails for details.

The next stop on the OSS 2009 tour will be Kenner, Louisiana - July 23 - 26. We look forward to seeing you there.

Ron Polli
President
Offshore Super Series
732 552 0669

OSS Cancels Sunny Isle Beach Participation

Hello Racers and Race Fans,

I'm very sorry to have to inform you on such short notice that we've had to cancel our participation in the Sunny Isles Beach event. The race producers worked for the last twelve months to make this a fantastic event, and it looks like they would have succeeded had all promises been fulfilled. Blame it on the economy, but at the end of the day, they were not able to collect the sponsorship dollars from the companies that originally pledged to pay the bills. Without the funds to fulfill all of our obligations we had no choice but to withdraw our participation from this event. This decision was not taken lightly and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Additionally, it should be noted that the producers of this event are determined to see it through by holding a run to Bimini and back on Friday, a Poker Run on Saturday and a Race on Sunday. Even though this will not be an OSS race, our teams are encouraged to participate and support the effort that has been put into producing this event. For more info see www.siboffshore.com

We are saddened that this happened but it has. So now we'll refocus and move on with our series. The next stop will be Kenner, Louisiana - July 23 - 26. We look forward to seeing you there.

Ron Polli
President
Offshore Super Series
732 552 0669

OSS pulls out of Sunny Isles Beach Race

OSS Press Release - 6/3/2009

The Sunny Isles Beach race has a money shortfall, and after much deliberation OSS will not be sanctioning the Sunny Isles Beach race.

The race producers worked very hard to secure the money through sponsorships needed for the race. They had commitments from several sponsors, but when they went to collect the checks, the sponsors reneged, leaving the producers short of funding. Debates took place over several evenings among the OSS staff, board members and team owners about whether to move forward with the race, but in the end simple economics forced them to make a very tough decision. No money, no race. Neither OSS as an organization nor any of the racers have the ability to write the producers a check for the remaing balance.

There is ongoing conversation about whether to still have the race and just call it an invitational, since the infrastructure is in place and the city did give the producers some funding, which would pay for some of the hard race costs. If that happens, teams are free to go race in SIB should they choose to do so. The race just won't be sanctioned by any organization.

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Boat Week proposed for New Smyrna

By MARK I. JOHNSON
Staff Writer

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- What motorcycles are to Bike Week in Daytona Beach some people want boats to become to this city.

New Smyrna Beach resident Clay Ratcliffe came before the City Commission on Tuesday night with a plan for "Boat Week 2010."

The five-day event would take advantage of the abundance of waterfront sites, boat manufacturers and tourism amenities to create what could become a revenue generator for Southeast Volusia for years to come, he said.