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TalkOffshore.com http://www.talkoffshore.com/ en-us Nucleus CMS v3.32 © Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.talkoffshore.com//nucleus/nucleus2.gif TalkOffshore.com http://www.talkoffshore.com/ <![CDATA[Powerboat racing returns to St. Clair during Riverfest]]> http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=538
The annual St. Clair River Classic Offshore Powerboat Race will be held in conjunction with St. Clair Riverfest.

A practice run will take place Saturday from noon until 4 p.m., and on Sunday, four races will ensue.

"We are expecting it to be great," said, Steve Brunner, the president of Blue Water Offshore Racing Association, which runs the event. "We have 54 team boats confirmed. Last year, we were right around 40."

Full Story

]]> North American Racing News http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=538 Thu, 22 Jul 2010 06:32:00 -0500 <![CDATA[TYPHOON WINS POWERBOAT P1 SUPER VEE LIGHT EVENT AND GAR WOOD TROPHY AT HISTORIC DETROIT APBA GOLD CUP]]> http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=537 Hydroplane Race Fans

Randy 'Mad Dog' Schleuss and Colby Lawrence overcame mechanical problems and several slow heat race starts to win the SuperVee Lite Class of the Powerboat P1 USA Offshore Invitational; the race was held in conjunction with the 101st running of the APBA Detroit Gold Cup July 9-11. In addition to bragging rights, the Team Typhoon names will be inscribed on the historic
"Gar Wood Trophy," which is on permanent display at the APBA Museum, located at the organization's headquarters in Eastpointe, Michigan.

Typhoon, a 30' Extreme, was part of a 10-boat field of vee bottom offshore race boats invited by APBA, the Detroit River Regatta Association, and Powerboat P1 USA, to perform at the historic Gold Cup hydroplane race -- the oldest active trophy in motorsports. Powerboat P1 USA sponsored the event through a partnership with the Powerboat Marketing Alliance (PMA). Seven Super Vee Light (SVL), two Super Vee (SV), and a SuperSport boat made the trip to the Motor City for a series of exhibition heats throughout the weekend, thrilling the crowd with excellent racing and the throaty roar of powerful offshore power, unmatched by even the much faster hydroplanes that race for the coveted Gold Cup.

The Super Vee final was won by Dan Davies Gold cup trophyin the Global Warmer/Voodoo Ride, a 42 foot Fountain; the overall event win in Super Vee went to Bill Mazzoni and Leon Wollard in the Taboo/My Smokin' Ride, another Fountain.

The Gar Wood Trophy is named for legendary racer and boat builder Garfield Wood, a five-time Gold Cup winner; his boats bore his name and dominated powerboat racing for decades as he began setting speed records in 1916. The sterling silver trophy, which bears two replicas of Wood's legendary boats, is inscribed, "In commemoration of the contributions of Gar Wood and the City of Detroit to Power Boat Racing on the Detroit River."

The trophy was originally commissioned to honor unlimited hydroplane race drivers, but was retired in 1977. The American Power Boat Association (APBA) decided in 2007 to use it to honor the winning offshore team participating in the Gold Cup, because of the two Garwood boats on the trophy, which resemble offshore vee bottoms. "Detroit ROCKS!" a visibly moved Schleuss told the crowd of spectators at the podium presentation, adding "It was a thrill to race at this historic event and that trophy is HEAVY."

The racers spent an hour Sunday morning
signing Gold Cup Autographsautographs for thousands of fans, who were provided a free commemorative poster provided by Powerboat P1 USA that featured the participating race boats as well as the sponsors who helped make the event happen: Jarvis Property Restoration, Shogren Performance Marine, F!ogs, and Hering Propellers.

Also honored on the podium were second place finishers Mark and Jenny Dunbar in
Under Destruction; third place Pirate Racing with the father/son team of David and Travis Denham; and the father/daughter race team of Mike and Madison Janssen finishing fourth in Watch Your Back. Madison Janssen made her offshore racing debut at the Gold Cup, and at age 17, easily captured the swagger and bravado synonymous with offshore racing.

"Powerboat P1 USA was asked by the Gold Cup Organizers to help put on a show for some of the best race fans anywhere," said P1 USA Director Martin Sanborn, "These teams put on a heck of a show! But talking with the racers, they received far more than they gave! The warm welcome we were given by the Gold Cup organizers and the race fans in Detroit was incredible. And the camaraderie of the teams on and off the race course is amazing, as Typhoon's mechanical woes were solved with the help of a borrowed drive and spare propeller from the Time Bandit and Watch Your Back teams. It was simply a fantastic weekend," he added.

Literally thousands of photos as well as video of the entire APBA Detroit Gold Cup weekend are available at www.freezeframevideo.net. For more information on future races sponsored by Powerboat P1 USA, visit
www.powerboatp1.com.

]]> North American Racing News http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=537 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 06:50:23 -0500 <![CDATA[ POWERBOAT P1 TO HOST VEE-BOTTOM EXHIBITION AT HISTORIC DETROIT APBA GOLD CUP]]> http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=536
Powerboat P1 USA will host an invitational offshore event featuring both the canopy single and twin-powered vee-bottom boats, often referred to as SVL and SV, during the 101st running of the historic Detroit APBA Gold Cup July 9-11 in the Motor City.

While the Gold Cup -- the oldest active trophy in motorsports -- is historically a hydroplane race, offshore boats have recently played a significant role, which event producer Tom Bertollini says "[has] been an important part of the event. They bring the roar of the engines and tight competition that the fans like to see."

Powerboat P1 began the 2010 race season sponsoring a group SVL teams that agreed among themselves to race as a group in a series of events produced by various race promoters; the goal was to increase boat count and thereby improve the competition in the class. Bertollini invited Powerboat P1 to host the event because of its Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) affiliation. UIM is the international boat racing sanctioning body, represented in the United States by the American Powerboat Association (APBA) which presents the Gold Cup. In addition, Bertollini shares the Powerboat P1 philosophy of improving offshore boat racing as a marketing platform with fewer classes, more participants, and a level of professionalism fans have come to expect from motorsports. The mutual goal is to eventually establish an actual world-wide competition culminating in a World Championship event, rotating between the United States and international venues under the UIM sanction. Bertollini calls the addition of the two Vee-bottom classes "a fantastic addition to the show."

The Gold Cup sponsorship will be the first to include corporate partners through the new Powerboat Marketing Alliance (PMA), which was formed to match boat racing events and series' with corporate sponsors looking to reach the powerboat enthusiast. As a result of the PMA support, teams will receive accommodations and travel allowances to help defray travel expenses, inclusion in the race program which is distributed to more than 100,000 fans at the event, as well as team posters for fan autograph sessions. Additionally, teams planning to participate in the Offshore Powerboat Association's (OPA) St. Claire, Michigan race July 23-25, a schedule stop on the SVL schedule, have been offered free boat storage by OPA between the two events.

Racers will participate in multiple heat-races throughout each day of race weekend. Under the Powerboat P1 USA sponsorship, teams must brand their boats with Powerboat P1, UIM and APBA decaling, be professionally attired in race suits and team uniforms and be available for promotional appearance and other criteria.
"Because of the alliances Powerboat P1 USA has formed with race teams, race promoters and the PMA - matching sponsors with events, we were asked to help add to the show at this incredibly historic event," says P1 USA Operations Director Martin Sanborn. "Once again the Gold Cup will be historic as the first venue to benefit from the PMA, and of course the racers get to participate in the oldest and among the most prestigious boat racing weekends in the world. We hope we can continue to be a catalyst for bringing racers, racing organizations, promoters and sponsors together."
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About Powerboat P1 USA

Powerboat P1 USA, based in North Carolina, is a wholly owned subsidiary of London-based Powerboat P1 Management Ltd. Powerboat P1 USA's objectives are to develop a truly world-class, marine-based, motorsports marketing and entertainment property that produces and supports the finest marine related events in North America. Powerboat P1 USA strives to be a unifying force within the offshore racing and power-boating community, by supporting a strong and respected organization that encourages both national and regional event production, with international recognition through the UIM [APBA], providing a competition model with consistent rules that are supported by definitive technical criteria, and to create a level playing field for all competitors.

For more information on Powerboat P1 or the PMA, please contact Martin Sanborn at martin.sanborn@powerboatp1.com

]]> North American Racing News http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=536 Wed, 7 Jul 2010 19:32:33 -0500 <![CDATA[Offshore racing heats up this weekend]]> http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=535 By ALAN DELL - adell@bradenton.com

SARASOTA — When he was a kid growing up in Key West, Ryan Beckley used to sit on the docks drawing pictures of the boats that came down every winter to participate in the world powerboat racing championships.

He would give the owners his drawings and try to pick up some advice because Beckley knew someday he would be racing.

The now 35-year-old moved to Bradenton when he was about 20 and is still drawing pictures of boats as part of his graphic design business. But he is also living his dream as a race

]]> North American Racing News http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=535 Sat, 3 Jul 2010 10:05:00 -0500 <![CDATA[Kilo World Record Race this weekend]]> http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=534 By ALAN DELL - adell@bradenton.com

SARASOTA — When Al Copeland Sr. died several years ago, his last two wishes were for someone to find a cure for cancer and for his team to build the fastest boat in the world.

His throttle man Scott Barnhart and his son, Al Copeland Jr., thought they were going to make one wish come true today, but history will have to wait.

The duo hoped to set the world on its heels today in the first Kilo World Record Race of the year with the “Phenomenon,” their 56-foot boat, which the two believed would take power boat racing to another dimension.

]]> North American Racing News http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=534 Fri, 2 Jul 2010 10:03:00 -0500 <![CDATA[Relaunched Thunder on the Gulf canceled due to ongoing oil spill]]> http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=533
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. -- Officials of the reorganized Thunder on the Gulf powerboat races have announced that the new incarnation of the event, scheduled for Oct. 11-17, has been canceled.

Thunder ran six years before being canceled prior to the 2009 races due to economic concerns. Organizers planned to race with new series partners, the Offshore Powerboat Association and Pacific Offshore Racing Association.

]]> North American Racing News http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=533 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:14:57 -0500 <![CDATA[ P1 USA SVL TEAM LANDS A DEADLY CATCH WITH TIME BANDIT SPONSORSHIP]]> http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=532
June 24, 2010 – Buford, GA: Turnkey Marine has teamed up with Captains Jonathon and Andy Hillstrand, owners of the fishing vessel TIME BANDIT as seen on the #1 hit reality TV show the DEADLIEST CATCH, creating the TIME BANDIT race team.

Veteran world and national champion team owner Bob Mazikowski, along with Deadliest-Deckhand Travis Lofland, of Keith Colburn’s fishing vessel the WIZARD, make up the crew of the 30 foot Phantom powerboat. They kicked off their season in Biloxi, MS in May.

“I thought that my experience in the waters of the Bering Sea fishing for crab would make the transition to a race boat easy,” said Lofland. “But the adrenaline of competition at over 90 miles per hour is a completely different sensation, and I love it.”

The boat will be branded as the TIME BANDIT for the remainder of the Super V Lite (SVL) schedule, and the team is prepping the boat for the next race.

"Bob and I are working hard to premier the boat next week at the 26th annual Superboat International (SBI) Suncoast Offshore Grand Prix in Sarasota, and can't wait to race in the Gold Cup in Detroit the following weekend," continued Lofland.

The SVL class representative, and owner of the SVL – IMCO Quality Marine Products, George Auriemma, Jr., introduced Lofland and Mazikowski; but, Lofland credits Tony Marcantonio for getting him hooked, with a ride at over 125 miles per hour in his boat Super Cat, JD Byrider.

"Boat racing is a lot like crabbing,” says Lofland. “It's a team effort and if you work for the best, surround yourself by the best and with the right backing, hold on cause anything is possible. I'm really excited to race with the good people and great racers in the competitive SVL class.”

The SVL class has defined itself as a premier class in the sport, with the largest fleet of boats at each event they enter. Their simple and consistent rules make the class highly competitive and attractive for new teams to get into the sport. That is why Powerboat P1 USA has teamed up with the class to provide support and provide international recognition for the class through the American Powerboat Association (APBA) and the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM).

####]]> North American Racing News http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=532 Tue, 29 Jun 2010 05:28:42 -0500 <![CDATA[Suncoast Grand Prix Festival starts Saturday]]> http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=531
It’s time for the invasion of the Super Boats!

The Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix Festival kicks-off in Sarasota Saturday, June 26 and continues through Sunday, July 4 with parties, parades, fund raising tournaments and the main event super boat competition followed by 4th of July fireworks.

]]> North American Racing News http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=531 Sat, 26 Jun 2010 15:47:00 -0500 <![CDATA[Brevard sets sights on super boat races]]> http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=530
"Thunder on the Beach" would bring some of the world's biggest, fastest powerboats to the Space Coast Aug. 20-22, a time when tourism spending and hotel occupancy are in their summer lulls.

But the executive producer of the event said he needs $25,000 in financial sponsorships -- not in-kind sponsorships -- to help cover the $150,000 total cost of producing the event.

]]> North American Racing News http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=530 Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:50:45 -0500 <![CDATA[Team AMSOIL # 77 Is Declared First Place Winner Of Smokin' The Sound Biloxi, MS. 2010 in OSS Cat Lite Class ]]> http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=529
"OSS General Rule 15, paragraph 7 requires that a boat must be at least 50' ahead of a boat that it has overtaken before it can pull in front of the overtaken vessel. "They did not own the lane with at least 50 feet as required by the OSS Rulebook, therefore Team AMSOIL had no choice but to go to right of the day marker to avoid it." Tomlinson said and continued, "I would personally like to thank everyone that volunteered their time in this matter and for being a part of the appeal process".

The official results of the OSSCL Class from Smokin' the Sound 2010 are,

First Place #77 Team AMSOIL
Second Place #388 Team Phoenixparts.com
Third Place #13 Team Popeye's

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]]> North American Racing News http://www.talkoffshore.com/index.php?itemid=529 Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:49:06 -0500