In the News

After last weekend's second round of the Union Internationale Motonautique Class 1 World Powerboat Championship—the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul—the season appears to be shaping up into a good one with an extremely close points race.

Australians Darren Nicholson and Ross Willaton drove their HUB Team Australia catamaran to a victory in the first race of the Class 1 Turkish Grand Prix. Photo courtesy Class 1While the HUB Team Australia duo of Darren Nicholson and Ross Willaton moved its way to the top of the championship standings after winning Saturday's first race, the lead didn't last long as Victory's Arif Al Zaffain and Mohammed Al Marri produced an emphatic start-to-finish win in the second race of the round on Sunday.

“(Saturday) was not our day and (Sunday) was," said Al Zaffain, who drove the team's catamaran to its third win of the season. "The target was to be in front all race and we were. We had the perfect setup on Sunday and were able to concentrate on what was in front of us and not what was behind us.”

On Saturday, the HUB Team Australia team won a dramatic and incident-filled race. Starting just their third race together in their second Grand Prix in Class 1, Nicholson and Willaton mastered the choppy and tricky seas to finish ahead of second- and third-place teams Zabo-Isiklar and LFFendi8.

Victory Team's Arif Al Zaffain and Mohammed Al Marri celebrate the win in the second race of the Class 1 event in Instanbul. Photo courtesy Class 1Bouncing back from a DNF (did not finish), Victory Team led all 16 laps on the race on Sunday to finish ahead of LFFendi10 and HUB Team Australia. For more on the weekend's races, check out the Class 1 site.

The Class 1 teams take the summer off before returning to race in October in Terracina, Italy, the points standings look like this: 1. Victory Team (62), 2. HUB Team Australia (60), 3. FFendi10 (48), 4. Zabo-Isiklar (34), 5. FA.RO ACCIAI (30), 6. LFFendi8 (21), 7. Team Abu Dhabi (18) and 8. Poliform (14).

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After reading Matt Trulio’s OffshoreOnly.com column yesterday on Scott Begovich, the Teddy Bear of the Miss GEICO Offshore Racing team, I was reminded to check in with another throttleman who was inspired to race boats because of his father.

Micheal Stancombe is his name. If you’ve met him once, you know who is. Much like his father, George, he is an unforgettable character in the offshore racing world. The two teamed up to race their Skater Powerboats catamaran Peppers—named after their sports bars in the Indianapolis area—for many years and many victories.

Read more: Tunnel Vision: Checking In With Throttleman Mike Stancombe

After what National Powerboat Association owner and organizer Billy Frenz called a “four-year sabbatical,” the New York City Poker Run is back and will start at noon this coming Saturday. Down dramatically from its benchmark of a reported 192 boats—the event consistently drew 150 boats in the early 2000s but dropped to 48 boats by 2008 before Frenz discontinued it the following year—the run currently has 20 boats registered. Frenz said he expects 15 to 20 more registrations by the time welcoming party kicks off this Friday night.

After a four-year break, the New York City Poker Run returns to the Hudson River this weekend.

“I’ll be thrilled with that,” said Frenz. “I based my budget accordingly. I just confirmed my videographer for the helicopter. (Check out this promotional video for the event.) I’ll have one still photographer in the helicopter and four on the course. Running on the Hudson River is so nice—my guys can’t lost.”

Read more: New York City Poker Run Returns This Weekend

Here are four fun facts about Scott Begovich, the throttleman for all the Miss GEICO catamarans since the team took form under the AMF Offshore Racing banner in 2005.

1. The first catamaran he ever rode in—and throttled—was the team’s 40-foot Platinum with turbine power.

2. The first piston-powered catamaran he ever rode in—and throttled—was the team’s 44-foot Victory with Mercury Racing 1075SCi engines last year.

3. Thanks to an ash-filled urn duct-taped inside the Miss GEICO cockpit, he has raced with, so to speak, his father, John, in every event the team has entered since he died in 2009. (Says, Begovich, “We use duct tape to hold the urn in place because my dad would have liked it that way.”)

4. He paid off the loan for his first offshore raceboat, which he bought almost 13 years ago, earlier this month.

You know the Miss GEICO Offshore Racing team, of course, primarily through its driver Marc Granet. By design, genetic predisposition and more than a little bit of natural selection, Granet is the team’s front man—and both Granet and Begovich like it that way. Sure, Granet enjoys the spotlight. But he also is well suited—far more than Begovich—to the heat that comes with it.

Read More: It’s In Begovich’s Blood

Editor's Note: Look for an in-depth feature on the state of the Miss GEICO Offshore Racing team in the upcoming July/August issue of Speed On The Water digital magazine, which will go live in late June.

The inaugural Lake Race, which featured offshore boats as well as pontoon boats, took place last weekend on Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks. Photo by KP at MOTO-MG

From the sound of things—I wasn’t there—the inaugural Lake Race on Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks was a tremendous success. Quite a few people, each of whom have been around boat racing for decades, told me yesterday that the event was one of the best-produced races they’ve ever attended.

“Everything about the race was awesome—the only disappointment of the weekend, for me, was that more race teams didn’t show up,” said Ryan Beckley, who finished second in his SmartAutoMartOnline.com 32-foot Doug Wright behind Talbot Excavating in the Super Stock class. “I mean they had prize money that was paid to us at the awards, they gave out free hotel rooms to racers and there were no entry fees. We had 20 boats there—it should have been double that. That really was the only disappointing thing about it.”

Read more: Strong Opening for Missouri's Lake Race

Following last weekend’s successful return to racing on California’s Folsom Lake, which was won by veteran driver Steve David in Oh Boy! Oberto with an average speed of 133 mph, H1 Unlimited received some good news this week when the Detroit Yacht Club announced the return of Free Friday at the American Power Boat Association Gold Cup presented by Jarvis Property Restoration.

Steve David and the Oh Boy! Oberto boat will be returning to the APBA Gold Cup in Detroit in mid-July. Courtesy Detroit River Regatta AssociationPreviously slated to be condensed into two days due to budget constraints, officials from the APBA Gold Cup announced a sponsorship from two Michigan-based companies formed by rock star Kid Rock—Made In Detroit and American Badass Beer—that will restore the 104th annual event to a three-day schedule running July 12-14 on the Detroit River.

“We are proud to partner with the Gold Cup races to bring back Free Friday to the city of Detroit, and we are excited to give race fans a chance to sample Badass Beer—not only born in Michigan, but now made in Detroit,” said Thomas Dubak, VP of sales for American Badass Beer, Co. “We have big things lined up for the weekend, including Badass games with Badass giveaways and the chance to win free front row tickets to an upcoming Kid Rock show this August at DTE Energy Music Theatre.”

Read more: APBA Gold Cup ‘Free Friday’ Returns Thanks to Kid Rock

In what company principal Mike Fiore described as a “technology exchange” during a telephone interview today, Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats will move production of the laminated parts for the SV 29 high-performance V-bottom to Eliminator Boats in Mira Loma, Calif. Production of the rest of the Outerlimits line, which includes V-bottoms and catamarans from 37 to 52 feet, will remain at the company’s home base in Bristol, R.I.

“It’s a win-win for everybody,” said Fiore. “Bob Leach and the Eliminator crew will do the lay-up and show us the ins and outs of in-mold gelcoat graphics. They do it better than anyone else, so why not learn from the best? And we’ll be sharing our latest lamination technology with them.”

Outerlimits is moving production of its SV 29 to the West Coast.

Unlike previous SV 29 models constructed of epoxy and carbon fiber, the 29-footers built at the Eliminator facility will be built using vinylester resin and fiberglass. (Epoxy and carbon fiber lay-ups will be offered as an option for the boat.)

“The SV 29 has been such an overachiever that the extra 300 pounds or so that will come with a vinylester lay-up won’t hinder its incredible performance,” Fiore said.

After lamination is complete, the 29-footers will be shipped to the Outerlimits West Coast operation in Fresno, Calif., for engine compartment rigging, interior installation and final assembly. Fiore said that he believes that with gelcoat graphics the SV 29 will have an even stronger appeal to the West Coast market. He estimated that production at the Eliminator plant should begin in approximately five weeks.

“We see it as an ideal boat for Lake Havasu, Lake Mead and Lake Powell,” Fiore added.

With three father-and-son teams and two husband-and-wife teams, the P1 SuperStock USA series is literally a family affair. Photo courtesy P1 SuperStock USA

Someone like Craig Belfatto is the exact person Martin Sanborn had in mind a few years ago when he sold himself, first and foremost, and then many others in the powerboat community on a new organization featuring P1 Panther race boats—stock outboard-powered open-cockpit 28-footers that can be converted for pleasure use.

Sanborn was hoping the new Powerboat P1 SuperStock series, which was being introduced in both the United Kingdom and the United States, would attract boaters thanks to the competitive class structure with identical boats and the fact that it was moderately affordable. He was right, just ask Belfatto.

“Boating has been a passion of mine for the last 20 years,” said Belfatto, who owns a 36-foot Concept center console with twin outboards and has had other go-fast boats, including a Formula, a Fountain and an Ultimate Warlock. “But boat racing was never really affordable, it was almost like you had to be a millionaire to get into the sport. Now with P1, it’s more structured and affordable so the common man can get involved. The prize money is good, too, but the best part is that this is something I can do with my family.”

Read more: It's All in the Family for P1 SuperStock

After starting the season at a new venue, Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., last month, the US F1 Powerboat Tour rolled into another new town—LaPorte, Ind.—for the second stop of the season. The results weren’t much different at the inaugural Maple City Grand Prix as veteran Terry Rinker went home with the checkered flag after a competitive race on Stone Lake on Sunday.

Terry Rinker earned his second straight US F1 Powerboat Tour victory at Stone Lake in LaPorte, Ind. All photos by Paul Kemiel/paulkemielphotographics.comRinker, who drives the AMSOIL/Rinker Racing boat, edged out fellow podium finishers Tim Seebold and rookie Carlos Mendana in front of a great crowd. Less than an hour from where he grew up, Rinker, who now lives in Tampa, Fla., took full advantage of the opportunity to showcase his skills in front of friends and family who don't usually get to see him race.

“It was an absolute pleasure working with Jose (Mendana Jr.) and the F1 crew, as well as all the great teams this past weekend at the inaugural Maple City Grand Prix,” said Jason Miller, sports development manager for the LaPorte County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We can’t wait to have everyone back next year and make the event bigger and better.”

Read more: Indiana Homecoming: Rinker Wins US F1 Race in LaPorte

As a high-performance powerboat industry icon who never shied away from the spotlight, Reggie Fountain took his fair of ribbing over the years. People poked fun at him for everything from his dyed jet-black hair to his mercifully brief infatuation with wearing spandex in Fountain Powerboats catalog photos and advertisements. A self-confessed Elvis Presley fanatic, he even had a sequined jacket worn by The King himself in his office at Fountain Powerboats in Washington, N.C.

Fans of Reggie Fountain (left) have run from loyal customers to celebrities, including freestyle motocross rider Brian Deegan (right).

Fountain was a hardcore pitchman for his company’s products, which he extolled relentlessly in a thick Southern drawl. To spend a few minutes with Reggie Fountain, much less interview him, was to hear the words, “safest, fastest, and best-handling powerboats” in your sleep.

Read More: Catching Up With Reggie Fountain

Earlier this year, reigning P1 SuperStock USA champions Andy Biddle and Tracy Blumenstein decided they would try to pull off a trans-Atlantic race schedule, competing in the P1 SuperStock championships in the United States and well as the United Kingdom. While the team finished a disappointing fourth in the USA opener in Stuart, Fla., the duo rebounded quite well in their UK debut, winning the Hull Grand Prix of the Sea in Humberside.

Americans Andy Biddle and Tracy Blumenstein won the P1 SuperStock UK Championship opener on Sunday. Photo courtesy P1 SuperStock UK“Tracy and I had a blast and the win was awesome,” Biddle said in an email exchange today before catching a flight home to New Jersey to get ready for the upcoming race in Daytona Beach, Fla., on June 15. “The competition over here was just as tough even though they run a little different. We brought an American flag and flew it with pride.”

The duo in the MBY Allam Marine boat earned a victory in Sunday’s race, after finishing second behind John Wilson and Daisy Coleman in their Pertemps craft on Saturday. And while the final race of the weekend was cut short when the local entry, One Hull of a Boat, rolled during a turn in the early stages of the race, Biddle and Blumenstein were named the overall weekend winners after recording the fastest lap of the weekend.

Read more: American Duo Wins P1 SuperStock UK Championship Opener

A noted West Coast builder of high-performance catamarans and V-bottoms, Dave’s Custom Boats, is teaming up with the Tres Martin Performance Boat School to offer a performance-boating course with the purchase of any new model from the El Cajon, Calif., company. According a press release from DCB, in addition to a one-and-a-half-day instructional course with on-water, skill-based training, one of DCB’s trained technicians will spend the day with each student to make sure he or she is familiar with the boat’s component and system operations upon delivery.

“With so much attention being focused on safety combined with the technological advancements that have allowed us to build boats that are larger, faster and more powerful than ever before, we realize that a class like the Tres Martin Performance Boat School is essential to our customers,” said Dave Hemmingson, who founded DCB more than 20 years ago, in the release. “Even with years of boating experience behind them, there’s a good chance they’re going to learn a few things and become better drivers because of it.”

After finishing the class, each student will receive a certificate of completion. Successful completion of the Tres Martin course is recognized by most major insurance companies and may lead to a substantial discount on their policy.

Hong Kong Marine has been named the new boat distributor for Fountain Powerboats in China and other Asian boating regions, according to a press release from Baja Marine, the parent company of the Baja, Donzi, Fountain and Pro-Line boat brands in Washington, N.C. Currently carrying the Pro-Line center console line, the Hong Kong, China, dealership will offer the entire Fountain line of high-performance sportboats and fishing boats from 35 to 48 feet.

“China is opening up as an important boating market, and the Fountain brand is well-known and popular there,” said Johnny Walker, the chief executive officer of Baja Marine in the release. “Who better for us to partner with in China than a trusted boat dealer that already represents another of our brands, Pro-Line Boats, and is familiar with us and our products? We are proud to welcome Hong Kong Marine to the Fountain family.”
 
Founded in 1991, Hong Kong Marine operates several retail locations in China where it offers several fishing boat, sportboat and cruiser brands. In addition to new boat sales, the dealership also has a brokerage division and a marine service business.

 “I am very pleased to work with Baja Marine to promote its boat lines in Hong Kong and Mainland China,” said Peter Lau, the principal of Hong Kong Marine Principal Peter Lau, in the release. “I have gotten to know more about the Mainland China market over the past six years, and understand the situation there. Although they are different than U.S. boat buyers, many Chinese customers are interested in fishing boats and high performance boats. Pro-Line is the No.1 quantity in Mainland China now.”

(Photo courtesy/copyright Tim Sharkey/Sharkey Images.)

Two-time F1 H2O world champion Sami Selio, aka the “Flying Finn,” led from start to finish despite two yellow flag incidents to win the inaugural Grand Prix of Brazil on Brasilia’s Lake Paranoá on Sunday afternoon. The Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team driver earned his the 11th F1 H2O victory by holding off hard-charging American driver Shaun Torrente and his Qatar Team teammate Alex Carella of Italy, who finished second and third, respectively.

Finland's Sami Selio of the Mad Croc Baba Racing Team won the UIM F1 H2O Grand Prix of Brazil on Sunday. Photo by Vittorio Ubertone/Idea MarketingThe driver from Helsinki, Finland, who earned pole position in Saturday’s qualifying, jumped out early and knifed his way around slower traffic all day to stay ahead of Torrente, who resides in Florida.

Torrente pressed Selio hard throughout but back markers cost him time at vital instances as he finished a second behind. Carella was followed by Team Abu Dhabi’s Thani Al-Qamzi in fourth and Frenchman Phillipe Chiappe in fifth.

Team Abu Dhabi’s Ahmed Al Hameli drove with bravery finishing in seventh place while far from 100 percent as he continues to gain more strength following cancer surgery less than a year ago.

"It was a perfect weekend for us," Selio said. "We were in rarefied air leading in every practice and qualifying session and finishing with the race win. It's important to start the year off in the right way. In my two championship seasons in 2007 and 2010, I had to battle back after slow starts so this makes today’s result so much sweeter."

Read more: Selio Wins Inaugural Grand Prix of Brazil, Torrente Takes Second

With F1 H2O World Championship qualifying underway, Agnelo Dos Santos Queiroz, the governor of Brasilia, hopped in a powerboat cockpit today for two high-speed runs around the race circuit on Lake Paranao in Brazil's capital city, the venue for tomorrow's historic first Brazilian Grand Prix.

"It was a fantastic experience and I am looking forward to seeing today's qualifying and tomorrow's race," said the governor, who was driven around the 2,200-meter circuit by two-time defending world champion Alex Carella of Qatar Team.

Read more: Brasilia's Governor Teams Up With F1 H2O World Champ

After another late night, I just hit send on the 20th speedonthewater.com eNewsletter. While doing so, I remembered that it's been a while since we reminded people about the free newsletter. That's right, free.

No need to worry if you missed the first 20—there's a complete Newsletter archives on the site—because it's never too late to sign up for the newsletter, which arrives in your inbox every Friday to make sure you don't miss any of the week's headlines (and more) from speedonthewater.com. We know the news moves quickly, so be sure you stay up to date and sign up for the newsletter today. 

While we're on the subject of free stuff, in case you missed it, the debut issue of Speed On The Water magazine is now available as a free downloadable pdf on the site.

(Above photo by Jeff Girardi/FreezeFrameVideo.net)

In less than three days, American Shaun Torrente and two-time defending F1 H2O World Champion Italian Alex Carella of Italy will line up in the No. 1 and No. 2 Qatar Team boats for the inaugural Grand Prix of Brazil on Lake Paranoá in the country’s capital city, Brasilia.

Led by drivers Alex Carella and Shaun Torrente, the Qatar Team hopes to start the 2013 F1 H2O season strong in Brazil. All photos courtesy of Flavia Torrente

The team enjoyed a day of set up and media interaction on Wednesday before getting more serious heading into the weekend. Torrente’s wife, Flavia, was on hand and sent speedonthewater.com a handful of images from the day’s activities (see below).

From qualifying to the finale, all of the weekend competition can be followed at f1h2o.com, including the live world feed television broadcast of the qualifying and the Grand Prix. Qualifying on June 1 will take place at 2 p.m. EST and the Grand Prix of Brazil is scheduled for 10 a.m. EST on June 2.

Read more: Qatar Team’s Torrente, Carella Get Set Up in Brazil

A day after announcing it would be campaigning the rebuilt Miss Budweiser T4 hull at this weekend’s H1 Unlimited race on California’s Folsom Lake near Sacramento, the U-11 Peters & May team released some more news.

The team, which is owned by Unlimited Racing Group, has a new ambassador for the 2013 season—Seattle musician Duff McKagan. Best known for playing in the bands Guns ’n’ Roses, Velvet Revolver and Loaded, McKagan was a VIP guest for last year’s Seattle Seafair race where he met Dave Holley, CEO of Peters & May.

Read more: U-11 Peters & May Reveals Rock Star Ambassador

After an accident in Doha, Qatar, in February, the U-11 Peters & May team agreed to a deal with Schumacher Racing to purchase the former Miss Budweiser T4 hull, which was damaged “beyond repair” at the 2010 Detroit Gold Cup. Since then, the team has been cranking away on a complete rebuild of the legendary hydroplane and plans to debut the rebuilt T4 hull at the second race of the 2013 H1 Unlimited season in Sacramento this weekend.

After a crash at the 2010 Detroit Gold Cup, it was assumed that the T4 hull would never race again. Photo courtesy Peters & MayAccording to a press release, plans are also in place to rebuild the previous U-11 UIM record-holding boat (read the story) damaged in Doha and keep it as a backup hull.

“In Doha we came to the conclusion that our previous hull was severely damaged and due to the schedule would not be back in the USA until the end of April,” said Scott Raney, co-owner and crew chief of the U-11 team. “That simply did not leave us enough time to get her prepared for the second race of the season so we had a discussion with Dave Holley (CEO of Peters & May) and unanimously decided to take on the challenge of bringing T4 back to her former glory.”

Read more: U-11 Peters & May to Campaign Rebuilt Miss Budweiser

As the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) F1 H2O World Championship heads to Brazil for the first time in 30 seasons of competition next weekend (June 1-2), the Qatar Team—led by two-time defending points champion Alex Carella of Italy and American driver Shaun Torrente—has high hopes once again for the 2013 season.

Shaun Torrente hopes to help the Qatar Team win its third-straight F1 H2O World Championship this season.“Our team is going into the opener in Brazil with a focus on trying to win our third championship in a row,” said Torrente, whose 2012 season ended early (read the story) after the UIM withdrew his provisional super license after a crash at the Grand Prix of China in October—his license was reinstated for 2013. “It’s going to be good to get back in the boat, that’s for sure. For me Brazil is more about staying in the race and scoring good points. Obviously we want to win, but I have to race smarter and think about the whole year.”

Torrente, who leaves for Brazil on Monday, said the team had a successful testing session in Italy in early April (read the story) and he expects that to translate onto the racecourse on Brasilia’s Lake Paranoá despite the drastic change in elevation. The average elevation of the lake is more than 3,000 feet above sea level.

Read more: Torrente, Qatar Team Ready for First F1 H2O Race in Brazil