Cowes, located in Southern coast of England is renowned for its maritime history. Ranging from sail boat racing, to the home of the Royal Yacht Squadron, it is also the birthplace of powerboat racing, started by Lord Beaverbrook’s son Sir Max Aitken, and carried on by his son and daughter, Lord Maxwell Beaverbrook and Lady Laura Levy. As the site for the Powerboat P1 British Grand Prix of the Sea, Cowes provided the perfect backdrop for a weekend of endurance and sprint racing for the fleet of Evolution and Super Sports boats. Though a trek to get there for traveling teams--it involved a flight to London, a 2-hour ride to Southampton, then a ferry ride to the Isle of Wight--the British tourism spot also drew Brits for this long-weekend “Bank Holiday.” So while the Island bustled with visitor traffic, the earlier week’s gloom, rain and cool temperatures, gave way to three days of sunny skies and gentle breezes, just in time for the Friday race.
However, powerboating teams came braced for the notorious rough waters for which Cowes is known. Instead, they got only a mild chop—a disappointment for the bigger diesel boats who wanted the rough-sea advantage—as well as the Mercury-powered Lucas Oil Outerlimits team, who built its boat—and team for those tougher conditions.
For Friday’s endurance race, the team chose British-born, American citizen, Nigel Hook, to throttle, while Joe Sgro maintained his driving role. Sgro and Hook normally alternate driving days with Mike Fiore, Outerlimits’ owner and president at throttle. Being familiar with the Isle of Wight, which would be circumvented on this race, Hook had an advantage as a navigator. The teams first did a 6-lap sprint course, before taking off for the lap around the island. Though the back-side was to have promised rougher water, which proved to be a rumor this day as well, team were left to re-plan their set-ups and race strategies.
An all-out speed race developed in the early laps as boats in both classes tore through the mild chop, blending their skills at the tight turns on the laps and throwing down the throttles on the endurance portion. All was great racing action until it got down to final laps and many teams realized that they had only a little time left to keep within the 87 mph average speed limits that Powerboat P1 enforces, as part of its Pleasure Navigation Racing rules. Strangely, a number of boats slowed down to a near stop at the finish line. Fans were confused, wondering what happened, but those who understood saw the foibles of the rules. Though the rules were created to maintain safety in a “recreational” racing division, they showed the clash of old rule books and new technologies. Speeds had not been a problem in former rough water races, but the issue started to show in Travemunde and reared its ugly head in Cowes. The strategy that some used to pace themselves and not “break-out” of the speed limit (which results in serious penalties, risky in these tight races for the points title), ended up being a last-minute reaction to save face and pace, that contradicts the spirit of racing.
Lucas Oil Outerlimits had planned its laps just right, and dashed ahead of King of Shaves in perfect timing to take the victory—despite the fact that Fainplast had crossed the finish line first and was awarded the checkered flag—before its time penalties were assessed. The same issue occurred in the Super Sport class so the podium for Friday’s races was postponed.
After a day of Honda 4 Stroke races on Saturday, the P1 fleet was ready for the Sunday showdown—again on calm seas. This time, with Fiore at throttles and Sgro at the helm, the Lucas Oil Outerlimits team took its Mercury Racing 662 SCi’s to a perfectly managed 13-lap rout of the other Evolution boats. Sgro’s handling of the Outerlimits SV40 in turns was the decisive factor, as he swung around the buoys so tightly that no one else could catch him. The boat’s straight-away speed with the Mercury engines was also impressive and the team led from the 6th lap to the end.
Since the podium presentation from Friday had been postponed to Sunday due to delays in arriving at the proper finish order, the awards were particularly festive—with much Jarvis St. James champagne sprayed and guzzled. An additional trophy made this podium extra-special, as the local Sir Max Aitken Museum awarded the Beaverbrook Trophy to the Lucas Oil Outerlimits team. This trophy remains in the museum but is awarded periodically to teams for achievement in certain races. The awardees are noted on the trophy and go down in powerboating history.
This experience was especially meaningful to Hook, who as an American, was able to bask in the glory of winning this prestigious award in front of family and fellow Brits. Beyond beating them in their own backyard, was the honor of being remembered for generations to come, in the museum founded by the same British business and boating leader who established the sport there 47 years ago. Then, Hook, as a child, watched Sir Max Aitken himself as well as his uncle race there—the inspiration for Hook’s own racing accomplishments. Hearing the Star Spangled Banner played while they held their trophies and hats over their hearts gave everyone on the team shivers up their spines and broad smiles on their faces.
Next, the teams head to Zeebrugge, Belgium—another site noted for rough water where the North Atlantic Ocean meets the North Sea. Two transatlantic flights within two weeks will not deter the Lucas Oil Outerlimits team! Mercury Racing engines and adrenaline run this crew and with its first sweep under its belt, the Americans are poised for another victory.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Report from Powerboat P1 Grand Prix Germany
Welcome to the Powerboat P1 Grand Prix of the Sea in Travemunde, Germany, where the ever-changing weather had created a “What’s next?!” attitude among the racers and spectators. For a week, the country had been ravaged by high winds and sideways rain that plagued the “dry” pit set up and arrivals of race teams. As the weekend drew closer, heavy rains relented and by the Time Trials, on Friday, the weather proved more inconvenient than impossible, while the winds blew across the surprisingly calm Baltic Sea. A bright spot for the American Lucas Oil Outerlimits team was its first place time of 42.77 seconds in the 2 sprint runs.
On Saturday, day one, the endurance race day, the seaside town of Travemunde’s sunshine and blue sky was peppered with spotty clouds and intermittent drizzle. Racers thought their main concern would be completing the afternoon’s 86.55 nautical mile race before it rained—again.
At the start, the teams lined up and accelerated cleanly, headed to the first marker, but as they made the first turn, several boats stopped, confusing the spectators at the Maritim Hotel and those who had gathered along the seawall to catch the racing action. No one could understand what happened until race control reported the Super Sport Class 03 Carpenter boat had flipped. The boat was piloted by well-known and loved Sergio Carpentieri and Luca Nicolini and both were reportedly taken to the hospital, the former with serious injuries, the latter for shock. The race was red-flagged and cancelled since the rescue boats were off the course.
A somber mood prevailed in the pits as everyone awaited a report on Carpentieri’s condition. Eye-witness accounts and P1 video showed that the Evolution Class Fainplast boat had slowed considerably at the start and that the Team Carpenter boat sailed over the diesel powered transom and barrel-rolled. Powerboat P1 provided the official statement of Carpentieri’s death early in the evening and left a decision about Sunday’s race open for discussion.
A police investigation ensued and it was determined that the Feinplast boat dropped a piston, broke a propeller and caused the pilots to pull off the throttle, slowing dramatically. The Carpenter boat then launched over the 43’ boat, flipping and crashing into the water. The actual cause of Carpentieri’s death is still not known.
On Sunday, the racers gathered for a meeting and based on their united input from the previous day, Powerboat P1’s CEO, Nathan Knight, announced that the Sunday race would be held. The racers dedicated the event to Carpentieri, honoring him with a pre-race moment of silence, hastily ordered “Sergio 03” stickers placed on each boat, and a bouquet of flowers, tossed into the sea by a member of each team.
The race went on as planned, providing a good show for the fan-lined sea wall, with the two classes of boats running together, seemingly incident-free—except for the Lucas Oil Outerlimits team. In lap two, with Nigel Hook at the helm and Outerlimits president, Mike Fiore, at throttles, the boat inexplicably lost power to both engines. As the boat momentarily drifted, the race crew radioed to race control that the boat was experiencing problems. Meanwhile, Fiore, got one engine re-started, then the next and the crew radioed back that the problem was solved and the #97 boat was re-entering the lap.
The boat gradually worked its way back towards the front of the pack during the remaining 6 laps and finished second to King of Shaves while rivals OSG Donzi took third and the formerly leading Wettpunkt.com boat lost a turbo and fell to 6th.
Upon arriving back to the pits and preparing to head to the podium, the Lucas Oil Outerlimits team was informed that it had been disqualified, since it has reportedly drifted off-course during its brief breakdown period. After reviewing some reports from staff and from Hook and Fiore, the team was reinstated in second place by the race jury, only to shortly afterwards, have the decision rescinded and the team again given the DQ.
Meanwhile, other teams, in Evolution and Super Sport Class were given penalties for breaking out of the speed limits and others were being investigated for having a higher horsepower-to-weight ratio than allowed. The standings were changed and OSG was awarded second place while the German SeaTek boat was given third. In Super Sport, due to other speed limits penalties, the Chaudron Riscoli Hotels boat took first with the Buzzi Bullt and Sun Lik Beer teams taking second and third—despite the fact that the Buzzi Bullet crossed the finish line first, followed by Sun Lik.
In all, it was a confusing day of action-packed racing. "That’s racing” is an adage that often follows such consternation after a hard-fought, competitive battle on land or water, but after Saturday’s tragedy, the bickering over rules left many questioning the reason for certain rules which seem to adversely affect safety and the competitive spirit of racing.
Everyone involved in Powerboat P1 sends moral support and heart-felt sympathies to the Feinplast team and all the family and friends of Carpentieri, the Naples, Italy, figure who was a long-time member of the European boat racing scene. He will be missed and his spirit will live on with racers who knew and loved him.
Visit http://www.powerboatp1.com/ for more details, photos and video. More video will follow on YouTube and on http://www.offshoreonly.com/ in days to come.
On Saturday, day one, the endurance race day, the seaside town of Travemunde’s sunshine and blue sky was peppered with spotty clouds and intermittent drizzle. Racers thought their main concern would be completing the afternoon’s 86.55 nautical mile race before it rained—again.
At the start, the teams lined up and accelerated cleanly, headed to the first marker, but as they made the first turn, several boats stopped, confusing the spectators at the Maritim Hotel and those who had gathered along the seawall to catch the racing action. No one could understand what happened until race control reported the Super Sport Class 03 Carpenter boat had flipped. The boat was piloted by well-known and loved Sergio Carpentieri and Luca Nicolini and both were reportedly taken to the hospital, the former with serious injuries, the latter for shock. The race was red-flagged and cancelled since the rescue boats were off the course.
A somber mood prevailed in the pits as everyone awaited a report on Carpentieri’s condition. Eye-witness accounts and P1 video showed that the Evolution Class Fainplast boat had slowed considerably at the start and that the Team Carpenter boat sailed over the diesel powered transom and barrel-rolled. Powerboat P1 provided the official statement of Carpentieri’s death early in the evening and left a decision about Sunday’s race open for discussion.
A police investigation ensued and it was determined that the Feinplast boat dropped a piston, broke a propeller and caused the pilots to pull off the throttle, slowing dramatically. The Carpenter boat then launched over the 43’ boat, flipping and crashing into the water. The actual cause of Carpentieri’s death is still not known.
On Sunday, the racers gathered for a meeting and based on their united input from the previous day, Powerboat P1’s CEO, Nathan Knight, announced that the Sunday race would be held. The racers dedicated the event to Carpentieri, honoring him with a pre-race moment of silence, hastily ordered “Sergio 03” stickers placed on each boat, and a bouquet of flowers, tossed into the sea by a member of each team.
The race went on as planned, providing a good show for the fan-lined sea wall, with the two classes of boats running together, seemingly incident-free—except for the Lucas Oil Outerlimits team. In lap two, with Nigel Hook at the helm and Outerlimits president, Mike Fiore, at throttles, the boat inexplicably lost power to both engines. As the boat momentarily drifted, the race crew radioed to race control that the boat was experiencing problems. Meanwhile, Fiore, got one engine re-started, then the next and the crew radioed back that the problem was solved and the #97 boat was re-entering the lap.
The boat gradually worked its way back towards the front of the pack during the remaining 6 laps and finished second to King of Shaves while rivals OSG Donzi took third and the formerly leading Wettpunkt.com boat lost a turbo and fell to 6th.
Upon arriving back to the pits and preparing to head to the podium, the Lucas Oil Outerlimits team was informed that it had been disqualified, since it has reportedly drifted off-course during its brief breakdown period. After reviewing some reports from staff and from Hook and Fiore, the team was reinstated in second place by the race jury, only to shortly afterwards, have the decision rescinded and the team again given the DQ.
Meanwhile, other teams, in Evolution and Super Sport Class were given penalties for breaking out of the speed limits and others were being investigated for having a higher horsepower-to-weight ratio than allowed. The standings were changed and OSG was awarded second place while the German SeaTek boat was given third. In Super Sport, due to other speed limits penalties, the Chaudron Riscoli Hotels boat took first with the Buzzi Bullt and Sun Lik Beer teams taking second and third—despite the fact that the Buzzi Bullet crossed the finish line first, followed by Sun Lik.
In all, it was a confusing day of action-packed racing. "That’s racing” is an adage that often follows such consternation after a hard-fought, competitive battle on land or water, but after Saturday’s tragedy, the bickering over rules left many questioning the reason for certain rules which seem to adversely affect safety and the competitive spirit of racing.
Everyone involved in Powerboat P1 sends moral support and heart-felt sympathies to the Feinplast team and all the family and friends of Carpentieri, the Naples, Italy, figure who was a long-time member of the European boat racing scene. He will be missed and his spirit will live on with racers who knew and loved him.
Visit http://www.powerboatp1.com/ for more details, photos and video. More video will follow on YouTube and on http://www.offshoreonly.com/ in days to come.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Lucas Oil Outerlimits Racing Updates from Powerboat P1
Naples, Italy felt welcoming to the largely Italian-American Lucas Oil Outerlimits Racing team. Though driving there was a challenge, the waters seemed much more receptive to a powerboat race than the team’s first Powerboat P1 race in Malta! There, a 3-story drop from a wave launched the first place Outerlimits team into a “hole” and left them out of the race, due to a broken water pump. But that was a week ago, a world apart, yet only a bay away, from this bustling port city on the West Coast of Italy.
Since the Port of Naples is adjacent to the military base that hosted the wet and dry pits, it was a busy waterway. With Nigel Hook joining the team for the first time, testing was an important part of the pre-race preparations and the new Lucas Oil logo on the boat was impressive! Hook and Joe Sgro took turns at the wheel with Mike Fiore, president of Outerlimits at throttles and all was good. With two World Championship racers and APBA Hall of Champions drivers at the helm of his SV40, Fiore was a happy man—until the Powerboat P1 officials notified him that there was a discrepancy in the interpretations of their calculations of the horsepower and those that Mercury provided for their new EU662 SCi engines. As a result, despite repeatedly explaining that the HP was not equal to the number of the engine’s name, the Outerlimits boat was assessed a 500 pound “penalty” for the race. This change threw the crew into a whirlwind in the dry pits, trying to make last minute set-up changes the night before the first race.
Though the boat handled the mild chop of the Mediterranean with no problems, it was not quite running up to speed. The race took an unexpected turn when the “home team” Italian-run Donzi flipped on the outside of the course after a chine-walk sent it into a spin. Fiore came upon the boat and only saw one helmet in the water. He stopped immediately and exited the boat, ready to jump into the water when he saw the second helmet and the “thumbs up” from the team. With the race back underway, the Lucas Oil Outerlimits team still took third place on day one, but was unhappy with the performance of the boat and continued to tweak it over the course of the evening.
On day two, the team felt as ready as possible to be in the heat of the race. However, at the start, the Lucas Oil Outerlimits team, with Hook racing in the boat for the first time, saw the Wettpunkt boat coming at it from the side. Fiore backed off the throttles and the boat got a thorough soaking while driving through two boats’ rooster tails to steer clear of the collision. Fiore and Hook, took the boat from sixth in the field of eight, to third place and held on for the duration of the 8-lap sprint race. “With the water, smoke, alarms going off and soaked engines, it took us about four laps to get the boat running properly again,” commented Hook, “I never get rattled in a boat, but that was a frustrating experience!” he added.
“We are very happy that we were able to take two third place finishes under these circumstances,” said Fiore, “When you are racing—especially in another country, working on your boat in the dry pits, making significant changes at the 11th hour--it is very difficult. Our crew did a fantastic job and we think we performed exceptionally well,” he added.
So now, with the racing gremlins behind them, the team prepares for its next trip to the Baltic Sea and the Germany resort town of Travemunde, June 30-July 1. “We’ll be ready,” said Fiore, “We’re going to go very fast!”
Since the Port of Naples is adjacent to the military base that hosted the wet and dry pits, it was a busy waterway. With Nigel Hook joining the team for the first time, testing was an important part of the pre-race preparations and the new Lucas Oil logo on the boat was impressive! Hook and Joe Sgro took turns at the wheel with Mike Fiore, president of Outerlimits at throttles and all was good. With two World Championship racers and APBA Hall of Champions drivers at the helm of his SV40, Fiore was a happy man—until the Powerboat P1 officials notified him that there was a discrepancy in the interpretations of their calculations of the horsepower and those that Mercury provided for their new EU662 SCi engines. As a result, despite repeatedly explaining that the HP was not equal to the number of the engine’s name, the Outerlimits boat was assessed a 500 pound “penalty” for the race. This change threw the crew into a whirlwind in the dry pits, trying to make last minute set-up changes the night before the first race.
Though the boat handled the mild chop of the Mediterranean with no problems, it was not quite running up to speed. The race took an unexpected turn when the “home team” Italian-run Donzi flipped on the outside of the course after a chine-walk sent it into a spin. Fiore came upon the boat and only saw one helmet in the water. He stopped immediately and exited the boat, ready to jump into the water when he saw the second helmet and the “thumbs up” from the team. With the race back underway, the Lucas Oil Outerlimits team still took third place on day one, but was unhappy with the performance of the boat and continued to tweak it over the course of the evening.
On day two, the team felt as ready as possible to be in the heat of the race. However, at the start, the Lucas Oil Outerlimits team, with Hook racing in the boat for the first time, saw the Wettpunkt boat coming at it from the side. Fiore backed off the throttles and the boat got a thorough soaking while driving through two boats’ rooster tails to steer clear of the collision. Fiore and Hook, took the boat from sixth in the field of eight, to third place and held on for the duration of the 8-lap sprint race. “With the water, smoke, alarms going off and soaked engines, it took us about four laps to get the boat running properly again,” commented Hook, “I never get rattled in a boat, but that was a frustrating experience!” he added.
“We are very happy that we were able to take two third place finishes under these circumstances,” said Fiore, “When you are racing—especially in another country, working on your boat in the dry pits, making significant changes at the 11th hour--it is very difficult. Our crew did a fantastic job and we think we performed exceptionally well,” he added.
So now, with the racing gremlins behind them, the team prepares for its next trip to the Baltic Sea and the Germany resort town of Travemunde, June 30-July 1. “We’ll be ready,” said Fiore, “We’re going to go very fast!”
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Outerlimits Powerboats Takes on the World with the Powerboat P1 World Championship
Hello and Welcome to the new blog for The Outerlimits Offshore Racing Team News!
Having returned from the first Powerboat P1 Race in Malta, the Outerlimits Offshore Racing Team of throttleman, owner/president Mike Fiore, and driver, longtime friend, customer and APBA Hall of Champions racer, Joe Sgro, driver are ready and enthusiastic for the Naples, Italy race, May 26-27.
In Malta, all the European race teams were friendly and gracious--though very competitive--and the Powerboat P1 organization puts on a top-of-the-line event! The Outerlimits new SV-40 has a very different look than many of the bigger, heavier European boats, but it performed admirably in VERY rough seas. Some may have been skeptical of the Outerlimits ability to compete in the Mediterranean, but with the fastest speed run in the Evolution Class on Sunday and a quick catch up in the start of the first race on Saturday, Outerlimits proved its mettle and the challenge is on for a great race season ahead.
The field will expand in Naples as two new American boats, piloted by European teams are expected. Outerlimits is the only American manufacturer-sponsored team in Powerboat P1 and it is a pleasure to represent the USA in this exciting race circuit.
More information is available at www.powerboatp1.com and www.outerlimitspowerboats.com.
We will keep you posted throughout the season here and our updates will also be carried on www.powerboatmag.com. We welcome your comments!
Video will soon be available at www.americanpowerboattelevision.com and at www.offshoreonly.com as well. Stay tuned, I'll be reporting in from Naples!
Having returned from the first Powerboat P1 Race in Malta, the Outerlimits Offshore Racing Team of throttleman, owner/president Mike Fiore, and driver, longtime friend, customer and APBA Hall of Champions racer, Joe Sgro, driver are ready and enthusiastic for the Naples, Italy race, May 26-27.
In Malta, all the European race teams were friendly and gracious--though very competitive--and the Powerboat P1 organization puts on a top-of-the-line event! The Outerlimits new SV-40 has a very different look than many of the bigger, heavier European boats, but it performed admirably in VERY rough seas. Some may have been skeptical of the Outerlimits ability to compete in the Mediterranean, but with the fastest speed run in the Evolution Class on Sunday and a quick catch up in the start of the first race on Saturday, Outerlimits proved its mettle and the challenge is on for a great race season ahead.
The field will expand in Naples as two new American boats, piloted by European teams are expected. Outerlimits is the only American manufacturer-sponsored team in Powerboat P1 and it is a pleasure to represent the USA in this exciting race circuit.
More information is available at www.powerboatp1.com and www.outerlimitspowerboats.com.
We will keep you posted throughout the season here and our updates will also be carried on www.powerboatmag.com. We welcome your comments!
Video will soon be available at www.americanpowerboattelevision.com and at www.offshoreonly.com as well. Stay tuned, I'll be reporting in from Naples!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
