Tunnel Boat Racing in the 1970s

The History of Tunnel Boat Racing

 

 

   Audiences have marveled at the durability of race boats running at high speeds in grueling long distance marathons like Bristol, England - 24 Hours of Roean in Paris, France - Berlin, Germany - Parker 7 Hour & the Lake Havasu Classic. But, the ultimate test is in the sprint courses like Augusta & St. Louis, with their brute speed, breath taking cornering & pure agility. It can keep any spectator on "the edge of his seat." In St. Louis, ultimate performance came from the rugged horsepower of boat & driver, always pushing towards the "edge of the envelope."

   During the early years, battles between private & corporate investors provided "deep pockets & skilled engineers." Racing took on a new charm, as each corporation pushed technology to "new heights." The 1st to "fall from grace" was Chrysler, strangled by the "fast pace" of Mercury & OMC. It wasn't long 'til these two "Corporate Gladiators" pounded each other, race after race!

   But, it was Mercurys High Performance & dedication to racing that captured most of the latest "engine technology" - going non-stop with "testing through competition."

   Two of the men that took the sport to where it is today, never took the wheel of a "modern tunnel boat." OMC's President, Charlie Strang, saw racing as a way to improve technology under the guidance of Team Manager, Jack Leek, & "Factory Sponsored Drivers" like Jimbo McConnell & Cees Van der Velden, proudly carried the Johnson-Evinrude colors.

   Although OMC "spear headed" a lot of new engine products, it was fact that, Carl Kiekhaefer, President & Founder of Mercury Marine, never did anything "second class." His "non-stop desire" to beat "arch rival" OMC, led him to create the most dominating team in Outboard Racing History. Well financed & well schooled! Never has the sport seen a trio of drivers like Reggie Fountain, Billy Seebold & Earl Bents. Team Mercury, was the talk of the racing world.

   "Bristol, England is probably one of the most dangerous race courses in the world, that we drive on! When you're running at 130 mph around the Bristol Docks with 10 foot walls on both sides of you, it gives you a feeling of driving through a tunnel - very fast!"

   Under the management of, Gary Garbreitch, innovation came at a fast & furious pace. Fuel injection, brakes, 4 blade props - it seemed nothing was taken for granted. The idea of "no detail too small" continued into the '70's, when the "fuel crisis" slowed the world down & Mercury "pulled the plug" on its "Factory Team" - but not its interest in Outboard Racing. Win - no matter what the cost, still drives Mercury, as it still dominates the engines of Tunnel Boat Racing.

   As Tunnel Boat racing approached the mid '80's, with very few events left for "2 litre competition", St. Louis was the only race that most drivers could count on until International Outboard Grand Prix (IOGP), provided stability to Outboard Tunnel Boat Racing.

   " In the formative years of IOGP, I would say the first five, we spent so much of our time on what I would call, race management. Trying to find race sites - trying to find sponsors. Trying to have adequate money for the winners, writing rules & regulations & bringing the sport to a professional level. If you go to the pit area right now, you see team's half million dollar transports, 3 or 4 boats & 4 or 5 engines! It's not the sport it used to be. It has grown. The calibre of the equipment & the calibre of the drivers, certainly reflects that."

   Grand Prix Racing drew the best of the best! Names like, Buck Thornton, Chris Bush, Johnathan Jones & Guido Cappolini. But, the ultimate champion of the International Circuit belonged to, Billy Seebold. Heavily sponsored by Bud Light, Bill Seebold, was Tunnel Boat Racing's, Babe Ruth!

   "I've always been facinated with boats. My father raced before I raced. I started when I was 11. I've been racing for 39 years. My son Mike, started when he was 12 & he's 33 years old, so basically besides myself on the race course, he is probably the 2nd most seasoned veteran out there. Every time that "starting flag" drops, it is a new challenge. Even though you're back in Portland, St. Louis or Augusta, there's a different line up of boats, there's a different set of conditions, there's a different challenge in store & I think that's what keeps you going."

   International Outboard racing took off in "high Gear" with solid backing. But what people don't know is that Southern California had finally become a "hot bed" of serious Outboard Racing talent! Some of the "biggest names & brightest stars" in the "Champ Boat Class" such as Scott Gillman, Greg Foster, Jim Johnson, Jim McKay, Don Johnson & Craig Wendt - all called California, home. With a strong dedication to the sport & a sincere desire to further it, drivers like Don Johnson, at the age of 29, had become one of the most successful tunnel boat racers in the world.

   Although Scott Gillman, who ran motorcross & off-road racing for years, didn't enter the sport in quite the traditional manner, he found out quickly, that it was harder to drive, than he thought.

   Down, but not out, Bill Seebold, just kept on fighting. Mike Seebold, "gave his all" to protect his dad, but it was evident that "Mr Bill" had "lost his edge" & the "talk of retirement", was more evident than ever in Portland, Oregon. Between 1990 & '93, the man that every racing driver had "relished to be", went down in flames! Even rain soaked Kansas City, couldn't keep Seebold from grabbing his 1st win in over 3 years. This seemed to "spark new life" into this 52 year old master! The "trademark" of Billy Seebold his whole career, has been to get out front quickly. Seebold takes the "short way around a race course."

   We're coming "down to the wire" on Longview Lake in Kansa City. But, this is the "real story" right here. Bill Seebold hasn't won in 3 years in North America, yet he might be on his way to his 1st victory here on Longveiw Lake. Well, Bill knowing this is the last lap says to his competitors, "you have too little- too late" because the "checkered flag" is coming out for me & I'm the "happiest guy in Missori" because I have finally "ended the drought" & it's raining all over the Mid West & it's "raining checkered flags" for Seebold.

   Through the 1993 season. Seebold served notice on all the "grim reapers", that Bill Seebold is back! # 7 Bill Seebold, went on to win every race after Kansas City, except Austin, Texas! Eventually winning the 1993 High Points Championship & proving to all competitors, that he could be the 1st driver to win' back to back titles!"

   In 1985 it was Johnathan Jones who started it all in New Orleans. In 1986, Michael Warner, survived everyone at Padre Island. 1987, Chris Bush, held on tightly at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 1988, Don Johnson, running for Arcadian, ran hard to survive. 1989, the master himself, Bill Seebold, added another page to the history books! 1990, the talented ,Scott Gillman, showed the world he belongs. 1991, 1st rate Craig Wendt proved he was "the man to beat." 1992, the undaunted, Mike Seebold, showed he had leadership, in "Bud Light."

   Will history repeat itself? Or will a "new face" emerge on the International Grand Prix Circuit, to carry that "Championship Flag!

Tunnel Boat Crashes from 1994

LEE DAVIES Pioneer - Power Boat Racing - Inducted 2006

   Lee Davies, of Anmore, British Columbia, Canada started racing powerboats in 1960, and has enjoyed a successful racing career for over 45 years.

   He started competing in local races in class A and B hydro's in the early '60's. Lee raced in those classes until 1965 when he switched to a 100 HP Mercury Outboard, powering a V-bottom boat. He raced these into the 1970's and from 1960 to the early 1970's, he was Class Champion and American Power Boat Association (APBA) Regional Outboard High Point Champion many many times.

   Lee began to race Mercury Factory Outboard tunnel hulls in the early 1970's, and has been racing that type of boat for 35 years in Canada and the United States. In 1976, Lee was inducted into the Evinrude 100 MPH club with a run averaging 121 MPH!

   Lee continued his winning ways into the 1980's. In 1984 and 1986, he set National records for the APBA Outboard Class 5 mile competition in Modified Unlimited Outboard.

   In the 1990's, Lee was even more successful, if that was possible. In 1992 he was the APBA Champion. In the years 1993, '94, '95, '96 and '98, Lee was North American APBA High Point in the Champ Boat class. He was also North American APBA High Point Champion in Class SST in 1995, '96, '97 and 1998.

   At the Kelowna, BC 1997 Molson Thunderfest, which Lee was driving force behind, he was again a winner. A story in Power Boating Canada reads: "In the Tunnel Boat Final, 10 boats flashed across the start line at 125 MPH. As is always the case in tunnel boat racing, the action was furious and position changes occurred on every lap. Entries from the Canadian Prairies and the southern US states, all poked their noses into contention, but on the final lap, Lee Davies of Vancouver, BC, pulled up on the outside to take the win."

   Lee had many accomplishments in the year 1998:

Three records set in one weekend-Two World Records:Modified Unlimited 104.330 MPH 5 mile 3 lap record and Modified R - 101.363 5 mile 4 lap

APBA National High Point Champion in two classes: SST 140, and Modified R Class. He was also Modified U Class Regional High Point Champion.

He won the George Babcock Award for over-all best results in Four Events

He also won the Big Bud Shootout in a three race series.

   Lee was inducted into the APBA Hall of Fame in 1998, following all of his success. As a point of interest, he takes two boats to each race and competes in two classes on the same day! Lee says he loves to drive and compete and this way he gets twice the seat time.

   Lee operates his own bussiness in Port Moody, Lee's Marine Ltd. and even builds engines for his racing cometitors. He is also an avid antique outboard collector. It goes without saying that, Lee has had a phenominal career and that he continues to race over 45 years after starting in the sport.

 

Lee Davis & Tom Stanley - Top Canadians 1992 IOGP

Steve Sirois - Says Thank You to GoSee.TV - wow....

When one considers the paucity of good video from back in the day, "Title Drive" is excellent quality. The fact that black motors are scarcely seen in "TD" is certainly not surprising. Company produced programs, regardless of which company, understandingly promote their own product.

I have some of the old Kiekhaefer produced videos that Greg Terzian has graciously uploaded to Vimeo for everybody to enjoy. What is unique about Mark Benson and Nick Springate productions on GoSeeTV is that most of it has been captured from amateur 8mm and 16mm movie film.

Eventually those old acetate films will deteriorate to a point that they will simply fall apart. They have found and captured those films to digital format for posterity and for all to enjoy at no cost to us. Last year I put together a DVD program for OFF2009 using imovie on a Mac computer. Believe me...*IT IS NOT EASY*.

It is very time consuming and somtimes a bit frustrating. But the final product can be satisfying. The point that I am trying to get to here is this...I personally have a little bit of understanding of what Mark and Nick have gone through in terms of time, effort, frustration, and money to provide it to all of us, for free, on GoSeeTV.

As far as I know they did not start this effort with a profit motive. But, if they had, that would be fine with me. I think their motive was to save this stuff for posterity. The problem, as I see it, is that eventually such effort becomes costly and sometimes does not receive the appreciation that is deserved.

I absolutely have a great deal of appreciation for their efforts as well as their results. "Mark and Nick...I personally and publicly thank you for what you have done. "

My Very Best Regards - Steve Sirois
************
Thanks to Tracy Coleman

Title Drive - 1969 OMC Promotional Video

   This is the Big One - Lake Havasu City - the World Outboard Championship, 114 boats racing for a purse of $50,000.00. The site is the Colorado River on the Arizona - California border.

   For boat  # 30, Jim McConnell, the finish will hold a special meaning. McConnell nearly scored in two major races, the Paris 6 Hour and  the Berlin 6 Hour -  before this one. Now he seeks a change in fortune.

   Boat # 33, Cesare Scotti, from Nesso, Italy, also is looking for a victory. Scotti, like McConnell, races under the banner of Evinrude Motors. Scotti pilots a 21 foot Molinari hull with a twin installation of 115 hp Evinrude Outboards. He drives with discipline. He is a graduate of Marathons throughout Europe, South Africa and the United States. Scotti pilots with precision in his drive for the title.

   Long before Havasu, Scotti bids for recognition in The Gold Coast Marathon. This is held in the Miami Marine Stadium in Florida. This race is for single outboard engine boats only. It covers a distance of 225 miles - 90 laps of a 2 1/2 mile course. Scotti holds the lead for 13 laps, then makes a pit stop. Jimbo McConnell is Scotti's closest competition. Scotti roars home with an average speed of 65 mph. In winning, he leads on 54 of the 90 laps!

   Paris, France. There is a low ceiling in the "City of Light." The 6 Hours of Paris gets underway on a misty Sunday morning. This Marathon is held on the River Seine. Local boating buffs refer to this Marathon as their "Grand Prix." This race is probably the only one that is held in the heart of a major city. The race is sponsored by The Motor Yacht Club of France. It is endorsed by The Ministry of Sport and The Committee of Celebrations, in the city of Paris. With these kinds of credentials, it's bound to succeed. The length of the course is 5 kilometers or 3 miles. Scotti,  # 18, is hopeful of repeating his victory at the Gold Coast Marathon.

   Scotti's boat is an 18 foot Molinari. It mounts an Evinrude X-115. The boat is a "tunnel design." Its hull has twin sponsons, forming a tunnel between them. Air, inside the tunnel, helps support the weight of the boat, giving it greater speed. Surging through the field, Scotti, sets a new lap record of 75 mph. There are residual benefits to race in Paris, not the least of which is watching girls! Race fans are seldom disappointed. Scotti's co-driver, Carlino, climbs aboard during refueling. The scoreboard shows # 18 Scotti leading through the 1st 4 hours of the 6 hour race, with # 22, Renato Molinari, close on his heels!

   OMC's, Jack Leek and Charlie Strang, are interested spectators. Thirty minutes before the end of the race, Scotti hits misfortune. His engine "craps out", after leading for 5 1/2 hours! His cousin, Renato Molinari, goes on to win one for Mercury.

   The German Outboard Club is then next host to the drivers in Berlin, just one week after the race in Paris. There are 74 entries  in the Berlin 6 Hour Marathon, run on the River Hovel. The event is International with entries from Europe, South Africa, and the United States, getting to taste of the local specialties! Things finally got under way 30 minutes late, because of fog. This time the X-115's and GT-115's get out in front and stay there. At times, spectators loose sight of the boats as  fog envelopes  the course. Johnnie Sanders and Rich McKinley team up with a Johnson/Molinari combination, and become the eventual winners. This particular race marks the beginning of Johnnie Sanders' Grand Slam. He went on to win the Paris 6 Hour, the Parker 7 Hour and the 8 Hour - 2 Day, Havasu Outbord World Championship.South Africa's, Lori Sykes, was 2nd at Berlin for OMC. Scotti and McConnell were not too far out of the hunt for Evinrude. Even, Renato Molinari, got his butt kicked as the only Mercury hopeful!

   Lake Elsinore, Southern California -1969. It's a "Star Spangled - West of the Rockies Regatta." Sixty miles from The City of Angels. Scotti misses this one because he is racing in Europe. This race is open to Inboard, Outboard, IB-OB, and Jet-drive - the sky's the limit! At Lake Elsinore, it's kooky - campy - a carnival - a caper. It was big, it was splashy and it was just slightly daffy, as only racing can be on weekends in the United States and in California in those days, if you know what I mean? 

   Omc uses this one as a proving ground for new equipment. In the end, Don Pruett takes this 500 mile race for Mercury - Thank God! Jimbo McConnell  # 138, tests a new Molinari with a single Evindude X-115 and pronounces it ready for "The Big One!"

   Lake Havasu Outboard World Championship. Time for the Main Event. Peaceful as it looks at 1st, there's action in the pits. Now they all drive for the World Title. Total purse, $50,000.00 - with $15,000.00 to the winner!

   Evinrudes' "A Team" makes the scene and on hand are heavy-weights the likes of, Hugh Entrop, designer of Starflite IIII, the boat that holds the "World Outboard Speed Record!" Also in attendance is engine man, Doc Jones, who master minded  the assault on the Outboard Speed Record. Gerry Wallin, of The Great Pacific Northwest, who drove Starflite IIII to an average of 131 mph to set the record which happened just a few miles away from the race site, in 1966! For this race, he drives with veteran, Dick Sharp of Seattle, Washington.

   Indianapolis Speedway Champ, Jim Hurtabee, was competing for his 2nd year. The "Flying Canuck" Ray Fernandes from Ontario, Canada was there! Jimbo McConnell, a former California High Point Champion is a truly native American, a descendant of the Cherokee Nation. Fred Hauenstein, an Aircrft Engineer, is also a Californian High Point Champion. Ron Hill, the 24 year old Commadoor of the Southern California Outboard Association. Bill Wiles of Kansas City has been an Endurance Racer for 5 years. The Berghauer Brothers from Milwaukee, racing as a team, are both are members of the Gulf Racing Hall of Fame. Cesare Scotti, at age 32, was 2nd at Havasu the previous year. A very tough competitor, very resolute. A man with a single purpose - To win!

   Jack Leek is the Manager  of the High Performance Division for the Outboard Marine Corporation and also Manages OMC's Racing Team. He points out that, " Racing is important  as a show case for the product.When you've got a winner, you've got money in the bank. There are other important aspects. We have two Test bases in Florida and we devote a lot of Engineering Money and a lot of time to testing our equipment. We have drivers running our engines and boats 24 hours a day. We find out a lot of problems and correct them in Engineering, as this is typical of any Plant that has a,"Proving Ground" and, we can't find everything or all the problems in the Proving Ground. So, you might say there is no substitute for  "Open Competition" We get these engines out on a race course and we find problems and we correct them, and these corrections lead to improvements, which show up maybe, in next years product."

   The Havasu Outboard World Championship is a 2 Day event. 114 boats started the race. Only 45 were still running when the checkered flag dropped! The course is 4 miles long and in the shape of a boomerang. It's run 4 hours each day. The winner is the driver that completes the most miles in 8 hours! Don Pruett, driving for Mercury, takes the early lead in the 1st hour. Dick Sharp, driving smoothly, has won several Titles in the Pacific Northwest. Scotti moves to 2nd place after 3 hours, then duals  # 170, Bill Petty, for the lead. Scotti drives with such precision that he is clocked within 2 seconds on every lap! At the end of Day 1, Scotti had completed 69 laps of the 4 mile course. The Scoreboard told the story!

   On Day 2, Scotti takes an early lead. Jack Leek of OMC says this about the "New breed of European Drivers" "It used to be that that The American drivers would go to Europe and practically "bluff" the European drivers off the course in  the 1st turn. That is no longer true. We've got afew drivers, like, Cesare Scotti and Renato Molinari from Italy, who most certainly will not be "bluffed" off the course and are as "hard core" as the top drivers from the United States.

   One of Scotti's top competitors from Mercury, "Bites the water." OMC Team Manager, Jack Leek, comments on the racing action, " Boat racing is a very demanding sport. and you have to keep the equipment in tip top shape, especially for the. "Big Enduros!"

   McConnell refuels. "Lead Foot Jimbo", won the Needles Marathon, not too far down the road  just last month. The race is hot. Hotter for some than others. Scotti's last pit stop is less than 1 minute! Fuel capacity for his boat is 70 gallons. Scotti had also claimed a 6 lap victory at the South African 6 Hour Enduro that season. Unrelenting, Scotti drives for the Title.

   Johnnie Sanders, always tough competition, is just that at Havasu. Ron Hill's boat isn't as fast as most, but he drives it beautifully.

   Scotti sears down the straightaway at slightly more than 100 mph on the last lap and he's over the finish line setting a new World Record! 584 miles at an average speed of  73 mph. For Scotti, this was the , "Title Drive." He drove for the title, and he won! Johnnie Sanders finished a lap back.

   Few drivers combine the skill, the tanacity and the control of both themselves and their boat ,as Cesare Scotti. OMC's, Ralph Evinrude, is one of the 1st to acknowledge the stunning performance. It's a big day for, Jimbo McConnell, as he ends up 6th overall and 1st single engine. Evinrudes, Bob West, extends a cordial reception. The accolades go to Cesare Scotti, but the sense of achievment go to all that were running at the end of 8 hours and had the boat the right side up! For this is the Big One, the World Championship and to have been a part of it is was to accept the biggest challenge in all of Outboard Racing!

  

   Except for a few small details, the scene could have been, "The Brickyard" at Indianapolis or Florida's famed," Daytona Speedway."  In the stands.. thousands of fans cheered their favorites, as "Big League Factory Teams" fought for the extra profit, a " racing victory" brings!

   Around and around the four - mile course, the "World's Best Drivers" gunned their big machines, each one perfectly tuned and tended by pit crews capable of performing mechanical marvels with spectacular ease!" The speeds were startling, the promise of disaster was ever present!

    The difference was that this contest was on water - at Lake Havasu, Arisona, not on racetrack asphalt. The competing manufactuers were the Outboard  Marine Corporation and Kiekhaefer Mercury Division of the Brunwick Corporation, not detroit's major automakers. The machines were, "Outboard Tunnel Hulls", not racing cars.

   Outboard Racing has come a long ways since the days when a handful of,"Happy Go Lucky Amateurs" tooled around in "one cylinder putt-putt's". Today's engines are V-4's and straight 6's, pounding out 155 HP.There were as many as,"three of the monsters on each racing boat!"

   The "Outboard Marine Corporation" readily admits to spending 1% of it's "gross outboard sales" on it's racing team, and rumours were that Kiekhaefer, maker of Mercury engines, invests as much as $3,000,000.00 dollars a year to attend Havasu, Parker,Lake Tahoe, Lake Elsinore, Miami, St. Louis, Paris, Bristol, Berlin, etc. for the season! 

   Of all the races, last weeks, " 1969 Outboard World Championship" hails as the biggest, richest and roughest in the history of the event, going back to it's inception in 1964! The 8 Hour Marathon (4 Hrs. Sat. - 4 Hrs. Sun.), had 111 drivers from all over the world fighting for the $50,000.00 purse, much of it put up by Havasu Developer, Oilman Robert McCulloch & Ralph Evinrude. Between them, the Outboard Marine Corporation and Kiekhaefer Mercury had no fewer than 40 racing boats represented in the race!

   By the end of the, "two day Marathon", most of the racing boats were fit only for, "beach party kindling!" Within the 1st two hours, gusty 20 mph  winds, caused at least 10 or so boats to flip into, "spray-spewing somersaults" - others, "slammed sickenly" into the "treacherous shoals bordering the course". Bill Petty of Wapakoneta, Ohio, driving a, "deep-vee" hull powered by, "triple Mercury engines", jumped into the lead and held it for 1 1/2 hours. While cutting a corner,"too close to the shore," he took out two propellers and the lower unit of one of the engines.

   Incredibly, Mercury's,"six man pit crew", miraculously repaired the damage to the boat and the lower unit damage in 20 minutes flat! But, by then it was too late. OMC's Cesare Scotti, a "tough little Italian marine operator", had taken the lead for good!

   Free of the chop - for power, Scotti had dual Evinrude X-115's bolted on his transom. For a hull, he had one of the new, "tunnel hulls" designed by his countryman, Angello Molinari. The hull consists of an, "airfoil-like center" flanked by two pontoons. Their effect is to lift the boat out of the water and allow it to ride free of the chop caused by 100+ boats, on a "cushion of air!"

On the straightaways, Scotti's black-and-yellow striped boat blasted over the waves at over 100 mph, at times. By the 3PM gun on Suday afternoon, after 8 gruelling hours, Scotti had averaged an incredible 73 mph average for 584 miles over 146 laps of the 4 mile boom-a-rang shaped course. More than enough to take home the $15,000.00 for 1st place and the, "Outboard World Championship in 1969!"

Molinari,Seebold and Van Der Velden to be Honored

May 12th, 2002

   For the first time in many years, three "Living Legends" in the sport of Outboard Tunnel Hull Racing will be together next weekend in Campione d' Italia, Italy for the 2nd Round of the 2002 U.I.M. F1 World Championship of Powerboating event from the 17th thru the 19th of May.

   Italian hero Renato Molinari, American Legend Bill Seebold and the "Flying Dutchman" Cees Van Der Velden, part of Mercury Marine's famous "Black Angels" Race Team of 1971, will be together again as they take in the flavor of one maritimes most famous racing spots on Lake Lugano, Campione d' Italia, for this years F1 Grand Prix.

   For RENATO MOLINARI, it's a short drive down the road from his father, Angelo's, race shop that introduced the world to a single hull catamaran, that he first designed in the early '60's. The 3-Time World Champion in F1, who retired in the mid-1980's, won 18 different World Titles in various classes, since he started racing in 1964! Renato, who learned racing from his father and his cousin, Cesare Scotti, also won 11 European Titles, 15 Italian Championships and set 12 World Speed Records to boot! His most famous victories were his 4 wins at the 24 Hour event in Rouen, France, 4 wins at the Paris 6 Hour Grand Prix and 2 wins at the Parker 7 Hour Enduro in the United States of America.

   Renato, the 56 year old native of Como, Italy - was brought into the sport by his father, Angelo, and his late cousin, Cesare Scotti, who were both successful boat builders and later bitter rivals, until Cesare's untimely death at the 1974 6 Hour event in Paris, France. Scotti won his 1st World Championship in the Stock Outboard Class event at Campione d' Italia at the age of 20 in 1956! Molinari and Scotti supplied most of the race boats on both sides of the Atlantic in the early '70's and Team Mercury was using Molinari boats as their "official hull" at the time. Scotti was supplying his hulls exclusively to OMC. Renato has gone on to be a successful propeller maker and designer since retirement.

   BILL SEEBOLD, the winningest driver in powerboat racing history, was born into racing with his father, Bill Sr., better known as "Grandpa", who began racing on the Mississippi River near his St. Louis, Missori home in 1938. Winning his 1st race at the tender age of 11 in the 5-horsepower stock class in 1952, "Mr. Bill" went on to win over 900 races in his 46 year career! He ended his lifelong love in style winning the PROP F1 title in his final season of racing in 1997 at the age of 57, beating drivers that season who were young enough to be his sons. Two of them were his own sons!

   Bill was honored by being inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1999 in recognition of his 69 World and National Titles! He won his 1st title in 1958 and later his career really took off when he became a a member of the famous Team Mercury squad in 1970. His most memorable wins were his title as "Mr. Bristol", winning the Duke of York Trophy in England 6-times, the Paris 6 Hour Grand Prix, and is a 7 time winner of the St. Louis Grand Prix in North America. He also won 6 UIM Championships from 1975 to 1990, the Fonda Championships in 1981 and 1987, along with the International Outboard Grand Prix Series in 1989, 1993 and 1994!

   CEES VAN DER VELDEN, the native of Nistelrode, Holland, was another racing hero in the '70's, until his retirement in September of 1989 in Beaumont, Texas. He entered the sport later than his rivals, starting at the age of 23 in 1966 in the V-hull 70 Class. In his 24 years of racing, Cees won 7 World Championship titles missing an 8th World Crown, because of an accident 1976. Along with those titles, he also won several European and dutch Championships in F1 and F2.

   The original "Flying Dutchman" joined the catamaran class in 1970 and in just two seasons, won his 1st World title defeating teammate, Renato Molinari in one of Molinari's own boats. After racing with Team Mercury for 4 years, he jumped ship as he couldn't pass up an offer to join the OMC Team,  in the winter of 1974. He could now race and design his own boats. Prior to that, he and Seebold had teamed up to win the Paris 6 Hour and Parker 7 hour events in the summer of 1974.

   Van Der Velden won the ON titles in 1974, 1975 and 1979 Championships, while winning the Continental ON titles in 1974, 1976, 1978 and 1979. He also captured the Continental OS title in 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1981.

   Cees went out in style winning his final race of his career in Beaumont, Texas defeating 3 World Champions, including Bill Seebold, who was there introducing Mercury's new 2.5 litre engine at the end of the 1989 season. Since that time, Cees has dedicated his time to building Velden Hulls for F1 and working many years as a UIM Commissioner. His many radical conceptions, including interchangable and adjustable under way sponsons, has elevated both F1 and F3 to new levels of professionalism.

   All three Legendary Drivers will be on hand on the weekend of the 17th thru the 19th of May. Molinari will be there watching many drivers running his latest in propeller designs, while Bill Seebold will be there watching his oldest son, Mike, who is 3rd in the Championship standings, run for the MM Power Team. Cees will be keeping a close eye on his VividVelden Team, who with lead driver, Sami Selio is 2nd in the World Championship standings after the opening round race in Portimao, Portugal.

 

The Ole Evinrude Story - A Special Look - 4 Part Series

Bill Muncey Wide World Marine Invitational

First Matched-Rigs Powerboat Race

   The sport of boat racing entered into the advanced stages when Billy Schumacher of Seattle, Washington drove a perfect one heat - ten lap race at Miami Marine Stadium to win the Bill Muncey Wide World Marine Invitational, earn the World Champion crown and take home the first place purse of $10,000.00. A first for the United States, the match race could very well have set a brand new pattern for closed course racing.

   Second place was captured by Geoff Briggs of New York, who finished seconds behind the winner and pocketed $3,000.00 for his troubles.Geoff was running neck-to-neck with Barry Woods of Vancouver,Washington when, on the ninth lap (of the 10 lap Final) Barry snagged a buoy with his right sponson.Barry finished the race wearing the buoy as a Crown of Defeat, and defeat it was as officials penalised Barry one lap causing him to finish dead last in the race.

   The first foreign driver to enter the winner's circle was Roger Jenkins of Wales, United Kingdom who took third place and a cheque for $2,500.00

   The match race was so named because of an extreme effort to obtain completely matched racing rigs. Identically constructed 15 ft Seebold tunnel hulls powered by stock 75 hp Evinrude motors were matched in equipment and rigging. Additional weights were added to the drivers boats to insure that all rigs weighed the same.

   The race consisted of three qualifying heats of five laps each to eliminate three drivers, and one final heat of ten laps for all the marbles and bragging rights.

   Fifteen drivers were chosen by a News Media Selection Committee for the event. The drivers represented eight countries and six categories of power boat racing. The drivers and countries included Andre Dierckx, Belgium; Bill Badsey, South Africa; Wally Frans, Brasil; Roger Jenkins, Wales; Jorge Regnicoli, Argentina; Cees Van de Velden, Holland; Angelo Vassena, Italy; with the US drivers including Gerry Bangs, Seattle, Washington; Geoff Briggs, East Hampton, New York; Jimbo McConnell, Wonder Lake, Illinois; Tommy Posey, Dallas, Texas; Johnny Sanders, Denver Colorado; Billy Schumacher, Seattle, Washington; Mickey Remund, Palm Desert, California; and Barry Woods of Vancouver, Washington. The drivers represented the six categories of powerboat racing

   The race held some very tense moments for the drivers, spectators and race promoters alike when Wally Frans collided with Barry Woods on the opening of the five- minute gun in the very first qualifying heat! Both boats were severely damaged with Wally Frans just making the return to the pit area to a trailer and Barry Woods sinking 100 feet from shore!

   For the sponsors and drivers, the seventeen matched boats (two extras) had suddenly become fifteen and the qualifying heats had just begun!

   Further concern came during a qualifying heat when Mickey Remund flipped in the first turn, damaging a boat and reducing the number to fourteen rigs!

   With three elimination heats behind them, twelve finalist drivers then drew by lot for their boat to drive in the final 10 lap heat. It was in this final heat that Billy Schumacher took the lead in the first turn and although he was pushed hard by Briggs and Woods, Schumacher never gave up the lead and became the First World Champion Boat Driver.

Flat Out - The Mercury Racing Team Story

This is a three part video from the collection of Travis Martin - it is best to watch Full Screen and at the highest resolution - HD if possible - try the buttons on the lower left of the video screen.  Enjoy, this is a real classic video - right behind the scene at the height of factory involvement in the sport.

Part 2 of 3

Part 3 of 3

Getting the "Holy Grail" Racing Film

Grand Slam of Outboard Tunnel Hull Racing

Thanksgiving Weekend 1972. The Outboard World Championship on Lake Havasu, Arizona. This is the YouTube version of the 1972 race - You can secure a high resolution version on DVD for a $50.00 donation to our boat racing video remastering fund - contact Mark Benson for more details.

At  stake,$65.000.00 overall, this was the richest Boat Race in the world. 108 entries from the US, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Austria, & Argentina competed that weekend.6 boats flipped on Friday practice, so 102 boats answered the starting gun that Saturday morning in November.

# 35 Barry Woods- went out to an early lead in the 1st hour. # 12 Billy Schumacher, a 2 time Unlimited Hydroplane Gold Cup Champion, in his 1st  outboard race was in 2nd place.After 2 hours of racing, OMC was 1-2-3-4 with  Bobby Witt-Tommy Posse-James Beard- & Johnnie Sanders in 4th.

At hour 3 ( on Day 1) it was Sanders OMC (1st) Beard OMC (2nd)  Bert Serra (Mercury) (3rd) & Cees Van Der Veldon (4th) with a C-6 Mercury. At the end of 4 hours of racing on Day 1 it was Van Der Veldon (Mercury 1st) Sanders (OMC 2nd) Beard (OMC 3rd) & Serra (Mercury 4th) On Sunday morning, Sanders had a bad start & was running 4th.

The leader, Cees Van der Veldon, blew over while leading in the 1st hour & Johnnie Sanders took over the lead.# 501 Bert Serra, after a courageous battle with Sanders to win, ended up 2nd (Mercury). # 12 Billy Schumacher (OMC) was 3rd while #37 James Beard  (OMC) was 4th.Johnnie Sanders completed 174 laps of that 4 mile boomerang shaped course to set a new record of 86.5 mph, 4 mph faster than the previous record.

OMC captured 4 of the top 10. Earl Benz placed 7th, while Rich McKinnley  was 9th. Sanders 1st prize winnings were $18,000.00 A lot of money in those days. For Johnnie Sanders, 1972 was like the Grand Slam of Outboard Tunnel Hull Racing.

He won Parker 9 Hour Enduro, Paris, Berlin, & the Outboard World Championship at Lake Havasu that season. Johnnie Sanders accomplished something that season that no other man had ever done before, win the  four biggest outboard tunnel hull boat races in the world -all in one season! Something that was only  accomplished that year (1972) and never has been nor ever likely will ever be equaled.

Johnnie Sanders, 1972 was like the Grand Slam of Outboard Tunnel Hull Racing.  

Footage courtesy Rick Keller & his son Scot Keller

Havasu! Outboard World Championship. 1972  Copyright 1973 Johnson Outboard Div.-Outboard Marine Corp. Directed and Photographed by Matt Richard. Written by Bill Aucoin. Footage courtesy of the Rick and Scot Keller Collection. Project Production Manager - Mark Benson. Digital Services - Nick Springate.

Holy Grail Video - Havasu 1972 OWC - Boat Show Promo Reel

This may be the best tunnel boat racing video of all time. The re-mastering process to prepare it for the internet and DVD distribution was considerable. To assist with the recovery of this treasure we are asking for donations to help the cause. For a $50.00 donation you will get a high resolution DVD version of this 13 minute Havasu classic plus all the other GoSee.TV boat racing productions in high resolution format on the DVD. All funds collected will go to the reconditioning and archiving of boat racing classics. Contact Mark Benson via email for more details, payment will be by check only at first but credit card processing will be available very soon.

Photos - 1970 Marathon of Champions

Long Beach California - Boats and Babes!

Big Shoot-out on Lake Havasu in 1969

   Cesare Scotti of Italy won the world's biggest, richest outboard powerboat race from a fine field as an American archrival, Don Pruett, crashed.

   Not yet six years old, Lake Havasu city is one of the youngest communities in Arisona and the United States. It is a go-getting sort of place. With a touching glance back to the past, it has purchased London Bridge, whose 1,005 foot span will be reassembled with "dignity and respect" to link the town and its airport ( and its a damn lie, say Lake Havasuvians, that they thought all along they were getting the Tower Bridge and its more picturesque structure). It is also the site of the world's biggest and richest race for outboard powerboats- an activity more in keeping with the town's up-to-the-minute way of life.

   This Outboard World Championship, which was run for the sixth time last weekend on Lake Havasu, was in essence a shoot-out among the leading engine (Mercury-OMC) and boat manufacturers. Win Havasu, the feeling goes, and the aura of victory will trickle down to the public that has something a little less special in mind than flat-out racing- like fishing, water-skiing, or just noodling around on the water.

   That spirit of competition attracted 114 boats from five counties (USA,Canada, Italy, England, & Austria) for a four- hour endurance run on Saturday and another on Sunday- and for the first time nearly all the leading contenders rode so-called "tunnel" hulls. This is a new wrinkle in boating, a hull with twin sponsons forming a tunnel between them. The hull is partly supported by a cushion of air developing in the tunnel, and as a consequence speeds have risen to all time highs- better than 100 mph for the fastest boats.

   Although he was not to taste the fruits of victory, the fastest man at Lake Havasu was a Texas- born Californian named Don Pruett. Pruett is not completely at home with Chamber of Commerce notions like dignity and respect. After winning the Elsinore 500 on Lake Elisinore, California this year he bit the cork out of a bottle of celebratory champagne and tossed it without a pause. He's as fast with his fists as he is with the bubbly. "I saw Don in a real battle in Galveston I think it was," said Racing Promoter Mel Sikes. "When the bar stools started flying, I just leaned back against the wall and watched. It was beautiful the way Don handled himself."

   "Wild" was the way Mrs. Pruett saw it on Saturday as she observed Don's technique on the one right-hand turn of Havasu's four-mile, boomerang-shaped course. Vagrant gusts of wind disturbed the boats' air cushions, and the shore was ominously close, but Pruett cupped his head in his left hand as he took the turn with the other hand on the wheel.

   For two days brusque winds had lashed the confined waters of Lake Havasu. The redoubtable Italian driver Renato Molinari had flipped his boat during a practice run. Pruett's pal Joe Habay blew- over during Saturday's race and broke his leg. Needless to say, Pruett with three big Mercury stacker engines making healthy sounds on his Ted Jones- designed hull, paid no attention to such trifles and went for the lead. After two hours his "Triple Trouble" made her only pit stop for fuel. At the end of the second hour Pruett still led. But soon he encountered trouble with the lower units of his engine rig and mechanics worked furiously to repair the damage. They did so and Pruett resumed the race. At the end of Day 1 he lay sixth, while up ahead was a three-way tie between Italy's # 33 Cesare Scotti, Texas'  # 90 Johnnie Sanders, and Colorado's # 5 Robert George.

   Scotti, driving a 21-foot Molinari with a pair of Evinrude X-115's, is an extremely experienced man; he was voted the Outstanding Outboarder of 1968 for winning the Florida Gold Coast Marathon and placing second in the Paris Six Hour Race during a consistently fine year. He and other Europeans are noted for steady, disiplined approach to racing. But at Havasu a rare mental lapse cost him a clear-cut lead. Experiencing engine difficulties just before the finishing flare was fired, he stopped a few yards short of the finish line and turned into the pits instead of completing the lap. Had he done so, he would have been credited with 70 laps rather than 69- the number completed by Sanders and George.

   On Sunday, Scotti kept his wits about him at all times and defeated Sanders by a lap to take the $15,000.00 first place at a record average speed (for the 2 days) of 72 1/2 mph. The veteran Bill Sirois of Miami, Florida ended up in third place. Pruett? Poor devil, in his haste to catch the leader he collided with another boat and nearly sank.

Harold Eis goes for Third Havasu Outboard World Championship

   If hard work, forethought and careful preparation could always be counted on to breed victory, Harold Eis would have been a cinch to win the third annual World Outboard Championships at Lake Havasu. Defending Champion, Eis, an automobile-parts dealer from Kansas, believes in taking care- particularly of his boat "Salty Cat," a two hulled outboard powered by twin 110-hp Mercury motors.Days before most of his competition had even arrived at Lake Havasu where the championships were to be held, Harold was there spade in hand, digging himself a makeshift dry dock in the hard shale of the lakeshore.

   Eis wanted to win this race. He wanted the four foot trophy offered by the McColloch company, manufacturers of chain-saws and outboard motors, to be the first man to win the race three times, and he wanted the $8,100.00 in cash that would go to the top boat. That is big money in outboarding.

   Unlike hydroplane racing or offshore powerboating, outboarding is a relatively inexpensive sport and the money it offers is usually small. The $25,000.00 overall purse in the Havasu championship makes it the richest of all outboard races, and its awards can be won by engines and hulls that are far cheaper than those contesting inboard honors.

   Although many of the boats at Havasu bore about as much relationship to Junior's little runabout as Ben Hur's racing chariot did to the surrey with the fringe on top, outboard racing still enjoys an identification with the man (or woman) who owns a boat and motor for weekend fun. As a result, the fields in outboard races tend to be larger than those in other boating events. There were more than 120 crews at Havasu, for instance, eager to contest Harold for his cup and all the cash that goes with it.

   Most of the 120 arrived only a day or so before the race began, and all, except Harold meekly established their pits where they were told. Eis was different. Eis wins races and he knows the most important factor in a two-day marathon (two hours on Saturday, four on Sunday) is preparation- and preparation for the worst. As he saw it, if he needed to change one of his engines in a hurry he could speed up the process by digging a canal and burying his trailer in the canal's bed to form a sort of do- it- yourself drydock. Then if he should have trouble, he could simply run his boat onto the trailer, pull off the bad engine, replace it with one of the two spares he always carries in his truck and get going in minutes. Eis originally wanted to establish his pits right below race headquarters at the Nautical Inn, within easy reach of a power line for his lights and tools. But the spot he wanted lay outside the bounds of the official pit area, and after some futile give-and -take with an adamant official who said he must pit where everyone else pitted.Eis capitulated and went to work on his private harbour.

  All afternoon he and his Nebraskan crewman, Mike Hynek, toiled in the ice cold Colorado River water. They filled sand bags to support the trailer's wheels and built a levee. At dusk on Wednesday evening, they were still at it. Mrs. Eis, who doubles as Harolds pitt boss, tried to get him out of the water. " You're gonna catch pneumonia wading around out there," she cried "I hope not" replied Harold more interested in the race than a little lung trouble. By the time Eis, still miraculously free of pneumonia, had finished his digging, some of the other drivers had begun to arrive from three countries and more than a score of states.

   There was Jan Schoonover from Lima, Ohio, another driver with 110 hp Merc's on his boat. Schoonover's boat, which looks like a Batmobile, holds his class world record of 96 mph. Obviously, it could do 100 mph on any of the straights on Havasu's four-mile-long, boomerang-shaped course. Other drivers out to wreck Eis's winning streak was Joe Stevens Sr. from Manteca, California, the winner of 19 out of 20 races; Floyd Murton from Hot Springs, Arkansa, with a record 11 wins in seven race meets; Lou Cooley a radio traffic reporter from Station KXOK, St. Louis, who gives his radio audience a running account of the race while driving his boat and tall John Merritt, a gas- station operator from Westchester, California, who would drive the biggest boat in the race and had arrived at Havasu fresh from a victory in the grueling Salton Sea 500-mile marathon.

   The man Eis feared the most of all, however, was Bill Hill Jr. from Cullman, Alabama driving a Power Cat with not two but three Mercs. "From what I've seen so far" said Eis, who spent all day Thursday trying to bait his competitors into pick-up races that would burn up their engines before the marathon began, "Bill's my favourite to win."

   McColloch Properties Inc.likes to think of its Lake Havasu City as a kind of lakeside Palm Springs. By Friday night it looked more like Coney Island overrun by a mechanics convention. On the shore a blaring carnival whirled and swooped in a miasma of cotton candy and canned music. Overlaying it were the sounds of portable generators cranking out power for trailer dwellers, and the tortured howl of someone testing their outboard engine!

   On Saturday morning the weather continued cool,dry, and clear. As 2pm approached, the pit area was ripe with speculation; who would be in front after the first days two hour run? Eis with his Mercs? One of the big three engined boats like Bill Hill's or the yellow Raysoncraft driven by Don Harper of Norwalk, California? One of the outnumbered Evinrudes sponsored by Doc Jones of Pheonix and driven by such veterans as Ted May of Long Beach, California? No one was more interested in the answer than Harold. The race began with a roar at 2 sharp. Everyone was there, everyone but Harold. "I think he's playing it cool" blarred the P.A. announcer. "He's hanging back to run in clear water." And that is precisely what Eis had in mind. But his pit boss, Mrs. Eis, stopwatch in hand, deep in a set of hip boots, was worried that he might have delayed his start too long. As a ribbon of boats was chasing each other around the four-mile course, Eis began to move up on the leaders. His times dropped from 5 minutes 20 seconds on the eighth lap to 4 minutes 37 seconds on the 16th. But way out front, seemingly beyond reach as the days deadline at 4 o'clock neared, were Ted May running second in # T-2 and Bill Hill running smoothly in first place in that Power Cat that Eis feared so much.

   At the end of the first days racing, the Race Committee, for reasons only to themselves, announced that May was leading, then changed its mind after a long meeting and announced that the leader wasn't May at all, but Hill. Hill spent Saturday evening repairing the wear and tear his first day lead had inflicted on his sleek hull and three big Mercs. Deep in their pits, Harold Eis and company meditated on what had to be done on Sunday to beat Hill, May, and the rest. Harold had been robbed of one lap by by a group of myopic scorers and was three laps behind the leader. Two laps he figured he could make up- but three? He didn't know. The final four hours would tell the most when speedy pit stops could make the difference. While the competition slept, Eis and family practiced filling his tanks until they got the time down to just over a minute.

   On Sunday morning, luck seemed to be with Harold. He made a picture-perfect start, right next to the pace boat and flying. In the first hour, he had made up almost every lap he had owed the leaders. Then trouble struck. He blew an engine. Travelling at upwards of 75 mph, with only one good engine, he could stay with the boats up front- but couldn't pass them. He had no choice but to come into the pits and change the sick port engine if he wanted to win. No one else in the whole race was prepared for a quick change of an engine the way Eis was. His face whipcord tight, Eis drove his boat onto the trailer in the harbour he had so diligently built. With the bow line secured to the winch, he hopped out of the boats drivers seat and, still wearing his lifejacket but without a helmet, leaped into the truck hitched to the trailer and jerked his sick boat clear of the water. Hardly 10 minutes later a new engine had replaced the old and Eis was back on the water. The only words he had said during the whole operation were "No, the wrench with the yellow handle." "If I had to change an engine like that it'd take me a week" said an awestruck bystander.

   But it was all for nothing. After one more lap poor Harold was back in the pits with a broken steering gear. "We're all through" he said. "No we're not" insisted Helen, bravely setting to work on jury rigging the steering. But Harold was right. With the steering gear repaired in helter skelter style, he started out again, only to find more trouble. On Lake Havasu it seemed that all the luck that accompanied his careful preparations in years of racing had suddenly deserted him and when the race ended, he was in 20th place. His only comfort was that Hill and May, both plagued with engine trouble, finished 24th and 60th respectively.

   In contrast, Harper's big # 106 made only a single pit stop as it cruised along at an average of 59 mph to win the Third Annual Championship. "It was like going for a ride in a Cadillac on a Sunday afternoon," said relief driver Dutch Blaser.

  

1975 Parker Enduro- 700 Miles in 7 Hours

   For Italian Renato Molinari and American Bob Herring, Mercury Marine race team drivers, March 2nd, 1975, was a perfect day. With excellent weather conditions, the team set out to do what no other racing duo had done in the thirteen year  history of the Parker 9 Hour Enduro...lead from the first lap to the finish. No boat that had ever led the first lap had ever ended up winning the race!

   Fifty-four laps and 702 miles after the 9 a.m. starting gun of the energy conservation two hour shortened race, Molinari and Herring posted a record average speed of 100.285 mph in their T-3 Mercury Outboard V6 powered tunnel hull. The winning hull was built by co-driver Molinari and his father, as were twenty percent of the 65 boats entered in the race.

   Mercury team captain Gary Garbrecht and his elite pit crew's stratagy was to run only enough gasoline for one hour at a time before refueling. Keeping the gas load down and changing drivers on schedule (both drivers hardly weigh more than 135 pounds apiece) the team ran off and hid from the competition.

   Constant radio communications were maintained between the drivers and the pits of the Mercury camp. At the start, word came back that Herring was far in the lead over defending Parker Champion Billy Seebold, co-driver of the other Team Mercury tunnel. Seebold was instructed to lay back and wait for development. However the Seebold/Van Der Velden magic failed to last as the # 190 boat struck an object in the water requiring a fast 3 minute -12 second pit stop. Things continued to go wrong for the 1974 champs as a blown powerhead finally put a halt to their racing day.

   Molinari and Herring led for the first 8 laps, relinquishing the front spot to Richard Berg's 350 cubic inch Chevy powered Molinari KT tunnel inboard when they pitted for the first time. Berg's KT kept the lead from the 9th lap to the 23rd, averaging speeds at times upwards of 100.77 mph and that doesn't include pit stops, so the actual cruising speed is higher! After losing the lead back to the charging Mercury team, Berg's inboard/outboard tunnel continued til the 40th lap when it suffered a broken timing chain. Mercury's T-3 entry crossed the finish line the winner with Renato Molinari in the driver's seat at the 4 p.m. curfew.

   OMC had a couple of their V6 outboard powered rigs at Parker (no rotaries) but discovered soft gears while testing prior to the race and were forced to run old gear ratios. Johnnie Sanders and Tommy Posey lasted for 38 laps (494 miles). OMC's other team, Jimbo McConnell and Barry Woods made it through the entire race, finishing one lap behind the Mercury winner. Another OMC driver, Tm Briggs of Lake Forest, Illinois, lost almost half an hour when he stopped  to help A. Cordosa of Brasil who had flipped his KT and landed unconscious in the water with facial injuries. I was saddened to learn of the death of Tim Briggs during an auto accident in Colorado.

   In the Grand National class, Brian Ewald of Villa Park, California was the winner, finishing 16th overall and first in Division IV by completing 38 laps at 70.57 mph. This class included the hot GN's as well as all other flatbottom vee-driven boats.

   Division II for S and U outboards was won by Ron Hill and Fred Hauenstein Jr. The pair finished 3rd overall in their V-4 Evinrude powered Scotticraft tunnel.

   The Colorado based team of Joe and Bob Sober drove their Johnson powered Schulse to first place honors in Division III as well as finishing 10th overall. They averaged a respectable 79.86 mph.

   Jim Brock won Division V for jet boats in a Chevy powered Sleek Craft with Berkley pump, completing 30 laps of the 13 mile course averaging 55.71 mph.

   For awhile it seemed it would be the year for the inboard KT tunnels to upset the outboarders. Heavy hitters like KT # 23 Bill Olney; IT # 79 Richard Berg; IT # 80 Art Williams; IT # 107 Lou Brunette and Jack Rex; KT # 177 Rudy Ramos (Havasu OWC winner); and APBA President, Bob Nordskog, Ted May, and Pat Murphy with KT # 4 and KT # 6 presented a tough field. The eventual KT winner was Art Williams in a 350 Chevy powered Moly that averaged 89.14 miles for 48 laps or 624 miles. There was some confution for the KT's however since some boats showed up wearing an IT designation. Since the 7 hour Enduro was being run under 1974 APBA rules, the KT prefix was the correct one.

1969 Havasu Outboard World Championships,

  Italians, not particularly well known for winning anything the last thousand years , give or take a few hundred years, are dominating the outboard racing world. In fact, an Italian driver, Cesare Scotti, won the Outboard World Championships at Lake Havasu City,  in an Italian boat, a Molinari, powered by twin Evinrude X-115 motors. Evinrudes had won since the Italians, but this was the first OMC breakthrough at Havasu where Black Power (Mercury) had dominated for the previous five years. One pit wit pointed out that the Italians are well known for running fast and that he figured the 33-year old Scotti was a naval reservist getting ready for World War III. The hawk faced Scotti, second behind Kenny Kitson in the 1968 Outboard World Championships, clearly was the class of the 1969 race. Cesare is a product of the rough and tumble European outboard circuit and would have been difficult to beat even if he didn't have speed on the rest of the field. The 120-pound Scotti cut off more people on the course than have been chopped from California's inflated welfare rolls. There were rumblings from all over the pits that his Roman nose stood a good chance of being realigned. Scotti apologised. However, several drivers were wondering late Sunday if the interpreter was unskilled labour, claiming that Scotti was still chopping them in the final four hours of driving.

   There was a lot of conversation, but no protests were filed during the post race time limit. Perhaps some felt they couldn't prove the accusation and one, Bobby Massey, hadn't been towed off the course in time to file. This writer saw Scotti slam the door on six drivers on Saturday but none on Sunday.

   It was quite a weekend for OMC.Not only was Scotti using Evinrudes, the second place finisher, Johnnie Sanders of Albilene, Texas, piloted a Glastron/Molinari with a pair of Johnsons. To round out OMC and Molinari's super good fortune, Jimbo McConnell of Victorville, California was the first single engine to finish, good for sixth overall, in a Glastron/Molinari with an Evinrude. Add to that, Ralph Evinrude, head of OMC, was named Powerboat's "Man of the Year." Evinrude, who contributed $20,000.00 to the 1969 purse of $50,000.00, and big Bob McCulloch, grand puba of Lake Havasu city, announced at the trophy presentations that each were kicking in another $5,000.00 and that the purse for the 1970 championships would be $60,000.00 That definately makes it the biggest purse in boat racing history. Would you believe maybe $20,000.00 for first place? That was an aweful lot of money back in the day. Scotti collected $15,000.00 for his victory. We figure that should be 42 pounds of lira. Sanders, who outlasted the best at Berlin, was rewarded with $7,000.00 for his second place finish.

   Others in the Top 10 were: (3rd) Bill Sirois, Miami, Florida Molinari, two Mercury stackers: (4th) Dick Sherrer, Seal Beach, California, Glastron/Molinari, twin Mercury stackers: (5th) Harold Eis, Topeka, Kansas, Eis Super Cat, twin Mercury Super BP's: (6th) Jimbo McConnell, Glastron Molinari, single Evinrude X-115: (7th) Lou Brunette, Ojai, California, Ron Jones, triple Mercury stackers: (8th) Mike Quayle, Huron, Ohio, Molinari, single Mercury stacker: (9th) Jerry Craig, Baytown, Texas, Glastron/Molinari single Johnson: (10th) Robert George, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Fellercraft, triple Mercury stackers.

   Big don Pruett took off as though he planned on repeating his sensational Elsinore 500 victory, taking the lead on the third lap and improving his position. While Pruett, the Electric Indian, was widening his lead the pack was forming behind him with Fred Hauenstein Jr. of Sunnyvale California: Bill Petty of Wapakoneta, Ohio, Kitson, Scotti, Joe Habay of Ypsilanti, Michigan: Jim Hurtubise of North Tonawanda,NY, and Robert George all setting their sights on the three Mercury stackers on his transom.

   Hurtubise, driving the Pepsi Special, was the first to go out when the Indy car drivers boat hit something in the water and sank. The hard driving Habay was next and he'll have a limp for quite awhile to remind him of his first blow-over since 1965, fracturing his right ankle when he crashed. About this time Pruett went into the pits briefly and Petty surged into the lead. Back out on the course, Pruett again moved out front, Petty held second, and Scotti was third. With Pruett and then Petty into the pits for lower unit repairs, Scotti took over the lead on the 37th lap of the 4 mile course and stayed there for the remainder of Day 1 as slim Johnnie Sanders tried frantically to catch the shadow.

   The end of four hours of racing found Scotti, Sanders, And George with 69 laps. Except for a monumental goof Scotti would have had a one lap lead. You might say Scotti triumphed dispite his pit crew and scorer. He was leading but having fuel problems Saturday. He limped into the pits at the end of the first day but had he travelled another 200 yards, crossing the finish line he would have been credited with another lap and had a clean cut lead. Sunday he came out of the pack in the spectacular modified Lemans start, quickly rushing into a lead he never gave up. Not only had Cesare's scorer missed recording him coming out of the pits on Saturday, it was found later Sunday that there were two page 70's in his score book, both had been recorded, and the relief scorer also missed him coming out of the pits that day. Not only did he have to beat everybody on the course, he had bumbling friends screwing things up on the beach.

   Pruett, probably the champion lower unit breaker of all time, returned to the course late, making up a lot of laps but his bid, which was destined to fall short, came to an abrupt end when he collided with another boat.

  Several entries were really screaming in the late going but although the hard charging Sanders (Johnson) and Sirois (Mercury) stayed close they couldn't catch the Italian in his dual Evinrude X-115 Molinari. Scotti shattered all the Havasu records, most of which were held by Kenny Kitson. These included a new distance mark of 584 miles in the eight hours, erasing Kitsons record of 512. Scotti's average speed was 73 miles per hour as compared to Kitson's 64 of the previous year. Scotti averaged 77 mph on Sunday and 80 mph during the final hour to shut the door. Only 45 of the 111 starters were running at the end of eight hours of racing.

   Two time Havasu OWC champ harold Eis of Kansas, who really gets his cat going after the field thins out, went from 9th to 5th place in the final hour

   Renato Molinari of Italy, another pre-race favorite, destroyed his Molinari in Friday practice. Last year he got all the way to the start before sinking. A siseable crowd (20,000 estimated), exceptional weather, few serious injuries, record speeds, and a bigger purse for next year. Hey, that Havasu race is something else!

1971 Havasu Outboard World Championships

   Bill Sirois ( that's spelled Cirrhosis as far as OMC is concerned) made a laugher of the competition in the 1971 Havasu Outboard World Championship, setting records in both speed and distance- winning easily.

   "I couldn't have caught him. There was no way short of trouble with his boat that would have given me the race" said 2nd place Reggie Fountain from Tarboro, North Carolina. Little Reggie, who had a great year in 1971, was over 12 miles behind Sirois when the Lake Havasu City classic finished.

   It was a very big win for the Mercury Factory. It was the new "Twister" engine that gave the Mercury crew seven of the first 10 places, including the first single. The easy- going Sirois, who calls Fort Lauderdale home, led the Merc charge as he successfully defended the championship he won in 1970 and hung up distance marks of 660 miles and an average speed of 82 1/2 miles per hour. Sirois' old marks were 640 miles and a speed of 79 miles per hour. The difference had to be in the Twister engines for Sirois was driving the same 20ft wooden Molinari hull that Jim Merten drove to second place at last years Havasu Championships. Although Sirois is one of the best drivers in the world, he isn't that many miles better than Merten, so it must have been the engines.

   Third place was annexed by Harold Eis of Topeka, Kansas. Harold, who won the first two Havasu races and is a contender in every race he enters, was the first non-factory finisher. The first three finishers were duals. OMC didn't enter any multiple engine crafts. The singles furnished the excitement after it got to the point that everyone realised that the only way the sandy-haired Sirois could lose was to break down.

   Tough little Renato Molinari of Lake Como, Italy ended up taking first single and fourth overall. Bob Herring of Sheboygen, Wisconsin, started the second day for Molinari, Renato driving the last two and a half hours. Early single action was something like this. Herring took the lead early, in fact pacing the entire race. He stayed out front until he had to beach the boat with a hole in the bottom. Then Molinari moved to the front, holding the top spot until he pitted on the 54th lap. Mike Downard, another Merc factory driver, then set the pace.

   Little Mike, the winner of the Paris 6 Hour, took the lead on the second day of racing, but beached his boat in front of the judges' stand on the 104th lap when his engine caught fire!

   Bill Seebold, another Merc factory man and many times  a National Champion in both OPC and alky outboard racing took the single lead, but had to give it up in the pits.

   Mike Wallace of Venice, California, winner of last years Powerboat Marathon of Champions and a long time dominant force in inbord marathon racing, put his Evinrude powered Schulse boat in front. About this time is when the crowd of 40,000 started blowing their minds.

   Berlin 6 Hour winner Jimbo McConnell, who now gets his mail in Wonder Lake, Illinois, when not working at the OMC factory was really flying his Scotticraft/Evinrude rig at this point and moved past Wallace on the 138th lap. Nine laps later Jimbo barrel rolled the Scotticraft twice. Thrown out, he swam back to the upright boat and climbed aboard. He had to dig part of the fibreglass cowling out of the flywheel before he could start again.

   Wallace was back in the lead. But could he hold off the relentless Molinari who already had lapped him twice to make up some of his first day deficit. It didn't appear that Molinari had a chance for he had to pit. His crew fueled him in 15 seconds. It had been planned that Herring would replace Molinari at that stop, but Mercury strategy makers called that off for fear that some time might be lost in making the driver switch. Molinari went back on the course and caught Wallace with three laps to go and won the singles division by a mere 24 seconds. A one lap penalty assessed Wallace at the start of the race on Saturday had cost him first single engine honors. Herring and Molinari picked up three laps on the field on Sunday, even lapping the first three finishing dual engine boats.

   While Jimbo was trying to pick the teeth of his flywheel, Dick Sherrer of Seal Beach, California also passed him. Sherrer, a one time winner of Powerboat's Marathon of Champions, brought his Molinari/Mercury across the line  as 6th overall and third single. Jimbo finally got things going to take 7th place for OMC. Molinari, Wallace, and Sherrer were all on the same lap, the 155th.

   So, the singles really aren't competitive against the bigger duals at this stage of the game. They are getting close. But, Sirois, who cooled it on the second day in turning three less laps than on Saturday, was another 10 laps or 40 miles ahead after 8 hours of racing. And, you'd better believe that everone of the top finishing singles were on the hairy edge.

   Rounding out the top 10 were veteran Hiram (Mickey) Mueck of La Port, Texas in a Glastron Molinari powered by dual Mercurys. Ron Brown of Fort Collins, Colorado obviously in good health after his serious injuries of last season was 9th. Powerboat Mag owner, Bob Nordskog in a single Johnson powered Schulse was 10th.

Johnnie Sanders- OMC Factory Driver

   Stanford, Texas has never had much to brag about, even for Texans. It is a small farming community, 30 miles north of Abilene, identical to hundreds of others in the state. That has all been changed now. It is Johnnie Sanders' home town. The Outboard World Champion, who showed up in Stanford 36 years ago, didn't show up in a boat race until 1959. By then he was living in Dallas.

   " I read about a 35 mile, outboard marathon in the local paper" says Johnnie, "and I decided to have a shot at it. It was pretty disorganised by todays standards, but was a lot of fun" I was running a 35-hp Gale on a fiberglass ski boat. I think the biggest engine in the race was a 45-hp Merc. It was a real wildcat operation with no sanction, no helmets, ski-belts for life-jackets and so on. I was running way back in about 6th place when I broke my boat. I didn't finish, but I got the bug. I've been racing ever since."

   He sure has. With his pal Tommy Posey (and sometimes against him), he has logged wins at such immpressive places as Paris, Berlin, and Parker Enduro. At one time he held 7 or 8 NOA(National Outboard Assossiasion) competitive and straightaway records. Now, of course, he owns the big daddy- The Havasu Outboard World Championship. However, it has not all been wine and roses. "1972 was not as good a year as I have had. I went to a couple of local races and won them but, on the marathon curcuit, that old rascal Possey slapped it to me pretty good. We had some engine problems, but I finally got them ironed out"

   Now a resident of sky-high Denver, Johnnie works for sales and service for his papa-in-law, Mac McCune, whose MaCune Racing Team is a familiar sight at most major races. At Havasu, he raced under the banner of the Johnson Factory Team, which is the best deal they have made for some time. "The Scotti-craft is a factory boat, but I rigged it myself. It's about as stable of a boat as I have driven and it doesn't give you any false indications. I runs a lot like a Molinari and will warn you if it's on its way over. As a matter of fact, I got pretty high at Havasu, but it came down all right. In the corners it can get a little high on the sides sometime, but it usually straightens right out. In a tough marathon like Havasu or Parker, you expect to get a little loose and give yourself a scare or two. On Saturday,( Day 1at Havasu) I was mainly concerned with finishing in the same lap as the leader. That way, I would start even with him on Sunday. The water was just too rough on Saturday to let it all hang out. I was hoping for good water on Sunday and we got it. The bad start (on Sunday) was my fault. I flooded the motor and had to crank it out. I really thought we had had it. Then, when it got going, I was half way across the lake before I remembered that I was supposed to turn right if the white flag was down(late start rule). So I lost a lap there.I decided that I had better get on it, so I ran it flat out for the next 2 hours. I didn't find out I was ahead of him (Bert Serra) until my last pit stop. After that, I cooled it a bit to conserve the motor. I guess I cooled it a bit too much because, with about 5 minutes left, he got within 15 or 20 seconds of me.They gave me a go sign from the pits and I floored it again."

   Johnnie, who rates Tommy Posey, Jimbo McConnel and Billy Seebold as America's top single engine drivers, suggests that aspiring racers should begin in a smaller class such as Sports E (75hp). Although it is more expensive that way, he says, experience gained by working up slowly is the best insurance. His pet peeve is driver who get overconfident. "Most of the drivers on the circuit are really top notch but, once in a while, someone forms a bad habit. For instance, going into a turn without looking behind them. They don't really intend to shut the door on anyone, but that is just what happens. It is a dangerous situation for both boats and really unneccessary. It is a simple thing to do, to look before you turn". Racing is extremely demanding, more than non-racers realise. It means long hours of testing, making adjustments, and testing again. It is hundreds or even thousands of miles of slow trailering, nights without sleep, and empty wallets. All to often the reward is exhaust-inflamed tonsils, a broken boat or worse. Sanders made 6 trips to the Havasu World Outboard Championships before his breakthrough win in 1972! Although his score is better than most, he has had his share of defeats and injuries. What keeps him going in the lean years?

    "Stubborn, I guess. Really, it's the one-on-one aspect of competition I like.Beating another driver who is closely matched to you is something worthwhile. It gives you a chance to prove something to yourself, too.Like pushing harder than you really want to, mastering yourself. It's a challenge and some people just have to accept a challenge. Me, I love it!"                                              

  

The Havasu Story

   The world's richest Outboard race began innocently enough on a Thanksgiving weekend in 1959. At first it seemed like any other well run marathon event. It was sanctioned by the Western Outboard Association & sponsored by industrialist Robert P. McCulloch. The course began & ended at McCulloch's Site 6 test center on Lake Havasu. The initial race was won by Jack Ward. Successive races were won by Ivan DeBusk in 1960, Jack Oxley in 1961 & George Todd in 1962. Bob McCulloch decided that the Outboard World Championships was ready to be unveiled.

   1964- The inaugural classic was staged as a six-hour enduro over a six-mile boomerang course, following a two hour pleasure craft preliminary on Saturday, which was won by Dick Sharp of Seattle, Wash. On Sunday, Harold Eis of Topeka, Kansas won the first official OWC in a Stylecraft catamaran with twin Mercury power. His average speed was 58 mph. The race, sanctioned by the National Outboard Association, drew 72 entries & only 30 of them finished.

   1965- The lanky Kansan, now known as the "Eis Man", returned to Havasu to repeat his win. The race was shortened to a five-mile boomerang course. There were more than 100 starters representing five NOA classes. Eis survived a blown motor & a collision with another boat to take home $6,100.00 of the $25,000.00 purse.

   1966- In a field sprinkled with foreign stars, attracted by the increasing purse & prestige, a couple of Californians galloped off with the winners $8,100.00 share. Don Harper & Dutch Blaser, driving a triple-Mercury Raysoncraft, equalled Eis' 1964 lap & speed records, this time on a four-mile course. The most significant event was the performance of Deiter Schulse of Attnang, Austria. His single engined "Hydro Cat" finished 13th overall & 1st single. This was a look of things to come. He was voted the outstanding rookie of the year & Americans got their first look at a tunnel hull.

   1967- The purse had jumped to $27,500.00 & classes were reduced to 3: singles, twins, & multiples. A triple-Merc/Raysoncraft won it again, this time with an all star crew. Bill Cooper, a famous in-board driver, Mike Reagan- son of California's governor at the time & Rudy Ramos- builder of the winning hull, teamed up to take the win. Ron Hill won the twin- engine class in an Evinrude/Glastron & the team of Jimbo McConnell & Ted May took the single engine class in a Johnson powered Hydro-Cat.

   1968- A record 138 drivers battled for the $10,300.00 winners share of the $30,000.00 purse. Kenny Kitson's world-record-holding,Mercury powered twin-hulled Switsercraft wing held off the fantastic tunnel hulls to win it, running 512 miles at an average speed of 64 mph. Ralph Evinrude, chairman of the board of Outboard Marine Corporation, astounded the crowd by announcing he would make a personal contribution of $20,000.00 to the 1969 purse.This brought the total to $50,000.00 & firmly established the Havasu OWC as the premier boat race.

   1969- Italy's Cesare Scotti, driving a Molinari tunnel hull powered by twin Evinrudes, captured the $15,000.00 first place money. In so doing, he set a new distance record of 584 miles & a speed record of 73 mph average.This marked the 1st time in the races history that an OMC equipped boat had won it all!

   1970- Last year's championship race offered more than $60,000.00 in the purse. Smarting from their 1969 loss, the Mercury team boats sewed up the 1st four spots & brought in the 1st single engine winner. The winning boat was a twin-Merc powered Molinari called "Up up & Away" driven by Bill Sirois of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Once again, all records were shattered as he turned in 160 laps (640 miles) at an average speed of 80 mph. His share of the purse was almost $20,000.00! That was a lot of money in those days.

   1971- Last years champion, Bill Sirois, piloting the same reverse-S Molinari as the year before but this time powered by dual Mercury Twister I cowbells, did the trick again logging 164 laps (660 miles) with an average speed of 82 1/2 mph to defeat the other 98 entries & take the trophy & cash. To be continued

  

Videos- Havasu 1969 & 1971 Outboard World Championships

   Today I have been working on the research for the production of videos of Havasu 1969 & 1971 Outboard World Championships. We (Nick Springate & Mark Benson) have posted pictures of the participants in those races. Interesting things I found out today are that Bill Munsey (famous Unlimited Hydroplane Driver) co-drove with # 154 Rudy Ramos in the 1971 race. In the 1969 race, Gerry Wallin of Everett Wash.(World Outboard Speed Record holder at 131 mph) co-drove with # 511 Dick Sharp of Seattle Wash. A couple of guys on Scream & Fly are restoring Dick Sharp's single Glasron Molinari.Boatracer Rick Adams of Seattle Wash. is restoring Dave Potter's # 226 Molinari he found under a tarp in an airport hanger in Everett Wash. Bill Munsey was killed in a hydroplane crash & Gerry Wallin is no longer with us due to complications when he blew over his OMC powered hydro at a reputed speed of 150 mph in the early '70's. The current World Outboard Speed Record of 186 mph is currently held by Bob Wartinger of Seattle Wash. in an OMC V-8 on a Karlsen hydro. The 1st in line 6 cylinder to break 100 mph happened in a slough off Lake Washington in Seattle in a Ron Jones hydro with a Mercury. So, the Pacific Northwest has a proud history of producing world class raceboat drivers over the years. Bill Sirois won the Havasu Outboard World Championships in 1970 & 1971. He was 2nd place in 1969 behind winner Caesar Scotti from Italy driving a Scotti-craft powered by dual Evinrudes. When Bill Sirois won Havasu in 1970 his boat was called "Up Up and Away" & was powered by a Mercury Stacker.  When he won Havasu in 1971, he used the same boat but,it was powered by a Mercury Twister. That same boat was converted to a KT (V-8 Inboard-Outboard Stern-drive) & was quite successfull when multiple outboards were phased out in 1972. That boat was a reverse-S Molinari & was one hell of a good design.