VIDEO: Team AMSOIL Offshore Captures First Supercat Win in Port Huron

[Teague Custom Marine]

TEAM AMSOIL OFFSHORE STRIKES BACK IN PORT HURON FOR FIRST SUPERCAT WIN!

Two short weeks after their first weekend back in action with new Teague Custom Marine Supercat class spec engines and a strong second place finish against the Broadco MTI in Saint Clair, Team AMSOIL Offshore came back for a second serving of racing on the Saint Clair River just miles up the road in Port Huron, MI for the International Offshore Powerboat Race. After their performance in Saint Clair, the Team felt confident that they had a competitive Supercat Skater 368 and that with some more race course experience with propellers and weight distribution, the boat could win races. The Team picked up the boat from River’s Bend Marina on Thursday, where competitor Cleveland Construction’s “Evil” Ed Smith had graciously been storing their equipment. Armed with what they learned in Saint Clair combined with their past experience in Port Huron, they knew it would be a very competitive contest.

On Friday, the Team trailered the boat over the bridge to Canada for an event in downtown Sarnia, which is the Canadian host city on the other side of the river. In the true spirit of the international event, the customs agents and local officials welcomed the racing hardware to drum up some hype for the racing on Sunday. Both the AMSOIL Skater and the Broadco MTI made the trip and enjoyed meeting the Canadian fans.

Saturday was test day, however there would be no course set up due to incoming freighter traffic and restrictions due to the border and Sarnia harbor. Team AMSOIL selected a few different propeller combinations to try, added weight and fuel to the boat, and headed for the crane. That’s when the day went dramatically off course. As the crane straps were being hooked up, one of the crew noticed that the starboard stern drive tie bar end was fractured in multiple locations. If the tie bar was to let go, the boat would surely end up crashing due to erratic steering and the drives pointing two different directions. Luckily, the Team was able to find local resources to fix the problem and prevent catastrophic failure. Bob ultimately took the part to Matt Stapleford at Custom Welds in Jeddo, MI. They heated a strap of stainless steel to wrap the part, welded it all the way around, and redrilled the pivot pin hole. Without his help and equipment the entire race effort would have been jeopardized, as there would be no way to source a new part in time for the race. The testing session was more than halfway spent by the time the AMSOIL Skater was back on the crane going in the water. Luckily, Broadco also ran into unexpected mechanical problems that were not found until Saturday morning due to the Canada trip on Friday. Both boats headed out for testing within minutes of each other. The late afternoon river traffic made getting consistent testing conditions difficult. Regardless, the Team tested three different setups, and got more experience with weight, fuel burn, and balance of the boat. Paul Whittier joined Bob Teague in the driver seat for his first time with the new engines. Even with limited testing, the boat was working so well he agreed with the rest of the crew: The #77 Skater is even better than it was as a Cat Lite.

Sunday was race day, with the Supercat class racing in the last heat in the afternoon. Weather was pleasant and the wind stayed low throughout the day, making for smooth, fast conditions on the course. The layout was similar to Saint Clair with a hairpin turn tucked into Sarnia harbor, which was complicated by a seawall and concrete markers on the turn exit. Cleveland Construction lined up on the inside lane, then AMSOIL, then Broadco. On the drop of the green flag Broadco timed the start from behind just right and accelerated into the first turn two lengths ahead of AMSOIL. They held the second lane as just that, forcing AMSOIL into a tight hairpin just off the buoys. Both boats pointed downriver for the 2.5 mile drag race. As they accelerated above 120 MPH, the AMSOIL Skater started to stretch its legs, walking past the MTI. Both boats set up for turn two at almost 140 MPH. AMSOIL commanded the inside lane and hit the first pin. As they swung around the apex of the turn, Broadco saw an opportunity to dive inside and grab the second pin. The MTI tried to cross behind AMSOIL, but didn’t dive in hard enough and rode the Skaters rooster tail up. When Broadco came back down, the boat grabbed and dove in towards the pin, but the damage was already done. The MTI scrubbed too much speed in the failed move, and lost over 4 seconds in that one turn. The AMSOIL Skater screamed past the American crowd at over 135 MPH upriver as it completed lap one in the lead. Bob and Paul put in 6 more fast and tidy laps, extending the lead to 14 seconds, which they held until the finish of the 12 lap race.

The entire AMSOIL Offshore Race Team would like to recognize the sportsmanship of both the Broadco and Cleveland Construction teams. The camaraderie and class both on and off the race course displayed by both teams was first rate. The AMSOIL Team looks forward to racing in the Supercat class with competitors like them for seasons to come.

John Teague

[Ratickle]

Interesting, very interesting, at the 2:30 mark.

I see what you guys were talking about!!

[Ratickle]

[Ratickle]