| USA Port Huron Offshore Gran Prix starts Friday |
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| Wednesday, 09 June 2004 | |
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Action is heading North up as powerboat teams from across the country will converge on the Blue Water Area for the 2004 Miller Lite - Port Huron Michigan Offshore Gran Prix, the second stop on a seven city circuit of the 2004 APBA Offshore GMC Pro Grade Series National Tour. Its nothing compared to the churning of the waters off Lake Huron as these powerboat racing professionals reach speeds of over 130+ miles per hour in front of thousands of fans stationed off Lakeside Park. It all starts at the McMorran Place Race Village downtown, where spectators young and old will delight in running their hands across a million dollar hull with a tricked out $50,000 paint scheme beginning on Friday. Competition on the water is set for Saturday and Sunday beginning at 12:00 Noon each day. Free admission to all events is the icing on the Lake, said Michelle May Schmidt, Director of Communications for the APBA Offshore Racing Association. Teams who represent the states of Arizona, California, Florida, Kansas, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Ontario will fly their flags and bring their high tech equipment to compete against local teams from Michigan and Ohio. Its a fan fare of experience and talent for the whole family to enjoy. Racing competition will be held on both Saturday and Sunday, will surround a 4-mile course which extends from the South at Lakeside Park to the North at Keewahdin Road. The race-course will be operated by a fleet of over thirty patrol vessels geared to provide safety and rescue procedures in the event of any accident. Race control, located at Krafft Road, will oversee operations of the competition and turn boat yachts, a start finish yacht, and an Angel Ship helicopter overhead. A designated spectator vessel zone will also be marked off the course for anchoring and viewing of the races. Official GMC marked Paceboats for the event will be captained by local residents Hal Johnson of Gerrys Distributing in a Cigarette vee hull and Dave Burgess of Raymond Excavating in his Fountain powerboat. These two experienced boaters will carry along with them National Staff that will lead the boats from the mouth of Black River to their milling area, and become starters for the race. Topping off the line-up for the Saturday racing is an appearance by the Outlaw Performance Classes, a virtual run what you brung fleet of rookies and veterans. Some are willing to tackle the course in preparation for Sunday events, while others are opting to go for the trickier title via speed bracket racing where one millisecond of speed over the bracket top puts a competitor into a last place finish. With the onset of the new GPS tracking systems, all boats are equipped, and inspected to determine if they are hit or miss on the top end speed, and final results are listed, one hour after completion of the race. At the top of the list is the newly reformed Outlaw Performance A Class which brings with fan favorites A-25 Grumpy Old Men up from Ohio up against the powerful Michiganders A-30 Great Lakes Caster.com. Todd Lyonnais, driver from Lowell, and Doug Popma of Wayland on the sticks of Great Lakes Caster.com garnished an impressive second place finish at last months APBA Offshore GMC Pro Grade Series Kick Off in Marathon making Ohio players George Eisenhart, Sr. of Thompson, Bob Gardner, throttleman from Chardon, and Jack Roth, navigator from Madison a little Grumpy, and race ready for the challenge in Port Huron. Eisenhart, who along with his wife Cheryl own a 44 lane bowling center, may be a tough competitor off the course as well, especially if they take the challenge and compete in the APBA Offshore Celebrity Bowl-A-Thon against the fans on Saturday night, to benefit the Blue Water Area Habitat for Humanity Partnership. That event is open to the public at 8:30pm and will be held at Legendz and Colonial Bowl in the Colonial Bowl Shopping Center. A first place finish in A Class earlier in the day would seal the race on the water, but a surprise showing by veteran racers and Southeast Champions, Doug Sutherland, of Sarasota, and Pat Mumper of North Port, may be an obstacle they cant overcome. Dont count out Eisenhart and his team yet. The three time APBA Offshore Central Division Champions are planning to defend their possible fourth consecutive title to the very end. Newcomer Michael McManus will head from Marion, New York to join the class in the A-4 Bounty Hunter/Mountain Dew. Fans will have to wait and see how this team, new to the 2004 APBA Offshore Series, performs. McManus must expect to do very well, as would anyone heading into the class against the veterans who have raced for years together and against each other. Joining the Outlaw Performance Classes on Saturday will be the Factory 1 Class; a real treat for those who like to see 24 to 30 feet boats compete in speeds that will truly amaze even the best offshore powerboat racing fans. Key to all the action will be at the turns, and no one knows turns and speed better in this class than defending National Champion Mark Kowalski in the F1-10 High Energy. While last years partner Gino Marrone retired at the beginning of this season, the Medina, Ohio based Kowalski has, one way or another, found an experienced partner to jump in the seat next to him in his Activator. Usually battling against the equally ferocious Californians, David Rehm and Kevin Cooper who were inched out by one single second in Marathon, whoever plants themselves inside this water rocket will find themselves competing alongside Dick Wagner and Dave Dickman in the F1-21 Team Motion in Port Huron. Dickman from Zeeland, and Wagner on throttles from West Owl, Michigan, may give Kowalski a run for the money in the pursuit of a victory lane slot and the $25,000 prize purse in Port Huron with their Warlock. Team Laveycraft, however, may not be able to sit out a weekend in California knowing the real rollers will be on Lake Huron, so only time will tell who will reign as King of the Factory 1 Class at the Miller Lite - Port Huron Offshore Gran Prix. Continued.. Michelle May- Schmidt www.apbaoffshoreracing.com |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 09 June 2004 ) |
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