Superboat Accident
 

Well I must say that after viewing these posts we have some very interesting observations and views. I will tell you that while I'm new to this board I probably have more experience driving a superboat with a fixed drive rudder system than anyone here. Maybe my previous experience will play creedence to what I have to say. First, I agree with everything that T2X has to say. It is quite obvious that he knows a thing or two about professional offshore racing. Can anyone really blame Jason P. for wanting to get into that boat. I'm sure with his ego and the media attention his publicist gets him he wants to be seen in what looks to be the most awesome boat out there. But is that really the smartest thing to do? Jason was in way over his head but didn't know it. He didn't know it because he was thrown in at the last moment and while it "looked" cool he was sitting behind a 4800 horsepower 22,000 pound missile that has no brakes and a mind of its own that needs to be muscled into going where you need it to. Lets put the blame where it really should lie on D.C. and his ego. He should have been smart enough to instruct J.P. to run on the outside of the course far away from any traffic until J.P. had at LEAST a few laps of experience behind him. I can tell you for a fact that the accident occurred because D.C. took the inside to hot and J.P. turned the boat like a car with power steering and it went nowhere. I don't know which would have been worst, turning too hard and flipping or not turning enough and running into another boat. Either way the kid never had a chance. Put a T-man with a huge ego and an anything to win attitude with a COMPLETELY inexperienced superboat driver under racing conditions and all your going to get is trouble. Someone from above was looking after all involved in this incident but next time we may be faced with a tragedy.

so, whats your experience? and isn't it true that the steering design of this boat makes it really hard to turn, versus a number 6 style unit?

In some, if not most racing circles, such as drag racing, the upper end racers must obtain a license to drive the vehicle. Could you imagine a guy jumping into a top fueler without being licensed?:eek:

I am suprised that offshore racing does not require this.

Actually that Jaguar has power steering so its almost too easy to turn but that has nothing to do with "handling" that animal. As far as my experience, I placed second overall behind Planetman in the SBI World Championships in 2000.

OK.........who the hell are you.......and what have you done with the real Catmando...:confused: :confused: :mad:

Catmando, its simple Campbell probably told him don't worry I have everything under control.

why won't you tell us who you are? you shouldn't have anything to hide.

2ND---not bad but how many boats raced ?

Sorry Screamin didn't mean to sound like I was hiding anything. My name is Joe Vazquez and use to run that boat with Campbell and I can tell you that I won't ride with someone who is DESPERATE to win.

JFM311, If I remember correctly I believe there were nine boats registered in the Superboat Unlimited class that year.

just checkin :)

I agree with Joe Vazquez in that you do not jump into a Supercat and go racing without good practice time. I have now "some" experience and if they ask me to jump on a Supercat without pracitce time I would say NO.
Again I agree with Joe in that at least they should start on the outside and maybe get more agresive after a few laps.

Doc, I can't agree with you more!

NIT2WIN, nice to have you on the board. I remember your 2nd place in Key West. You ran that boat hard!

Dave
F2-07

Yup they sould keep them to the outside regardless. I have not specifics on the accident. I looked around but can not find any info. However Boats like that take a lot of time to get used to. I am sure that the team is more humble then they were at the start of the race. I thought that Reggie F. was sapposed to be his t-man???

Jon

I used to own a D stock outboard hydro and under thier rules a new driver had to stay on the outside and at the back of the pack for several races. You also had an X for a number so the other drivers knew you were a rookie.I always thought that was a good idea.

I our first races in both SBI and APBA, we had to stay 100yds behind everyone.

i could see why!!!

That is what happens when you take a competitive sport and turn it into a business. Marketing, marketing, marketing. I'm sure our beloved Bubba would have loved posting," Jason Priestly wins the SBI Miami Grand Prix" I will say that I was disappointed that the SBI media relations dept. reported to channel 7 news that Jason Priestly could not finish the race because he was cut off by another boat. I saw the video and they couldn't possibly be talking about Pier 57 could they?

Joe,
Were you in the Seminole boat in 2000? Weren't you guys hitting 100 with only three motors going in the second race??

Wow, I hope that was a misquote...
That would be worse than what actually happened, but I'm sure it's just a miscommunication. :rolleyes:

Cowisl - 135 mph on the straight away to be exact. The problem with a 20,000 pound + boat on three engines is that it bogs down in the turns. But at least it can finish ( and win ) a race.

Baja Daze - Unfortunately it is true. When I saw the news I called them to report that they had made a mistake, Lord knows after what poor Dave Woods and Art Lilly had been through having their BRAND NEW Scism cat ruined, the last thing they needed was to be blamed for something that wasn't their fault and that's when they (channel 7) informed me that they received their information from the racing sanctions media relations dept. When I asked if they had seen the video they admitted no but said that they trusted the information given to them to be accurate.

Accurate like this????
 

KEY WEST, Fla. – March 17, 2002 – International actor and star of the fame hit television series Beverly Hills 90210, Jason Priestley, today signed a letter of intent to race in the 2002 Super Boat International offshore superboat racing circuit.
The Miami Super Boat Grand Prix scheduled to take place April 19-21, 2002, will mark the debut of the Jason Priestley Superboat Racing Team. Reggie Fountain, president and CEO of Fountain Powerboats and one of the top racing legends in the sport will be Jason’s throttle man. Fountain has notched more than 100 career victories and through a two-year stretch went undefeated in major offshore competition. “I’m not in this to come in second, I want a team that has a chance of winning the national and world championships the first year and what better way to get it done then to have Reggie at the throttles,” said Priestley.

Priestley will race a 42-foot Fountain Scism, Cat-hull, housing twin 1000 hp engines and will race in the Superboat Class were the boats are capable of speeds in excess of 150 mph. The partnership between Outdoor Life Network and SBI, along with onboard cameras will allow millions of fans an up-close look at Jason gunning for the championships. “With Jason’s smart racing skills developed from racing cars, he has a legitimate chance of winning the championship,” said John Carbonell, President of SBI.

Priestley is no stranger to superboat racing, on Sept. 9, 2001, Priestley set a new world lap speed record of 147.4 mph in the New York Super Boat Grand Prix aboard the superboat Planetman. “We are delighted to have Jason racing with SBI again, this season is the strongest season to date for SBI and with the addition of four new race sites and 10 races overall, it is going to be a great year for our fans and Jason’s,” said Carbonell.

Priestley follows in a long tradition of SBI celebrity drivers. Don Johnson, Kurt Russell, and Chuck Norris have all been racers in the Biggest, Fastest Boats™ in the world.

An active racecar driver, Priestly has competed professionally in dozens of racing events over the last few years, and has signed on with ABC Sports to provide commentary for the Indy Racing League circuit.

For more information or SBI sponsorship opportunities visit www.superboat.com or call (305) 296-6166.

It sounds to me NIT2WIN that you may be a disgruntled employee with an ax to grind with Mr. Campbell. You should really get the whole and correct story before you start making statements. Another thing, there are several video tapes of the accident and not all of them show the entire incident.

If I remember correctly it is not Jasons 1st time in a Superboat either. Didn't he race in New York last year in the Planetman Boat? And I am SURE he practiced before the Miami event in the boat he was actually racing in.

In NY he sat in the back seat of Planetman and went for a joy ride. Russ and Tim were at the controls.

You got that right Ron but who gets the credit for the drive:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

No disrespect Plumbgirl but I was never an employee of Mr. Campbell's and EQUAL PARTNER yes but NEVER an employee. Not only did I witness
the incident from the water at the race but the video that I saw was the exact way that it happened. I can assure you that anything I have to say on this board you can take to the bank! By the way, if you call going for a joy ride in dead flat water on Biscayne Bay practice the same as "experience" then you have alot to learn about what its like handling a boat like that under racing conditions.

This will be my final comment on this situation.

Any person racing in thier first offshore race with the wheel or sticks in their hand is mandated by the rules to start 100 yards behind the pack so that they don't get bunched up in the first turn. Sounds like this didn't happen.

No one should expect to win their first race. It should be a learning experience.

The throttleman is mostly to blame for placing the rookie driver in this situation.

Jason is getting a bad rap but remember, his hands were on the wheel not the sticks.

I hope that this doesn't scare JP away from the sport. Celebrity's come and go in this sport and while they are with us, the crowds get bigger and the press takes more notice. I can't hurt the sport.

I don't know Dan Cambell, but he should have been the teacher and JP the student. This first race should have been nothing more than a classroom.

I'm just glad that Art and David are OK.

I agree with you Ron. However they are a TEAM. If Jason was not comfotable with the speed or the entry into the turn then he needs to communicate that with his T-man. I am all for him racing out there as you said it attracts a lot of attention to the sport. I just hope that they learn from this and slow down some before some one gets killed.

Jon

Lets do a comparison:

John Tomlinson with rookie Hugh Fuller = World Champion (Drambuie on ice)& (Hydrogenmedia.com)

Bobby Moore with rookie Jim Robinson = World champion (Nuff Respect)

Jerry Gilbreath with rookie Matt Alcone = World Champion (Alcone Mototsports)

Dan Campbell with rookie Jason Priestly = Crash at the FIRST turn of the FIRST lap in very FIRST race

This was my first SBI race in F-1 and was told by several racers:
that I should take it easy and watch the field for the first few laps.
I agree with that, to read that" I was in lead untill I broke with one
to go " will make all drivers whoever they are push the limit. Pantera
makes a great boat and the new 35 will win alot of race's best of luck
in F2 to the whole Pantera family, they are GREAT. Anytime a new team
is put together there is a need for alot of testing before racing. I think
if Jason continues he will do well

Lets hope for the sake of the sport and bad press that everyones ego is back to where it should be and we will see a good season. Nit2win... Great to have you on the board. I am sure your opinions and comments will fit right in with this crowd. Plumbgirl87 that goes the same for you.

NIT2WIN, Sorry for the mix-up, nonetheless, there is apparently bad blood between you and Mr. Campbell, and it is obvious that there is an ax to grind. It seems to me that you are a man on a mission, a mission to discredit Dan Campbell.

Also, you and I must have seen two different accidents. The one I saw, looked to me like there was'nt much either the driver or the t-man could do after being washed down from another boat.

since most of us haven't seen the video, i wish someone would please tell us a step by step account of what happened. we could get a couple different view points and then hopefully decide for our selves.

Plumgirl: From the info I got they went into the turn to fast and could not make the turn. If they slid out into another boat that is quite simply thier fault. That is ussually the fault of the T-man going in to hot for the driver. Maybe Jason P said he could turn it that fast and found out otherwise, however it is still their fault. If you are on the inside you have to make your turn and hold you "lane" you can not just slide out into another lane. Even if you are getting "washed down" by another boat. I think that it is errelevent that NIT2WIN may or may not have a ax to grind. There was a obvious mistake made on that boat.

Jon

Audiofn, the info that you got was apparently wrong. If you were not there, maybe you should'nt comment on what you know nothing about.

Plumbgirl

It isn't a matter of any axe to grind. Although I will say that there is a very specific reason why I would never get into a boat with a desperate man like D.C. again. Quite simply I call it the way I see it. I've been washed down in a turn several times both in Pro stock and Superboat Unlimited and always came out unscathed. That is what EXPERIENCE has taught me. I guess if Mr. Campbell had been on the outside where he should have been then there wouldn't have been anyone to wash him down. I can tell you from personal experience that once you get in that boat with Dan there is only one captain and you shut up and listen to him, so don't you think it fair for him to take responsibilty? By the way, if you have a thing for Dan I'll be more than happy to give you his number he's always looking for someone new to join his fan club. lol

Plumgirl..........with all due respect.......who has the hidden agenda/axe to grind here.....

NIT2WIN has identified himself, and seems to be very honest and upfront about his observations/feelings. You on the otherhand have been lurking for many months, and have chosen now to express your opinion.........

Things that make you go HHHHHMMMMM........:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Now ya see now you seem like the one with the aggenda hear:p :p :p

Hey Risk great minds think alike.

Tell me Plum what did you see? Did one boat on the inside drift out into another?

Jon