thoughts on 2014 sbi unlimited class
 

so 2013 was the year of miss geico and the kw finals were essentially a two horse race between them and cms both running merc 1650. the competition though, is not about to have a repeat routing like last year.

some examples: gasse is returning with their 1650s, qatar 613 is also re powering with 1650's, alex and ani is re powering with close to the same hp via stotler, marine concepts upgrading with 1550 boos, cintron rumored to also be re powering north of 1550, and finally the biggest news of all, the brand new mystic entry from team envy, again with north of 1500 hp. there may even be others upgrading, that i'm forgetting to mention.

what do you guys think the chances are for a geico championship repeat? will we have a new king this year, or will marc, scott, gary, and team pull it off again?

They should all join super cat so that there is like 15 boats in ONE CLASS!! Lol

well, had it not been for addition this year of gasse, cintron, and envy, i would have agreed with you. 2013 was not terribly exciting in ul class with so many drop outs. i think with everyone in supercat it would be a bit unfair visually, with all these new 1600/1700 hp ul's the super cats would not look very competitive. now what i really believe is that sbi should roll up the turbines into ul class. they are getting close in power to the t53 now, and there is really only one turbine that we can expect to see at most races and that's hassan's new 96. not too confident mary mac will be back. one frikkin boat is not a class!!

Well ya, I of course meant, that the teams should just get boats and run super cat. 15 boats in a class is better than 7-8 in two classes

Yes, there are a lot of unlimited boats out there but I really doubt you'll see any of them run a full season. Other than Key West, I would think you'll never have 4-5 at a race all season long if you are lucky.

good point ryan. but i think this yr, you'll see at least a few more per race than last rear. kw for sure, i know everyone tends to preserve equipment for the wc, so we'll have a pretty good showing there. big question remains: will the more powerful than last yr competition be ale to take the crown from geico.

The unlimited Class will be the same as the Turbine Class was and is. You will not see most UL boats racing together at most of the races, much like the Turbine Class, when there was only one boat racing. That being said I still loved to watch them and wish they would make it down to St. Clair River Classic but always loved to watch Miss Geico Team U.S.A. no matter if she was the only boat, it is what Unlimited is all about.

The big question is: Given the number of Unlimited-class boats out there, why could the race-to-race turnout still be so low? The answer is simple: cost. Even for the very wealthy, fielding an Unlimited-class team is frightfully expensive. Those of you with longer memories will recall Open class, which not only became so prohibitively expensive that it reduced itself to two boats (Alcone and Drambuie) but also gave rise to the less economically absurd Super Cat class under APBA Offshore, which is now called Superboat in SBI.

As a fan and a reporter, I am pulling for the success of the Unlimited class. In a perfect world, everyone would agree to run in one giant class, but the offshore racing world has never been perfect. That people are interested in fielding boats in whatever class they choose in a sport that has fallen on hard times and appears to be making a rebound is a good thing. But to elaborate on what Ryan Beckley wrote above, it comes down to cost.

absolutely correct matt and ryan on the prohibitive cost of things. based on purely unscientific assumptions, i think we have a wee bit more action coming into ul class this year, than last yr for sure. not only with the teams all upping power to match/close the gap on the merc 1650's, but for instance: gasse who hardly ran last year, i have seen confirmations that they are running 4 races this year one of which is clearwater. i've never seen them in cw before. several of the other boats are also spending $$ on big power, whereas in years past it seemed other than the geico turbine mystic, most everyone was south of 1500+/- hp. seems to be a change in resource allocation this year. team envy is also an example of new big hp dollars coming into the class. hassan as well, but he has a slightly different financial model than most racers, but still, his influence is beneficial to increase the competition in multiple classes.

Who gives a flying F...!!! You guys are proving why- great UL is stupid expensive, inconsistent and not many teams all show up at same race!! Just proves my point more that they should just get more efficient and do super cat for less money and more points!! My point again!! Just a bunch of rich *****s that want to race with their money and not be competitive!! Ditch UL and save that **** for PR show boats!! And yes Geico, go race in a series and not some people in SOME races!! UL class is the perfect example of WORTHLESS CLASS!!

I mean are they here to race or just show up here and there to show off, they might as well just coordinate an everyone just shows up to one race by them selfs and they can all win A race!! Lmao

The biggest problem with that class is getting these motors to finish they are just grenades they run them to close to the edge to last the laps

Your passion is admirable, Precision. Clearly, you're a serious fan. (Otherwise, why would you care so much?) But with all due respect, four points:

1. Do you like having people tell you how to spend your money on your leisure activity? Because that is, essentially, what you're telling Unlimited-class racers to do.

2. I know a lot of the "rich a....s" you mention and I can't think of one of them who isn't extremely competitive. Their class is expensive, as I wrote earlier, but they still have to race each other when they're on the course.

3. They nature of the beast, the cost, means most teams choose not to run full schedules. They pick and choose the races they want to run, and therein lies another part of the problem. Sometimes they don't all choose the same races. Sometime they do, and then professional/personal schedules conflict. Superboat had the biggest average fleet size of any SBI class last year, but even that class had races where every boat didn't show up.

4. People will make choices from the options they are given. If Superboat were the only inboard cat class, the Superboat Unlimited racers would have to either choose that class or pass on inboard cat racing in SBI. An offshore class is a "product" like any other and people make their choices as they see fit—it's the American way, right? The manufacturer, in this case SBI, can decide whether or not it wants to offer a particular product. Obviously, SBI believes there is enough demand—and return—to offer Superboat Unlimited.

But if you're looking for class consolidation that comes from limiting choices, and it sounds like you are I would gently suggest you look toward the sanctioning body.

THey have removed the equalizer...water. If offshore boats actually raced offshore in offshore conditions 1650 hp gernades would be irrelevant... a lot less boats spinning and flipping in corners too.

Don't presume you know us or anything about us.
Rich Whats? Now that you're sober re read your comment, it speaks volumes.

Perhaps you could coordinate this effort.

I agree reliability is an issue but we did run our Stotlers four races ( two were short course) at the rev limiters with only inspections and valve adjustments.
We're going to get closer to the old gear/prop set up, improve the engines even more and go forward.
Precision, our biggest problem in Offshore is unity.

Sober? Good one lol... I mean what I said! Must be fun to race your selfs! Lmao

Matt- point 3, is EXACTLY my point. And I've said it- obviously they are rich but don't spend enough to race full season, that's why I say go race less expensive Super Cat.

Tell someone how to spend their $$?... No just saying what I believe would be better 4 the sport.

Me too. Especially the part about speaks volumes.

Problem solved!
We're going to start our own series and send one boat to each event. OR...
We could let the government run offshore so they could take wealth from the rich teams (which we are not) and distribute it equally.

Lmao... I just don't want to be miss understood-

I think the UL boats are bad ass, no doubting that. I just think since this is racing, that the guys that only have part time UL schedules, they could realistically go to all races in Super Boat. My point is to make the racing better. Racing in this case IS & SHOULD be the show. I think it's a win win, more boats at more races. Most fans don't know the difference between UL 50' cat and SB 40' Cat, but they can tell when there is good racing.

Now if the UL boats could have at least (ill be easy) and say 4-5 boats at every race, well then ok

But my thoughts are- it would be better if there were 12-15 boats in one class as apposed to inconsistent turnouts in one class and 6-7 boats in the other. I mean if I was a UL guy and I don't care if I had Bill Gates money, if I hauled my stuff and crew to a race to see that I'm racing my self, I'd be pissed!

My point was not to bash anyone, sorry for the harsh words tho, nothing personal just getting a point across.

All good my fellow Boaters :)

No apology necessary, We are allies and I get your point.
With avid boaters and fans like yourself we can't lose.
My situation isn't engine costs, Herbie keeps 'em running. It's everything else.
The Superboat class competitors spend nearly as much per event as the Unlimiteds. A point you should consider is Unlimited Superboat serves as a vessel where outrageous propulsion packages are put to the test. Even we are introducing a new engine package this year in search of even more power, even more reliability and even save some fuel if you can believe that.
Without Unlimited there would be no real world out in the open forum to test these new engines.

How is the two classes close to the same cost?
93 pump vs 110+ race fuel
Simple engines that last longer vs ones that hardly finish a race
45k engines vs 145k engines

?? What am I missing?

So of all the classes in SBI, how many fielded all registered teams at every race? Or even half? The logistics, schedule, and economics impact EVERY class not just the "rich"!

Quick answer: None.

By my count, Superboat average 4.5 teams per race.

Hope that helps.

well written, matt

i can certainly see precision's passion, but i also understand the limitations, and 'free will' if you wish. aex also made an excellent point of the ul's essentially being test beds at the big end of the product. while is have equal respect for the super cat class, they seem to be more represented, thus the purpose of the thread. i think it's exciting to see the new influx of equipment and interest in the ul class.

You're not missing anything.
Let me reiterate, our Stotlers finished multiple races with only an inspection and basic maintenance. Finishing races takes not only engine longevity but also detailed meticulous attention to all the boat's support systems, an area in which Stotler's crew excels..
Cost wise I said nearly, which is subjective. When you factor in season costs for entry fees, transportation, meals, insurance, accommodations on and on, running a Superboat is expensive. Yes the motors and fuel are less but I don't think in the big picture this is the deal breaker.

There will be a few Unlimiteds at OPA this year as well.
As well as some Supercats in the OPA 750 Class.

Nice to see stotler powering up to three ul's this year. Alex Ani, envy, and cintron.

marrymac wanted to be there bad