Aqua-mania headed to Trinidad
 

Bummer. Always a crowd favorite.

Chuck, they're building a new 52' twin turbine powered MTI, so there will still be plenty to look at up at the James St docks in Alex Bay!

this is great for the boys in trinidad..they take pb racing very seriously. here, we need as much turbine vs turbine competition in sbi as we can get. hope to see this new am run up against qatar 96 this year. have not heard much from mary mac.

Why the switch?

Chuck - Here's an article we posted on HDB a few weeks ago:

Hammer Down Boating - Posted March 8

HDB fans; We recently were able to catch up to team member Jordan Armsey of the G3 Aqua-Mania Offshore race team and confirm the rumors that were swirling.

Gregg Rosen has purchased a new 52’ MTI. He will be driving with Rick Merola on the throttles. They will be pushed through the waters at a blistering speed with 2 – 1850 HP Lycoming turbine engines.

They will be doing some racing, along with poker runs and also will be going after some long runs for records. The team currently still holds the 2009 World record run for Miami to Bimini and back.

Here at HDB we are very happy to hear such great news. This is a great team and sure to bring some exciting action to this year’s season.

As of this time the pictures of the boat with the new graphics are being kept under lock and key. As soon as we get some we will post them for all to enjoy. Good Luck this season Gregg , Rick, Jordan and the whole Aqua-Mania Crew. Be safe and as always HAMMER DOWN!!

might be wishful thinking, but i hope we can see mary mac get in on the turbine scene in 2014 - if they do, we'll have an unprecedented three horse race.

And our ponies are looking to make these horses look like Donkey's :thankyouthankyou:

Question for you Geico boys. I remember you telling me in the pits a couple of years ago, in Key West, that your turbines went the whole season without rebuilds. What's the longest stretch of races your piston engines went without rebuilds?

well marc, i'll say this up front: i am a mgrt fan, buuut, i'm not sure i agree with the turbines = donkey power, and merc 1650 = horse power...fair is fair..i did see qatar 96 with 1850 'donkey power' walk away from geico 1650 'horse power' in clearwater with a distinct power advantage. not counting spin out etc, because as much as i hated seeing hassan pull clear ahead of you guys at the opening sprint, them turbine donkeys are no mules :cool-smiley-011: :evilb:

That was pre Guardian gone days :)

Now with the guardian gone they must really outlast the turbines........:coolcowboy:

hmmm...a 'guardian mode' card well played, and you guys rocked ass in KW '13. but, i'll await the next shootout between you and either of the t53's in a 'proper' duel a-la clearwater where you stepped into turbine class and had a matching start to see who are the real mules :boat:

foxbat . can't wait to see the new MTI pics ! Rick going to run his old power plants or any new upgrades being done ? thks

i'ce, to the best of my knowledge they are still running 1850 hp turbine marine t53's. here's an excerpt from Hammer Down Boating article a few weeks back:

"HDB fans; We recently were able to catch up to team member Jordan Armsey of the G3 Aqua-Mania Offshore race team and confirm the rumors that were swirling.

Gregg Rosen has purchased a new 52’ MTI. He will be driving with Rick Merola on the throttles. They will be pushed through the waters at a blistering speed with 2 – 1850 HP Lycoming turbine engines.

They will be doing some racing, along with poker runs and also will be going after some long runs for records. The team currently still holds the 2009 World record run for Miami to Bimini and back.

Here at HDB we are very happy to hear such great news. This is a great team and sure to bring some exciting action to this year’s season.

As of this time the pictures of the boat with the new graphics are being kept under lock and key. As soon as we get some we will post them for all to enjoy. Good Luck this season Gregg , Rick, Jordan and the whole Aqua-Mania Crew. Be safe and as always HAMMER DOWN!! "

much as i like turbines, it was interesting to see mgrt running the new 1650 pistons with great reliability, and overall success in kw '13. matter of fact, both the turbine boats there (qatar 96 and mary mac) were completely outmatched in the overall durability and race-completion metric by the pistons and the merc 1650s in particular. as a lay person, i'd have to say the turbines on the race circuit definitely have durability issues especially relating to heat dissipation. in the last few years, i didn't really see too many pistons going up in flames (sidebar geico mystic turbine destroyed by fire, qatar 96 mystic drops out of kw in flames as well).