Qatar Team Obliterates Shootout Record with 244-MPH Top Speed
09-01-2014 | 08:49 PM
#81
Driver-441
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 12,011
Likes: 1,511
From: Lake George
The Victory Miss Geico -Merc 1650's when operating healthy can compete with a T-53 turbine boat . Remember Miss G took the unlimited title and first over all in Key West last year over 2 turbines and the OPA title against Mary Mac.
Offshore racing is a different game than a drag race on a flat lake..unless of course its dead flat on race day...then its 40 drag races in a row in the span of 45 min. Separate the two they have very little in common. One pass , one win, one title.. doesn't make the man in offshore powerboat racing (unless you are Ken Warby)
Hassan and Steve are accomplished Offshore Racing champions and have shown the world they can make an offshore boat go faster than ever before. However, day to day offshore racing in the ocean respect is earned over the years for good reason.... It's very difficult to win over a long period regardless of how much you spend. Hassan and Steve already had mine long before the Loto speed run.
If Team Qatar brings the T-55 L12 10k hp boat to Key west...Team USA will be there with our 1650 Mercs..and we WILL be racing against them to retain our title (classes aside ).
We are Team USA we don't back down for any country's race boat regardless of the cost or HP we are up against.
Offshore racing is a different game than a drag race on a flat lake..unless of course its dead flat on race day...then its 40 drag races in a row in the span of 45 min. Separate the two they have very little in common. One pass , one win, one title.. doesn't make the man in offshore powerboat racing (unless you are Ken Warby)
Hassan and Steve are accomplished Offshore Racing champions and have shown the world they can make an offshore boat go faster than ever before. However, day to day offshore racing in the ocean respect is earned over the years for good reason.... It's very difficult to win over a long period regardless of how much you spend. Hassan and Steve already had mine long before the Loto speed run.
If Team Qatar brings the T-55 L12 10k hp boat to Key west...Team USA will be there with our 1650 Mercs..and we WILL be racing against them to retain our title (classes aside ).
We are Team USA we don't back down for any country's race boat regardless of the cost or HP we are up against.
09-02-2014 | 09:10 AM
#82
Racer
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 824
Likes: 0
From: Riviera Beach, FL
marc, let me say this: i am (first) a team geico fan, and also have loads of respect for all the teams. props and respect to MGRT for the win last year in both opa and sbi. a few other points, though, as i think there is more to the turbine vs piston debate.
agree, 113 did prevail over mary mac in opa, however mary mac (for reasons some are aware of) did not run in all 3 races in kw.
but more importantly, the topic here is hassan's 96 turbine. i was at clearwater when both 96 with t53's and geico with 1650's ran hard and were healthy. in sheer acceleration, and ultimately the race itself, the geico 1650's were completely outmatched. i've heard mention of guardian mode issues etc with the 1650's contributing to lower velocity in CW, then separately, the spinout resulting in the geico loss in that race. it remains to be seen what happens in the rematch in a few weeks.
the words 'when healthy' were mentioned. agree 100% - and that goes for all teams. qatar 96 in kw was not healthy...a fire, steering failure, and prop shaft ended their contention. mgrt was certainly better prepared, healthy, and took the win, and as a fan i was happy to see you guys pull it off. i will support team geico again this year as you go up against even bigger predators. but we cannot deny, it will be a much different competition this year. the other players are all hungry for the crown, and it will be one of the biggest, fastest years in offshore racing in a long time.
agree, 113 did prevail over mary mac in opa, however mary mac (for reasons some are aware of) did not run in all 3 races in kw.
but more importantly, the topic here is hassan's 96 turbine. i was at clearwater when both 96 with t53's and geico with 1650's ran hard and were healthy. in sheer acceleration, and ultimately the race itself, the geico 1650's were completely outmatched. i've heard mention of guardian mode issues etc with the 1650's contributing to lower velocity in CW, then separately, the spinout resulting in the geico loss in that race. it remains to be seen what happens in the rematch in a few weeks.
the words 'when healthy' were mentioned. agree 100% - and that goes for all teams. qatar 96 in kw was not healthy...a fire, steering failure, and prop shaft ended their contention. mgrt was certainly better prepared, healthy, and took the win, and as a fan i was happy to see you guys pull it off. i will support team geico again this year as you go up against even bigger predators. but we cannot deny, it will be a much different competition this year. the other players are all hungry for the crown, and it will be one of the biggest, fastest years in offshore racing in a long time.
Thanks FoxBat it's supporters like you that drives us to not give up.
MaryMac is a sic fast boat ..200 any day of the week...remember we raced Turbines for a long time and know their weak spots intimately. They had some inter-team issues in KW but Judging by the lap speeds (10 mph slower) were not going to be a factor in KW ... They did a great job for the hand they were dealt (new crew). Qatar was already out of the game with the broken shaft. The right crew in any boat can beat a higher performance boat when it comes down to it..because experience in offshore racing plays a huge factor in holding your boat together and strategizing. Remember CRC with the little 1380 Merc SCI's running with Bud and GEICO. Great crew..fearless and talented and they could win because they picked our weak spots.
Clearwater was an interesting race. We were a little short on propellor but we had accel on the big turbine. A bad start and guardian mode at the WORST possible moments put us behind after several laps in front ...then we just ran full out to stay up..guardian coming in and out. Tough day for us because we believe we could have been a great battle. Obviously a bad skip/spin spelled the end of our day. This year we will be up against Q613 it is probably 2k lbs lighter than us and VERY quick. We will definitely have our work cut out for us.
09-02-2014 | 09:49 PM
#83
Registered
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 273
Likes: 0
From: Betelguese
Thanks FoxBat it's supporters like you that drives us to not give up.
MaryMac is a sic fast boat ..200 any day of the week...remember we raced Turbines for a long time and know their weak spots intimately. They had some inter-team issues in KW but Judging by the lap speeds (10 mph slower) were not going to be a factor in KW ... They did a great job for the hand they were dealt (new crew). Qatar was already out of the game with the broken shaft. The right crew in any boat can beat a higher performance boat when it comes down to it..because experience in offshore racing plays a huge factor in holding your boat together and strategizing. Remember CRC with the little 1380 Merc SCI's running with Bud and GEICO. Great crew..fearless and talented and they could win because they picked our weak spots.
Clearwater was an interesting race. We were a little short on propellor but we had accel on the big turbine. A bad start and guardian mode at the WORST possible moments put us behind after several laps in front ...then we just ran full out to stay up..guardian coming in and out. Tough day for us because we believe we could have been a great battle. Obviously a bad skip/spin spelled the end of our day. This year we will be up against Q613 it is probably 2k lbs lighter than us and VERY quick. We will definitely have our work cut out for us.
MaryMac is a sic fast boat ..200 any day of the week...remember we raced Turbines for a long time and know their weak spots intimately. They had some inter-team issues in KW but Judging by the lap speeds (10 mph slower) were not going to be a factor in KW ... They did a great job for the hand they were dealt (new crew). Qatar was already out of the game with the broken shaft. The right crew in any boat can beat a higher performance boat when it comes down to it..because experience in offshore racing plays a huge factor in holding your boat together and strategizing. Remember CRC with the little 1380 Merc SCI's running with Bud and GEICO. Great crew..fearless and talented and they could win because they picked our weak spots.
Clearwater was an interesting race. We were a little short on propellor but we had accel on the big turbine. A bad start and guardian mode at the WORST possible moments put us behind after several laps in front ...then we just ran full out to stay up..guardian coming in and out. Tough day for us because we believe we could have been a great battle. Obviously a bad skip/spin spelled the end of our day. This year we will be up against Q613 it is probably 2k lbs lighter than us and VERY quick. We will definitely have our work cut out for us.
Win, lose, or draw, you will still have my support and that of most of my friends and family. And yes, you are correct - 613 when running well is formidable, as is CMS. I'll be looking for you guys under the 'Stray' eye to avenge 2013's race, and pull a repeat of Sarasota 2014, on Sep 28
