Big News on Mercury Racing website...
 

"H & H Speed & Marine" Wins
Savannah Super Vee Competition

Mercury Racing HP525 EFIs Power Team to 1st Victory
After Switching From Vortec Engines

525 EFIs Power Factory 1, Factory 2 and Super Cat Light Winners

FOND du LAC, WISC. - Todd Klindworth of St. Croix, USV Island and Bob Bull of Merritt Island, Fla., piloted "H & H Speed & Marine," a Cigarette hull powered by twin Mercury Racing HP525 EFI engines, to win the Super Vee race Sunday, July 6, at the "Fire On The Water - Savannah Offshore Grand Prix", Savannah, G.A. The race was round three of the 2003 APBA Offshore GMC Pro Grade Series. "H & H Speed & Marine" owner and throttleman Bob Bull switched from GM Vortec power to Mercury Racing HP525 EFI power after earning a ninth-place finish at Daytona and an eight-place finish at Marathon. The fastest his boat ever ran with the GM Vortec engines was 94 MPH. Bull and Klindworth clocked 98 M.P.H. in their first time out testing the boat with HP525 EFI power on Mercury’s Lake X. "Even if we didn’t gain anything, the reliability difference is day and night," Bull said. "H & H Speed & Marine" was prepared by Martin Offshore of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., who uses Mercury Racing sterndrive power exclusively in all of their race boats.

Enough said:D

JM94;)

Competition in the market place usually improves products and lowers prices...

Merc vs. GM
 

I notice the script reads "the best the boat ran with vortec was 94 and with the merc's it ran 98. And then says that even if they didn't gain anything the realiability was the difference. Well maybe so, but 525 hp is 525 hp and a boat is not going to run faster if the hp is the same. Been there, done that.

The HP is not the same...The 525EFI is like about really 550HP.

The fella's at Merc Racing got pissed. thats all.

Nothing quite like two bullys on the same block trying to see who's the toughest. This should work out in us boaters favor. I'm pretty sure GM has the deeper pockets, if they are that interested in the maine end of things.

GM as a corp GM may have deeper pockets but they probably have 4 times as many bean counters saying why are we wasting money on such a small market segment that has nothing to do with our core biz. As quick as they hit the market you could see them disappear.

Funny
 

But I don't think "That's all".
Also, I know for a fact that the boat ran well over 100 with the GM Vortec motors.
Personally, I would give credit where credit is due, and there are a number of things that have changed with this boat since daytona...
I believe Tres & Todd spent a LOT of time testing the boat and getting things dialed in. No doubt about it, Martin Marine knows their stuff when it comes to the 36 Gladiator and knew how to make the boat handle, and TURN!
Bob Bull is a fierce competitor and a damn good throttleman. I would imagine he has invested some test time/practice in the boat since St. Cloud and has gotten a much better feel for what the boat likes.
A good driver can make you or break you. Bob has had a few different drivers early in the season. I know of at least one driver that certainly didn't help him much. Ask those who have driven a 36 Gladiator in competition. These are not boats that just anyone can jump into and race with optimum results on the first lap. That being said, Todd is a champion driver, and has quite a bit of testing and racing experience driving the Gladiator.
Let's be real here folks. Setup can be everything. Then add a driver who knows the hull and is a great wheelman and a throttleman who is a great stickman and good things will happen.
In Savannah it all came together for the H&H Speed and Marine team, and my hat's off to everyone involved who made it happen.

Well said,

Todd knows how to run a boat... and Tres certainly knows how to set one up. Over the last few years,

One Design World Champions
F2 National and World Champions (in an open Gladiator)
and last year they lost a tiebreaker for the Super Cat World Championship

Look for Todd to shoot for another 2 WC titles this year in Key West, especially if it gets rough out there.

And from what I hear they have the best test pilot on the planet...