p4-33

Brian Bunch
Fountain of Youth P4-33
313 283-8148
Fax 734 676-9857
[email protected]
www.UltraTeamRacing.com

Konrad Marine
Fred Sparling
1421 Hanley Rd.
Hudson, WI 54016
715-286-4203
Fax: 715-386-4219
www.konradmarine.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 6/22/2004

Ultra Team Racing and Konrad Marine Team Up For The APBA Offshore Racing Central Division Tri-State Cup Series Competition

Gibraltar, MI – Ultra Team Racing’s Fountain of Youth race boat will be retrofitted with Konrad 540 PRS (Performance Replacement System) stern drives and taking part in the APBA Offshore GMC Pro Grade National Series by competing for the APBA Offshore Racing Central Division Tri-State Cup Series Competition. The Konrad 540 PRS replaces the outdated TRSs without extensive modification. Konrad Marine will be supplying drives and expedited support for the Fountain of Youth boat for a 2-year period.

The Fountain of Youth race boat will undergo a transom lift and transom assemblies. The old drives are removed, and Konrad’s 540 PRS is simply bolted on. The 540 PRS enhances performance and eliminates frequent drive failures.

Brian Bunch of Ultra Team Racing states, "Many performance boaters are in the same situation I was; running TRS hardware that has reached end-of-life. The drive ended production in 1994, and parts supplies are getting low.

"Konrad Marine introduced me to their 540 Performance Replacement System where they are able to swap out my TRS drives with their 540 Performance Stern Drives in a matter of a couple of days. No transom work was necessary, it was simply a bolt-on operation.

"We actually have to "de-tune" the drive system to remain competitive in P4-class, as the performance increases gained as a result of newer 540 gear case and driveline technology would have bumped me over the top of my 70-79.9mph speed bracket.

"There is no comparison between the obsolete TRS technology and Konrad Marine's 540 Performance drives. Investment security with modern technology, significant performance gains, and a commercially proven reliable package are what keeps the Fountain of Youth on the race course.”

Driven by Jim Lijana of Harrison Twp, MI, Brian Bunch of Gibraltar, MI, on the throttles, and Jerry Majeske from Plymouth, MI, as Navigator, the team made their APBA National Series debut in Port Huron, MI, running the Fountain of Youth, a 10-Meter Fountain Powerboats vee-bottom hull, powered by twin Mercury Racing HP500 engines. They are competing in Outlaw Performance Class level 4, with a top speed of 79.9mph.

The Fountain of Youth competed in the APBA Central Division during the 2003 season, winning 3 races of the six-race tour, finishing in second place in points for the circuit.

Look for the Fountain of Youth to race for their share of the $30,000 Tri State Cup purse. The Port Huron Offshore Gran Prix kicked off the series opener, and will be followed by the Cincinnati (Ohio) Offshore Gran Prix, June 18th, the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Offshore Gran Prix, July 30th, and the Richmond (Ohio) Offshore Gran Prix, August 6th. They will also be appearing in Sarasota, FL for the first jointly sanctioned event with teams representing both APBA Offshore and Superboat International on July 4th.

The Fountain of Youth P4-33 team is sponsored by Konrad Marine, Majeske Machine, Flow Technologies, and Fountain Powerboats, Inc..

The APBA Offshore GMC Pro Grade National Series is sponsored by GMC Professional Grade Trucks. The APBA Offshore Central Division Tri-State Cup Series is sponsored by Miller Lite® beer and Reindl Powerboats.

For all information on the Series, visit www.apbaoffshoreracing.com. For all information on the Fountain of Youth Team, contact Brian Bunch, equipment owner and throttleman, at 313 283-8148, via email at [email protected] or visit the team’s website at www.UltraTeamRacing.com

For information on Konrad Marine’s 540 PRS (Performance Replacement System) contact Fred Sparling, Application Engineer, at 800-927-3545 or visit their website at www.konradmarine.com.

# # #

Zero Patience

Bryan, I will have my Konrad Equipped Top Gun at the Hyatt Marina for the Race Weekend. I will look you and Fred up in the pits.

glassdave

iTrader: (1)

very cool Brian. that will be a great step up from the TRS's. it was great running next to you guys in Cinnci. I was in the purple batboat with Jen. that was some good racing going 12 wide down the front stretch toward the start on the pace lap. sure was tight on those turns . on the last turn for the start we had to drop in behind you guys and got hosed down pretty good we needed to wash the windows on that boat anyway. good luck with the Konrads they build one hell of a unit and its unlikely you will ever have a drive issue again. are you guys the first to use them in a racing application?

p4-33

There certainly was "pucker factor" on that pace lap... sorry we washed you down, we just had nowhere to go. At least you had a lid to keep you dry. The Swipes team and us kept each other pretty wet for most of the race. I think we swapped places 6 or 7 times before my TRS let loose. Jeeze, I'm glad those problems are behind us.

As far as race teams, no one else has figured out how to make drives last seasons, instead of races. I'm looking forward to showcasing the 540's in a race environment, and let our racing community see first hand that there are solid alternatives to their drive systems. We'll also be working with APBA Offshore to pursue homologation into Factory and Super classes.

Zero Patience, I look forward to meeting you next weekend.

Cheers,
Brian

glassdave

iTrader: (1)

no prob on the wash down. thought it was kinda cool myself, actually its sort of hot in those things and they are not exactly water tight so it was kind of refreshing . . . thats race'n.

p4-33

Just got some new pics from Diana at Konrad.

Happy owner...

p4-33

...the business end...

p4-33

...again...

p4-33

...testing...

p4-33

...outta here!