phragle

iTrader: (3)

back to the more fun, race to have fun, make racing more fun, more people will race, lots of people racing, mercracing takes an interest..
the sport is an offshoot of people having fun running their boat against someone elses. the "sport is not the be all end all, it is not the primary factor in the equation, think of it as a flow chart, you start at the beginning, not in the middle and not at the end going backwards

fun--> more fun--> even more fun--> full on lets have a party fun (if your having that much fun, merc and whoeverelse might want to come join the party)

it's really rather simple, but if you screw up the formula, you get frustrated, make the wrong changes and bring about the end.

SpecialFX

... more boats in less classes, parity between the boats, close racing, viewer friendly courses, great race sites, all the racers racing together.. just racing no BS...when we all are on the same page I'm sure something good will happen....not Nascar or F1, that would be a long way off, lets not kid oueselves, but maybe at least have a serious pro series of committed spec race teams and bracket teams, that could attract the media attention and sponsors we want to grow the sport in a serious way.

smiklos@sunprint

iTrader: (1)

How many races did you race in this season and last?
Last season I think we did 3 this season we did just bimini

How many boats were in your class when you won high points in '06? and how many did a full season?
We have wanted to race but the SVL's have been racing OSS aside from making the time to do It I can and will race if the competition is there.

No one did a full season in SVL at SBI in 06
While we technically won high points it is not something we are touting.

What is the reason the vortec for allowed to turn more rpm's when the first showed up.
When the rev 4 version of the 525 ECM showed up just before the 1st event Mercury had added 29 hp while certifying the lower output rev 3 version. To compensate we added 200 RPM to the vortec for Super V. If you check you will find that since all SVL's had Vortecs they ran the original lower RPM so as to not upset any testing that teams had done. GM had spent a great amount of effort to make the vortec equal to the 525. When we instructed Mercury to go back to the earlier version they threatened to pull their sponsorship of APBA. Interestingly enough they never paid the bill anyway!

Did you have to pay for your motor or were you representing?

The engines were leased and yes I paid. A little known fact is that I am the biggest hp printer dealer in the US and at sometimes the World. I also own the largest privately owned lease base of hp printers so funds have never been an issue for my team. My business is very similar to Curtis Morris's from team Yahoo except we own all of the printers.

Where are they now?

I assume you are referring to GM. If so they are in Pontiac Michigan. If you are referring to why they are not in racing that would go back to the boycott even after Bob Bull took over APBA.

Do you have ANYTHING positive to share?[/QUOTE

At this time probably not! Motorsports marketing is very difficult currently there is no product to sell much beyond what is going on. The path to a tv deal and fan base would be long non productive one. Even when the LLC was at its peak it became a deal with SBI was imperative. Multiple companies trying to sell the same sport against each other is a losing proposition. Bob Bull realized the same conclusion and did his deal with SBI as that was the only path that made sense.

The moral of the story is that few marketing departments can see a value in Offshore powerboat racing the multiple classes and sanctioning bodies combined with the transient natures of the competitors make it a bad investment.
If you look back at the powerhouse sanctioning groups they started with core sponsors (car manufacturers) then parts and now can sell most any type of product. Currently boat racing has only one manufacturer (Mercury Racing) so the road would be long if you started traveling it today.

Steve

smiklos@sunprint

iTrader: (1)

Well put Mr. Seroff
Steve

TYPHOON

I agree TV is nice but its a bonus at this point for our sport. The cost to put on a quality 1/2 hour show on a good station is crazy money for an organization to pay. Speed channel on Sun. morning was the best it ever was and I was lucky to get lots of exposure for our team. With so many classes to cover you will always have people pissed that they were not covered or mention ect. ect. ect.
At the end of the day we did not get even one offer or land a single sponsor for our boat. Lots and lots of prime time Speed vission coverage on TV and not a single dollar from anyone. So I ask why do so many people think the org. should spend more money on producing a TV show when the racers get so little return? Yes it helps put our sport in front of more people and possibly a few teams might be able to land some sponsor money but at what cost to the rest of us?
The only way I see TV working is focus on 1-2 classes only and hope that builds those classes.
MD

MOBILEMERCMAN

Steve,
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.


Maybe if the teams can align themselves the best they can given their situations. Then the strongest groups of committed full season racers who are willing and able to travel can emerge and become marketable again.

The real trick is getting the smaller classes [smaller by number of boats] and less committed ones to except they are not the show. One or two well attended races does not make a show. Consistent attendance of strong numbered classes does.

This seasons numbers show Cat 850 , SVL, Class 5 are the most competitive. A few more potentially strong classes have boats scattered across all clubs and numerous classes.

If a team doesn't intend to run a full season its ideals or preferences shouldn't weight as heavy as a committed team.

I still have hope Offshore can continue to grow. If everyone could be realistic in there expectations progress can still be made.

1waterboy1

Bruce,
I totally agree.We can also look at what has happened in other forms of motorsports.The IRL-CART battle all but destroyed indy car racing.Everyone said that they would never get back together;but ,the very survival of thier sport depended on it.This season they came together for the betterment of everyone involved.It was not easy,and there are still issues to resolve;but overall the results have been very positive.
I only hope that this can happen in offshore powerboat racing as well.

smiklos@sunprint

iTrader: (1)

Yep People like Paul Newman and Roger Penske could not get it done until it became patently obvious both were about to fail. If you look during this time of the CART IRL battle racing went mainstream marketing. A few ego's let America's premier open wheel series become a financial shambles while others reached marks that were believed totally unobtainable.

Oddly I believe that another strike (baseball) is what put NASCAR on the mainstream map. America wanted something to watch. The Cup guys were real refreshing when compared to a baseball player striking to get a pay raise. The damage to baseball is still felt to this day.
Steve

smiklos@sunprint

iTrader: (1)

I think the main problem with the GM deal was the racers did not understand what it was about.

The most important part was to sell trucks. That is the highest margin piece in American auto makers product line. By racing as many stock parts as possible GM was proving through offshore racing that their engines were real robust. A boat racing show was much more exciting then an infomercial so GM could afford to pay for a large portion of the TV and get a great return on their investment..

The most common misconception was that GM was going in the marine engine business. The reality is they allready are and own about 95% of the gas engine market share for inboards and I/O's

The most inovative part was what the racers had to offer GM.
Think about this what is the workers compensation rate for high speed test boat driver?

What would it cost GM to have a fleet of test boats running year round in grueling conditions?

The value is we racers will pay to test this stuff and we buy trucks. So you can build an incredible program that is a win win for sponsor and racer. Keep in mind when Mercury won GM still did also because the 525 is mostly a GM product.

I really do not see a deal like this ever coming along again my point is if one did would the racers act the same way?
Steve

Gordon Michael

Edited...........