gino,,,i totally understand what you are saying! part of the problem is they are trying to please everyone...racers, sponsors...the list goes on. make the rules and keep them...if you have a good series then racers and sponsors will come....improvements and the fine tuning of it are great...but to restructure it every year!!! come on!...gino, i know you love offshore racing! i know it, because i love it too!...this is just another short term fix! 500hp's, 500efi's, 525's, GM's, 496's ...they say it stops here, but history does not show this to be the case now does it? we keep chasing it because we love it...form a logical standpoint it's just plain ludicrous!

"but on target for attracting new ones" you would think that with any successful business(including yours TO) trying to keep the customers you already have before trying to attract new ones? if nothing else the new comers have gota be skeptical of making any kind of commitment in the racing direction! How many X-racers, race team owners, and manufactures have turned toward poker runs to answer and address what racing has not????

F1 and F2 Teams:

You all should be able to make a decision now or at least in a few days.

The 496HO is the best route to attracting new teams and keeping current ones. The classes in their current configuration are shrinking. No class in the history of the sport has ever bounced back after such a decline.

Staying with the 525 will ruin the class. You might keep some teams around for another year or so but you are not going to attract new teams. Boats are too fast and the SV's and SVL's are a better option using the same power.

The 500's are not the solution either. Mercury Racing is not supporting the engine anymore as a main product offering so you are not going to get new racers or manufacturers excited about it.

The general consensus is that the boats need to slow down; costs need to be reduced; mainstream product needs to be used; and the product needs to be something that manufacturers can sell and the general consumers can embrace.

The current 496HO meets the criteria and we can be relatively sure that it will be a stable platform for the foreseeable future. The old 502EFI and new 496HO are very close whereas the original HP500 was a 465hp engine and the new HP525 approaches 560hp.

There certainly is room to improve safety. Slowing the boats down is an absolute must. Canopied boats at high speeds are safer than open cockpit boats in most circumstances. If you want that then race SV or SVL.

If you want to spend more time and resources on making paradigm shifting changes in the safety of open cockpit boats then do it. I am sure the industry will embrace and thank you.

Mike

was this not what you called outlaw class using the 502mag efi engine years ago...that is no longer??

what i do not understand is how the F2 boats all of sudden got too fast and unsafe??? a carb'ed 500hp is still the worlds fastest +35' F2 boat...still winning races in 2003....a boat built in 2000 still worlds fastest -35' F2 boat...still winning races in 2003 as well.

"Slowing the boats down is an absolute must."...then you have known this all these years?...all while changing the rules to allow new higher HP engines into the class...then just add weight...no safety provisions for it either...sounds like a can of legal worms to me.

No one answered my question...aside from what factory teams do on their own.NOT required..what is safer about an F-race boat than a pleasure boat??

"Staying with the 525 will ruin the class"...seems like i was just saying that only 1 year ago just prior to talking out the 500efi's!!!!....ted z. and miklos asured me this was the greatest thing for factory racing!!!

"No class in the history of the sport has ever bounced back after such a decline"...and what class has remained unchanged for the past 5 years....the only thing that offshore history is showing us right now is the chaos in this motorsport keeps repeating itself year after year!

Here is my suggestions.....

1. HP500EFI's for the next three years. There are enough of them out there, we know they can take a ton of abuse, they are moderately powerful (465) so speeds will still be entertaining, and alot of us have them already.

2. More venues. Bring back Daytona and more ocean sites where beach viewing is possible. Make the straights longer and turns fewer and bring the boats in close to the beach. I am not interested in "trading paint" with any boats since most of the time fiberglass goes with it!!

3. Lock the rules down for 3 years, assemble a rules comittee that will have drafts of the new rules 12 months prior to a change with a public (racer) input period.

4. Payout winnings on the day of the race, even if it turns out be only $50 bucks. I know that alot of guys would prefer to be told that the payout is reflective of the pool as opposed to being made promises and having the organization be unable to deliver. I can understand if during the growth period purses are small, good racing will bring sponsors and that can bridge the gap.

5. Sell shares of the LLc to racers. Not pie in the sky $50,000 shares but real numbers. This will give some guys the ability to see what the corp is doing with the money. Dont like the spending, the distributions, the salaries at least you have recourse as a share holder.

6. Dont let LLc. board members or directors be competitors as well. Have outside business people involved in the direction and growth of the organization. I was disturbed by a previous post that stated that Steve received his GM engine 1 year before the rest of the racers, and that Steve takes GM contingency money. It has an appearance of impropriety that gives outsiders the sense that there may be some self dealing happening. No accusations here, just observations.

Add anything you can think of........ or challenge my observations. I welcome a spirited debate!!!!

Gentlemen,

This has been an interesting thread to read and digest. It's obvious to me that there has been substantial progress made here in focusing in on the real issues and constructive direction and progress.

For what it is worth, if timing permits Mike A. to arrange a meeting for all interested parties I will make myself available to attend and/or participate regarding input on our learnings relative to the durability of the 496 engine platform at various output levels and marinized configurations.

We at GM are always available to discuss the base engines in our portfolio made available to our OEM manufacturer's.

Steve Miklos was absolutely correct in an earlier post regarding the base long block production integrity of the 496 design and it's capability up to 550HP.

Regards to all,

Mark Skrzypek

The real question is Mike........ how the hell do you type so fast?? Are you dictating this to a typist?? I think that this sport is missing one thing.... another attorney!! Well the missing link is here........

Joey,
You are so right.
Gino,
I question who's side your on, I thought you were working for the teams.

Safety is so over looked.How many boats call in if they and or other boats go down around them. Does our teams use spotter too advise us of a problem or could our chief referee call us to advise us of a problem.
Have working intercoms that can call race control.
They are out there!
Helmets that stay on, neck braces that support your helmets, lifejackets that stay on ,seats that support the drivers and crews and help to protect them.

YES I OWN A BOAT THAT STUFFED AND BLEW THE SIDE OUT AT 90 MPH IN A RACE,AND WAS STILL ABLE TO FINISH THE RACE. Both driver and crew stayed in their seats and were unhurt thanks to the previous owner bringing the crew closer and lowering the seat in the boat and changing the padding in the seat. Yes our killswitches worked properly.

Note: The lower hull and running surface were both undamage not even a crack.Thanks to a builder that understands boat and how to construct them .Yes we will be racing again.

Engines:

Why not run what we have ???
Have our engine builder come up with a restricker plate since they are the only one's that have access to our dino sheets .
Bring 525,s closer to 500,s 496,s up to 500,s. We just save the teams out there a lot of money. It just might bring some old teams back. We could also add a spacer in our drives, thats not to costly. Also at the drivers meeting we pick up the ECM.PCM.or Module we need since all ECM.PCM,and Modules are created the same . Our set ups should stay the same.Hope this will cut our cost,slow us down some and keep us safe.

"It appears to me that the APBA actually is attempting to address what you hate most...the ever changing rules. But in order to do this, there really needs to be some changes made now...and a (3) year lock that will assure your equipment to remain competitive without costly changes. "...

my point is we get this EVERY YEAR!!!AND a new song and dance why it's "better" for the sport...so tell me; is the sport currently in a better state of affairs currently???????????you keep changing it...the F-class field declines, not only yearly, but also during the season!...so the answer is...change it again! change it to something that we have already tried and failed at in previous years...there's the answer.


"why don't you tell me what makes a recreational boat safer than a Factory race boat"...MR.O, this was my question:"what is safer about an F-race boat than a pleasure boat"...the answer is nothing my pleasure boat has added kill switches. no windshield. and all the safety gear aboard. icom, external steering...

Gotta jump in here.

I was racing SVL when GM came to the table and Miklos offered the engine to several boat owners, including me. Most teams were running 700 hp, so nobody jumped on the free GM deal because of the disparity in horsepower.

As it turned out, Steve tested, tested and tested some more........and got the boat dialed in with less horsepower than the rest of us. I never heard anyone complain and I did not have a problem with it.

But then again, I am just an ex-racer and non-member of Wetpits............what do I know.