Offshoreonly.com - St. Clair Steps Forward, St. Pete Looks Back

With the successful St. Petersburg, Florida, race at their backs, Offshore
Super Series Powerboat Racing Association (OSS) racers move forward to St. Clair
River, Mich., this week.

“Todd Werner and his staff from the St. Petersburg Offshore Super Series did
an outstanding job of overcoming many obstacles to put on a great race for
OSS,” said Elaine Motl, CEO for OSS.

Now teams are moving their equipment and energy forward to the third race of
the season in St. Clair River on July 30 through August 1.

“OSS is proud to support grass roots, divisional racing in St. Clair. Their
race is the longest running event on the Great Lake Silver Cup Series,” Motl
said. “The Blue Water Racing Association is well-known for their excellent
race management skills and warm hospitality towards the race teams.”

The OSS CAT teams will be eager to arrive and get a race in as their race was
canceled because of rain in St. Petersburg. Each team on site to race
received 30 points toward their overall Point Standings, and as the standings stood
after the Biloxi race, #84 Popeye, #12 Pro Marine and #20 Reliable Carriers
remain in the top three spots, respectively.

In the OSS VEE class, #18 Adrenaline Racing remains at the top of the points
standings after finishing second to St. Petersburg winner #8 Spiderman, who
has climbed two spots since Biloxi to claim a third ranking, just six points
behind second ranked #99 The Switch.

“We had a great time in St. Petersburg. It was good to finish the race and a
big bonus to win,” said Todd Welling, owner and throttleman for Spiderman.
“We look forward to the race in St. Clair River!”

OSS CAT LITE teams, which had the largest category with 11 boats entered, had
race fans in St. Petersburg watching to see if #7 Team CRC would hold on to
the top rank. At the finish, #11 In Mocean Again and Again won the St.
Petersburg race to take over the top team ranking, moving Team CRC to the second rank
and #60 Ettore up to the third rank.

“It felt awesome to win at St. Petersburg! It was a very big race for us.
Our crew is based out of St. Pete and Sarasota, so it was a local race for us
with a lot of fans there,” said Jerry Sorrentino, owner and driver for In
Mocean Again and Again. “Joey (Gratton) and I are back in our groove like we were
in our 2002 series. My ghosts are leaving me, and I’m regaining my confidence
since the wreck in 2003.”

In the OSS VEE LITE category, teams will be chasing #4 Wildcard who held on
to the number one rank with a win in St. Petersburg to add to his first place
finish in Biloxi. Sharing the second rank are #47 Team Imco and #29 Typhoon,
with #52 Hocus Pocus just one point behind. The race is sure to be intense at
St. Clair River.

“Typhoon, Team Imco and Hocus Pocus have a great battle going on back there,
and it will be great if they step up and get up front,” William Ros, Wildcard
owner and driver, said with a laugh. “Everything’s been working out for us,
so we’ll keep up what we’ve been doing, and we’ll never miss an OSS race!
Everyone did an outstanding job at the St. Petersburg race, and we especially
liked the food at the Awards Ceremony. Great party!”

On Saturday night in St. Petersburg, for the first time ever in Offshore
Racing, a racer’s number was officially retired. In a heartfelt ceremony attended
by more than 300 people, everyone came together to honor Randy Linebach of
#24 Team Airborne. The #24 was retired and will not be used again in the OSS
CAT division. The Linebach Family was presented with a “Forever 24”
commemorative, checkered flag that will fly at each OSS race.

St. Clair River organizers await the arrival of OSS teams and spectators to
host during the July 30 weekend, where past events have attracted as many as
40,000 spectators.

For racers, the St. Clair River means approaching a one-mile race course
located between Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair. It also means encountering a 7 mph
Southerly current on the southern turn for racers to overcome while
completing the eight-mile, international course. The Great Lakes Silver Cup Series
race control works with Canadian officials to clear the way for racers to turn
through Canadian waters on the south side of the course.

OSS is a not for profit organization dedicated to the further development and
growth of offshore powerboat racing in North America. For more information
or to view race results, check out: www.offshoresuperseries.com.