As owner and driver of the new Stihl #13 Skater I would like to comment on the recent events surronding the July 4th Sarasota race and Stihl's subsequent disqualification.

First and foremost I would like to say thanks to the many individuals who have posted positive/supportive comments on our behalf. I am also very appreciative of Bob Teague's comments during the awards banquet. It was a great race and regardless of the outcome being window to window going into the last turn with Amsoil after 14 hard felt laps is about as exciting as it gets! To me, that is what offshore racing is all about...

Also, I could not have asked for anything more from the new boat (my sincere thanks to Peter at Skater) he did an outstanding job in all regards with the 388. I would HIGHLY recommend Mr. Hledin to anyone considering a new boat. and as always Grant and crew did a outstanding job rigging and preparing the boat for race day.

Now relative the props...as noted two of the blades on one of our props measured too thin during the post race inspection. After a great deal of discussions and research I offer the following comments from Jeff Johnston at Hering:

From: Jeff Johnston [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2010 11:28 AM
To: 'Bob Noble, Jr.'
Subject: Hering Propellers

Hi JR,

I want to first of all apologize (again) for this situation that you are in. I want to be absolutely clear, this is 100% the fault of Hering Propellers, as the programs that were ran on your propellers were incorrect, which equated to a thinner spec profile than that of the SBI rule books. This was (unfortunately) an honest mistake, that occurred in our production department when selecting which program was to be ran.

We have two specs for Super Cat Light (old and new), in which it was the older (thinner) spec that was ran for your propellers. It was simply a mistake on our part, not on yours. You received your propellers the day before the race, and had no way of knowing the specs were thinner than what the rule book states. And there is no way to tell by the naked eye, except for the professional measuring tools used at the race site.

We are going to build you a complete new batch of propellers (x3 sets) in exchange for the three (3) sets that we shipped to you with the incorrect specs.

Again, on behalf of Hering Propellers, I truly apologize for this mistake and misfortune, and hope to continue our relationship with you and STIHL Racing in the future.

Sincerely,

-Jeff

Jeff Johnston
Director of Sales and Marketing

Hering Propellers[/COLOR]

Hopefully this puts an end to the speculation and we can put this behind us and move on to the next race ....
Jr

And that is how professional adults handle difficult situations. JR is a class act. We will miss him in Cat Outboard.
SQ

A true gentleman and sportsman!!!!!!

You have a REAL proffessional team with one of the best Throttleman/crew chief in the business.

I can't wait to see you guys battle in KW.

Congratulations again.

Wil

No fussing, no fighting...right to the point! Very cool Bobby, Congrats.

Well done. I am now a fan of Stihl Racing......

Me too!!!!

This shows us that they are being honest and trust in doing business with customers. I see that there's no arguments which is good!!!

Chris

Exactly what I would expect from the folks involved with this.

Love the new boat, and watching them do battle with Amsoil last Sunday was a lot of fun- great racing.

+1 We need more people like this!

Just what I expected from JR. like I said before he is a class act. His team is ran the same way ....

And that is why Stihl Offshore is so well respected! True professionalism, well done JR!