SBI Racer in the News
01-15-2007, 09:53 PM
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SBI Racer in the News
Army Powered: Mottola Uses Boat as Recruiting Tool
By Charlie Bergmann: Staff Writer
John Mottola calls holding up an American flag after winning a power boat race in Chattanooga two months ago one of the proudest moments in his life.
It was not only the first win in the exciting sport for Mottola, a Pinehurst resident and U.S. Army veteran, but it was also accomplished in a boat sponsored by the Army.
"It transcended the race," Mottola says of the gesture that resulted in cries of "Go Army" and chants of "USA, USA" from the spectators. "It was such a great experience because I'm so proud to represent the U.S. Army and my country, especially in a time of war.
"Regardless of whether people agree or disagree with the war, it's great to see patriotism. This country is a wonderful, wonderful place."
Last month, the fast-rising racing team that includes throttleman Jo Nunez of North Miami, Fla., competed for a world championship in Key West, Fla.
Mottola, 43, raced on the same waters where he watched his father compete many times in his youth.
"It was bigger than life back then," he says. "It captivated me. The guys who were racing were like heroes."
Mottola's wife and children were on hand to watch the Army boat win one of the three races in its class at Key West. A bid to unseat the Crazy Chicken team as world champions ended when the team's victory in the second race was vacated by a technicality.
Military Career
The interest in offshore powerboat racing came naturally after watching his father race them while growing up in Miami. A graduate of Florida State with a degree in psychology, Mottola joined the Army at the age of 26 as a private and earned his commission through OCS.
Mottola left the military in 2002 as an officer after 13 years, serving with such units as the 101st Airborne Division, 20th Special Forces Group and Special Operations Command (USAOC). Deployments took him to places such as Nigeria, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Nigeria, Bolivia and Panama.
Getting It Together
His last military assignment was as an attachment commander at Fort Bragg for USASOC. While setting up a security consulting business after his departure, he also began a search to put together a racing team.
The year-long effort materialized in a collaboration with Nunez, a world champion in 2001, who is in the boat-building business with his father Pepe Nunez. Mottola, the team's driver, set up Skull Mountain Racing Inc., with Jo Nunez on the throttle and Pepe Nunez as the crew chief.
"I think we have similar personalities," Mottola says of his partnership with Jo Nunez. "We're all about business and performance. We're in it because we want to win and promote the sport."
Mottola and his wife, Jan, have three children, Grace Ann, 4, Farrah, 2, and John Jr., 6 months. Jan Mottola takes care of the business end of the racing venture, including marketing activities.
"This is so much fun," she says, "because it's something we can do as a family. The children can cheer for their daddy."
"She does everything except driving and the maintenance of the boat," John Mottola says.
Racing Begins
There are about a dozen classes in races sanctioned by Superboat International (SBI) and the American Powerboat Association (APBA). The Skull Mountain team competes in the smallest class, the manufacturer production 5 (P5).
Its 24-foot Pantera boat is equipped with a 424-horsepower Mercury engine that can reach speeds of 80 mph. Most of the 3,800-pound weight of the boat is contained in an engine that is kept cool by having water running constantly through it.
"Without the water, it would burn up in a heartbeat," Mottola says.
Inland or on the sea, powerboat racing is not for the faint of heart. Both Mottola and his wife look at that side of it relatively, considering his previous occupation.
"My husband spent a lot of his life in Special Forces jumping out of airplanes," Jan Mottola says. "I probably feel he's safer when he's in the boat."
The boat does not have brakes. The sudden dips and rises in the height of the seas, coupled with heavy traffic, provide challenges. The biggest fears of the racers are getting thrown out of the boat or getting hit by another boat.
The racers are equipped with a flak jacket, helmet, life vest, gloves and a kill-switch attached to the life vest to shut off the engine.
In the races at Key West, about 18 boats from various classes take off from the starting line at the same time
"It's most dangerous on the first turn when all of the boats are close together," Mottola says.
The risks came into play during a successful debut at the Fort Lauderdale Super Boat Grand Prix last May. Mottola's boat was hit by a craft about twice its size and weight near the end of the race.
With a helicopter watching from overhead, the Army boat bravely made it home in third place. The damage cost about $15,000 to repair, and kept the boat out of action until the race in Chattanooga in October.
Gunning for Championship
Mottola's team raised its standing to that of a top contender when it defeated the defending world champion Crazy Chicken team twice in Chattanooga.
The win in one of the races was overturned because the GPS reading indicated it exceeded the maximum speed for the race by .1 mph.
That didn't prevent Mottola from looking ahead to the world championships with a lot of confidence.
"Anything can happen in a race," he said shortly before leaving for Florida, "but I'll bet my boat we'll win at Key West." With a maximum allowable speed of 72.0 applying to the P5 class, the GPS reading would come into play again.
As the driver, Mottola has to keep his eyes on the water ahead of him, the other boats and the GPS, sometimes all at the same time. When the speed approaches 70, he lets Nunez know so that his partner can adjust the tabs and throttle to slow the boat down.
Sometimes, a sudden change in the height of the seas can be enough to send the speed over the maximum.
Unlike the relatively smooth waters at Chattanooga, the three races at the 7.2 tri-oval Key West course involve moving back and forth from the relatively calm harbor to the more challenging seas of the Gulf.
The Army boat won the first race and seemed ready to smoke the Crazy Chicken again in the second.
"We led from start to finish," Nunez says, "and within 300 feet from the finish line, the GPS spiked from 71.1 to 72.1 after hitting a few wakes in the harbor. It is very frustrating to lead the entire race only to break out by .1 of a mile per hour so close to the finish line."
The last-place finish in that race due to the violation put them into a tie for second going into the 42-mile finale. They battled neck-and-neck with the Crazy Chicken through the first five laps.
"With one lap remaining," Nunez says, "John and I tried to do an aggressive pass from the inside and spun the back out after hitting the wake from the Crazy Chicken boat. I ended up landing on top of John and getting my shoulder banged up. We took off immediately and finished second about 8-10 seconds behind the Crazy Chicken team."
Nunez and Mottola say they never saw over 71.3 on the GPS the entire race. But when it was inspected after the race, it again showed a 72.1. That knocked them back to fourth place overall in the competition.
"Basically we lost the championship by .1 of a mph," Nunez concludes.
"The second race was the most painful," Mottola recalls, "because there was literally not a boat within a quarter mile of us."
The Future
For a number of reasons, that will be the last P5 class race for the Skull Mountain team. The goal is to have a Factory 2 or Super Vee (premier class) boat ready for the February race near Miami that will be held as a part of the Super Bowl weekend.
The Super Vee boat reaches speeds of 112 mph and costs between $300,000 and $350,000.
"We want to move up to a bigger boat where we can run as fast as we can," Mottola says. "We feel we've accomplished what we wanted in the P5 and are ready to move up. A lot will depend on how much sponsors contribute."
The Army boat gets a lot of attention wherever it goes. In Chattanooga, a military recruiting tent was set up around it. It drew large crowds in the boat parade for the world championships in Key West.
Mottola welcomes the opportunity to talk to potential recruits about the benefits of military service and how his success in business and racing is a direct result of the training and discipline he received while a member of the U.S. Army.
"Representing the Army is my way of giving back," he says. "The Army is not about using people and discarding them. It's about making them better people when they leave. That's what it did for me."
Mottola spent his share of time away from home as a soldier. He appreciates being with his family over the holidays this year.
"It's a very special time of year," he says, "and it's incredible the sacrifices the men and women in uniform are making. When you come home and you're in uniform, say at Wal-Mart, and somebody says, 'Thanks for what you do,' it makes the time away more manageable. It makes you feel you really are making a difference.
"Each and every one in uniform makes a difference. If you took away the pieces there would be no picture. We wouldn't have our freedom."
http://www.thepilot.com/stories/2006...myPowered.html
By Charlie Bergmann: Staff Writer
John Mottola calls holding up an American flag after winning a power boat race in Chattanooga two months ago one of the proudest moments in his life.
It was not only the first win in the exciting sport for Mottola, a Pinehurst resident and U.S. Army veteran, but it was also accomplished in a boat sponsored by the Army.
"It transcended the race," Mottola says of the gesture that resulted in cries of "Go Army" and chants of "USA, USA" from the spectators. "It was such a great experience because I'm so proud to represent the U.S. Army and my country, especially in a time of war.
"Regardless of whether people agree or disagree with the war, it's great to see patriotism. This country is a wonderful, wonderful place."
Last month, the fast-rising racing team that includes throttleman Jo Nunez of North Miami, Fla., competed for a world championship in Key West, Fla.
Mottola, 43, raced on the same waters where he watched his father compete many times in his youth.
"It was bigger than life back then," he says. "It captivated me. The guys who were racing were like heroes."
Mottola's wife and children were on hand to watch the Army boat win one of the three races in its class at Key West. A bid to unseat the Crazy Chicken team as world champions ended when the team's victory in the second race was vacated by a technicality.
Military Career
The interest in offshore powerboat racing came naturally after watching his father race them while growing up in Miami. A graduate of Florida State with a degree in psychology, Mottola joined the Army at the age of 26 as a private and earned his commission through OCS.
Mottola left the military in 2002 as an officer after 13 years, serving with such units as the 101st Airborne Division, 20th Special Forces Group and Special Operations Command (USAOC). Deployments took him to places such as Nigeria, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Nigeria, Bolivia and Panama.
Getting It Together
His last military assignment was as an attachment commander at Fort Bragg for USASOC. While setting up a security consulting business after his departure, he also began a search to put together a racing team.
The year-long effort materialized in a collaboration with Nunez, a world champion in 2001, who is in the boat-building business with his father Pepe Nunez. Mottola, the team's driver, set up Skull Mountain Racing Inc., with Jo Nunez on the throttle and Pepe Nunez as the crew chief.
"I think we have similar personalities," Mottola says of his partnership with Jo Nunez. "We're all about business and performance. We're in it because we want to win and promote the sport."
Mottola and his wife, Jan, have three children, Grace Ann, 4, Farrah, 2, and John Jr., 6 months. Jan Mottola takes care of the business end of the racing venture, including marketing activities.
"This is so much fun," she says, "because it's something we can do as a family. The children can cheer for their daddy."
"She does everything except driving and the maintenance of the boat," John Mottola says.
Racing Begins
There are about a dozen classes in races sanctioned by Superboat International (SBI) and the American Powerboat Association (APBA). The Skull Mountain team competes in the smallest class, the manufacturer production 5 (P5).
Its 24-foot Pantera boat is equipped with a 424-horsepower Mercury engine that can reach speeds of 80 mph. Most of the 3,800-pound weight of the boat is contained in an engine that is kept cool by having water running constantly through it.
"Without the water, it would burn up in a heartbeat," Mottola says.
Inland or on the sea, powerboat racing is not for the faint of heart. Both Mottola and his wife look at that side of it relatively, considering his previous occupation.
"My husband spent a lot of his life in Special Forces jumping out of airplanes," Jan Mottola says. "I probably feel he's safer when he's in the boat."
The boat does not have brakes. The sudden dips and rises in the height of the seas, coupled with heavy traffic, provide challenges. The biggest fears of the racers are getting thrown out of the boat or getting hit by another boat.
The racers are equipped with a flak jacket, helmet, life vest, gloves and a kill-switch attached to the life vest to shut off the engine.
In the races at Key West, about 18 boats from various classes take off from the starting line at the same time
"It's most dangerous on the first turn when all of the boats are close together," Mottola says.
The risks came into play during a successful debut at the Fort Lauderdale Super Boat Grand Prix last May. Mottola's boat was hit by a craft about twice its size and weight near the end of the race.
With a helicopter watching from overhead, the Army boat bravely made it home in third place. The damage cost about $15,000 to repair, and kept the boat out of action until the race in Chattanooga in October.
Gunning for Championship
Mottola's team raised its standing to that of a top contender when it defeated the defending world champion Crazy Chicken team twice in Chattanooga.
The win in one of the races was overturned because the GPS reading indicated it exceeded the maximum speed for the race by .1 mph.
That didn't prevent Mottola from looking ahead to the world championships with a lot of confidence.
"Anything can happen in a race," he said shortly before leaving for Florida, "but I'll bet my boat we'll win at Key West." With a maximum allowable speed of 72.0 applying to the P5 class, the GPS reading would come into play again.
As the driver, Mottola has to keep his eyes on the water ahead of him, the other boats and the GPS, sometimes all at the same time. When the speed approaches 70, he lets Nunez know so that his partner can adjust the tabs and throttle to slow the boat down.
Sometimes, a sudden change in the height of the seas can be enough to send the speed over the maximum.
Unlike the relatively smooth waters at Chattanooga, the three races at the 7.2 tri-oval Key West course involve moving back and forth from the relatively calm harbor to the more challenging seas of the Gulf.
The Army boat won the first race and seemed ready to smoke the Crazy Chicken again in the second.
"We led from start to finish," Nunez says, "and within 300 feet from the finish line, the GPS spiked from 71.1 to 72.1 after hitting a few wakes in the harbor. It is very frustrating to lead the entire race only to break out by .1 of a mile per hour so close to the finish line."
The last-place finish in that race due to the violation put them into a tie for second going into the 42-mile finale. They battled neck-and-neck with the Crazy Chicken through the first five laps.
"With one lap remaining," Nunez says, "John and I tried to do an aggressive pass from the inside and spun the back out after hitting the wake from the Crazy Chicken boat. I ended up landing on top of John and getting my shoulder banged up. We took off immediately and finished second about 8-10 seconds behind the Crazy Chicken team."
Nunez and Mottola say they never saw over 71.3 on the GPS the entire race. But when it was inspected after the race, it again showed a 72.1. That knocked them back to fourth place overall in the competition.
"Basically we lost the championship by .1 of a mph," Nunez concludes.
"The second race was the most painful," Mottola recalls, "because there was literally not a boat within a quarter mile of us."
The Future
For a number of reasons, that will be the last P5 class race for the Skull Mountain team. The goal is to have a Factory 2 or Super Vee (premier class) boat ready for the February race near Miami that will be held as a part of the Super Bowl weekend.
The Super Vee boat reaches speeds of 112 mph and costs between $300,000 and $350,000.
"We want to move up to a bigger boat where we can run as fast as we can," Mottola says. "We feel we've accomplished what we wanted in the P5 and are ready to move up. A lot will depend on how much sponsors contribute."
The Army boat gets a lot of attention wherever it goes. In Chattanooga, a military recruiting tent was set up around it. It drew large crowds in the boat parade for the world championships in Key West.
Mottola welcomes the opportunity to talk to potential recruits about the benefits of military service and how his success in business and racing is a direct result of the training and discipline he received while a member of the U.S. Army.
"Representing the Army is my way of giving back," he says. "The Army is not about using people and discarding them. It's about making them better people when they leave. That's what it did for me."
Mottola spent his share of time away from home as a soldier. He appreciates being with his family over the holidays this year.
"It's a very special time of year," he says, "and it's incredible the sacrifices the men and women in uniform are making. When you come home and you're in uniform, say at Wal-Mart, and somebody says, 'Thanks for what you do,' it makes the time away more manageable. It makes you feel you really are making a difference.
"Each and every one in uniform makes a difference. If you took away the pieces there would be no picture. We wouldn't have our freedom."
http://www.thepilot.com/stories/2006...myPowered.html
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