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Fountain
Powerboat Teams Dominate
Marathon Competition
Washington,
NC June 14, 2004: Fountain
Powerboats offshore
racing teams took to
the unusually calm waters
of the Florida Keys
for the third stop on
the Super Boat International
pro tour. The 3rd Annual
Marathon Offshore Grand
Prix proved to be challenging
even with the calmer
waters, as the teams
had to navigate under
the old seven mile bridge,
make a 180 degree turn,
and return to the gulf
back through the bridge.
The combination of the
converging tide, and
the narrow spans of
the bridge made for
exciting racing as the
Fountain teams dominated
both of the vee-bottom
classes at the event.
In typical
fashion, Rio Roses,
piloted by Ben Robertson,
Jr. and Jeff Harris
battled against their
rival Firewater, piloted
by Herb Stottler and
Rich Wyatt in Superboat
V. Both of the 42' Fountain
hulls ran flawlessly
for the entire 83-mile
race, averaging over
93 miles per hour over
the entire event. Ultimately
it was Firewater that
prevailed, with an average
lap speed of 95.77 miles
per hour. Veteran throttleman
Jeff Harris said, "they
had speed on us from
the start. We made a
change in our propellers,
and it cost us, as Firewater
had a 2 mile per hour
advantage." "The
water was so smooth
that on several occasions,
I ran entire laps only
letting off of full
throttle on the u-turn
before going back under
the bridge" continued
Harris. The victory
was the second of the
season for the Firewater
team giving them the
lead in the national
points, with Rio Roses
in second place.
In Superboat
V Limited, Fountains
dominated taking the
top 5 positions in the
6 boat race. Former
World Champions Roger
Ausley and David Knight
broke their string of
bad luck, beating their
nearest competition
by nearly a 1 miler
per hour advantage over
their 71 mile course.
Second place went to
National Marine, piloted
by Joe Sgro and Peter
Meyer, in their 38'
Mercury powered Fountain
with #6 Speedmaster
drives, while Brett
Furshman's Miccosukee
Indian Gaming came in
a close third. The second
place finish for National
Marine moved them into
the top position in
the national points
chase.
The event
also saw the return
on legendary throttleman
Art Lilly, teamed up
with his partner David
Woods in their new 42'
Mercury powered Fountain.
Lilly and Woods had
previously been running
a 42' Catamaran in the
unlimited class. Both
Lilly and Woods said
that they were entering
the competitive V-Limited
class due to the intense
competition the class
has been experiencing.
Marathon marked the
debut event for the
boat with the new engine
configuration, and they
had no testing time
together in the boat
prior to the event.
Once this boat gets
dialed in, they are
expected to be one of
the top teams in the
class.
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