An Economy Where Home and Automobile Sales Have Fallen Through the Floor, and Credit Is Tighter Than the Tolerances in an F1

an economy where home and automobile sales have fallen guy who might have stepped up in the past is looking at his through the floor, and credit is tighter than the tolerances in boat and saying, ‘I might be better served to put my $5000 an F1 engine, it should come as no surprise to anyone that or $10,000 back into this boat and let it last me two or three new performance boats are not exactly flying off of showroom more years.’ So that segment of our market is strong...and floors. However, this trend holds its share of opportunities for there’s still opportunity.” racing entrepreneurs. Drag Boat Racers Unite! “Boats are definitely a luxury item, and we are seeing signif- By all accounts, despite record fuel prices and the economic icant cutbacks in OEM orders,” said Tom Veronneau at Livorsi downturn, marine racing left a very decent 2008 season in its Marine in Grayslake, Illinois, a supplier of gauges, dash panels, wake...and is looking forward to more of the same in 2009. controls, headers, and other products for the marine, off-road, Several sanctioning organizations had big news to report. and auto racing markets. “I almost feel guilty saying this, but we’re going into our As a direct result of those slowed sales, Veronneau and biggest year ever,” enthused Charlie Fegan of the International others we spoke with in the performance marine industry Hot Boat Association (IHBA) in Bosque Farms, New Mexico, reported upbeat news for the aftermarket as enthusiasts refur- who told us that all US drag boat racing has been united under bish and upgrade their existing craft for an additional year or the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series for 2009. The new series two of service. will bring the IHBA, Southern Drag Boat Association (SDBA), “People who can’t afford, or get financing for, a new boat, St. Louis Drag Boat Association (SLDBA), Columbia Drag Boat or just prefer to sit on their current one for now, are investing Association (CDBA), and Kentucky Drag Boat Association in upgrades to enhance the performance and appearance of (KDBA) under a single rulebook, uniting approximately 900 their old boats,” explained Marilyn DeMartini of PR Power in race teams, both pro and sportsman, across the country. Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who represents both Latham Marine, “We’ve been involved with Lucas for seven years and they’ve which offers more than 17,000 performance parts and compo- been our series sponsor,” explained Fegan. “Two years ago, nents such as steering systems used in both pleasure cruis- they started doing our TV shows in-house and they started ing and boat racing, and the international Powerboat P1 World doing quite well, and our ratings continue to grow on Speed Championship organization that is looking to bring a high-pro- Channel. They’ve had wonderful success with it and are now file P1 race to the US in the next year or so. looking to some more race sites outside of just what the IHBA According to Scott Price at Hardin Marine, Palm Coast, has, so they’ve formed this series with all of the associations to Florida, a supplier of strictly marine-based products to both get out there and really sell the sport of drag boat racing.” the OEMs and the aftermarket, “The OEM boat builder share “We are very proud of this historic alliance,” stated Bob of the market is off based on the sheer lack of financing. What Patison of Lucas Oil Products, Corona, California, who said we see instead is the end-user, rather than buying a new the newly unified series will consist of 46 events in 10 states boat, turning around and refurbishing his existing one. The and will be featured in prime time for 13 weeks on Speed. “We 8 Performance Racing Industry | June 2009 By Virginia DeMoss including the US’s American Power Boat Association (APBA), based in Eastpointe, Michigan. have seen the potential of “We’re cautiously optimistic,” stated Mark Weber, president of drag boat racing through our years the APBA and event director for its prestigious Gold Cup hydro- Photo courtesy of Markof involvement Sharley and ULHRA. with the IHBA series. Now that plane races on the Detroit River, who reported a good 2008 everyone has united with one common goal, we can season. “We thought we were really going to see a decline in bring something truly special to the race fans.” participation because of the fuel costs, and it didn’t happen. I Beverly Stokes of Drag Boat Review, Eufaula, Oklahoma, was surprised at that, I have to say, because these are sports- also had high hopes for the new series. “In 2008, there were man racers, racing out of their personal accounts, they’re not upwards of 150 race participants competing under the sanc- heavily sponsored. There are obviously a lot of people that are tions of the IHBA and the SDBA, which hosts the largest con- dedicated to the sport that they love.” tingent of racers across the country,” she said. “With the recent APBA has made no cutbacks to its 2009 season, includ- agreement between Lucas Oil Products and the top five sanc- ing the high-powered Super Boat International (SBI)/APBA tioning bodies in the United States to begin running a tele- Offshore series, whose opener returned to Miami in April for vised national series, 2009 may very well prove to increase its 19th year. New to the schedule this year is Michigan City, participation by 20 to 30 percent.” Indiana, on the southern shore of Lake Michigan. The Race Scene “From listening to the racers and everything else, everybody “As of last season, boat racing was not affected very much intends on participating and running the circuits they have in here or in the rest of the world,” said Charles Strang of Antioch, the past,” said Weber. “While none of the venues are dropping Illinois, former president and current VP of the Union for off, they are continuously finding it challenging to keep their International Motorboating (UIM), headquartered in Monaco. prior sponsorship commitments or levels of commitment, and The marine equivalent of the Federation Internationale de that has obviously been a struggle.” l’Automobile (FIA), the UIM is composed of organizations in 52 To keep APBA moving full speed ahead, Weber noted that his nations that conduct boat racing under its established rules, whole platform as president “has been to remove the barriers The opportunities for engine builders and engine parts suppliers vary across the board in the marine market, depending on the type of racing. Some classes are essentially stock as purchased and other classes are anything goes, reported one contact. However, there are specialist performance engine builders who do successfully build engines for both cars and boats. Photo courtesy of Ilmor Marine Engines/ARP Inc. June 2009 | www.performanceracing.com 9 •Technology •Analysis •Comment of entry,” and two major programs that will sports that actually encourages small be put into place over the next two years block power to compete equitably against �� were designed to do exactly that. big blocks, and supercharged engines �� APBA now has its own driving school, to compete against naturally aspirated which was poised to launch at the end boats,” Muncey said. �� of May in Dayton, Ohio. Noting that the Full Speed Ahead �� Junior Class driving school is only $50, News was upbeat from APR Events �� and the most advanced school is just Group, New Martinsville, West Virginia, �� $200, he said, “We’re making it easy for whose national APBA-sanctioned F2 �� people to find out if they like our sport.” and F3 tunnel boat tour, the Powerboat If they do, the organization is also low- Superleague, has actually added two ering the cost barrier for getting involved. events in major markets for 2009, includ- “Our board of directors has contracted ing Memphis, Tennessee. “I thought 2008 �� 0 4 a company to build a spec boat for a would be a hard act to follow, frankly, �� ISSN 0961-1096 9 770961 109081 one-design race class, much like, say, a but I think we’re going to ace it,” said OFC_RE19N4_F1 2009.indd 1 20/2/09 11:42:09 Legends car, that will make it very easy Sherron Winer. to get involved in power boat racing as EXCLUSIVE US a motorsport,” explained Weber. SUBSCRIPTION OFFER William Muncey, of Unlimited Light Take out a 1-year subscription to Hydroplane Racing Association (ULHRA) Racecar Engineering magazine for in Monroe, Washington, said that all the just $110 and don’t miss a single powerplants used in ULHRA competi- edition of the essential motorsport tion are automotive in origin. “Many of technology read. the components are acquired over the • In-depth analysis of new counter at the local auto parts store,” he competition machines explained. “It is a common myth and mis- • Interviews with key ﬁgures conception that the engines are marine • Insight into the most recent versions for marine use. They’re purely technical developments automotive high performance.” • Reports from major international Muncey also mentioned that business motorsport shows and conferences opportunities are possibly a little stron- • Detailed features covering the ger in the marine market. “Television cov- latest hardware and software erage is less expensive to create, and For those planning to make the crossover from available to enhance vehicle brand awareness for sponsors is perhaps auto racing into the marine market, the good performance news is that many manufacturers of race car more effective than other types of motor- components also offer products for boats.

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