How good is your Crystal Ball?

[Ron P]

I just came upon this article on my harddrive and throught you might find it interestings.

In 2003 I was the Offshore Editor for Extreme Boats Magazine. As an idea for an article, I asked some friends and prominent people in the Offshore World to gaze into their crystal ball and see if they could forsee the future.

This article was published in the Spring of 2003 - Extreme Boats Magazine.
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How good is your crystal ball?

Hello Race Fans,

The new rules have been published, new race venues added and racers are getting ready for the kick off of the 2003-racing season. Meanwhile, it’s 8 degrees outside as I write this and the only thing racing on the water here in New Jersey are the iceboats.

Winter is a time to reflect and ponder what might have been and to plan what is to come. With that in mind, I thought it might be interesting to hear from some of the influential people within our sport and some opinionated racers. I complied a list of thought provoking questions that would lead to some interesting conversation. I hope you find that this discussion gives you something to ponder as we wait for the ice to turn back into water and to once again hear the roar of the racing engines echoing across the oceans, bays and lakes of America.


What is your name and club or race team affiliation?
Martin Sanborn, Former APBA President and TV show commentator.
Ted Ginnity, Chesapeake Bay Powerboat Association
Mark Henderson, OPA/SBI & APBA
Michael Allweiss, Chairman/CEO APBA Offshore LLC
Marty Coyle, Xtremely Dangerous Racing P4-9 – OPA
Josh Stein, H2O Performance.com/ Reindl Powerboats
Kurt Berger, OPA President and Throttleman for Bandit Racing
Augie Pensa, OPA Director and Driver – P4-13 – The Delicate Sound of Thunder
Randy Schleuss, APBA, SBI, OPA – Throttleman F1-1 Team Typhoon Racing

How many years will this be for your involvement in Offshore Racing?
MARTIN, 8 years.
TED, 16 years, 2-year hiatus
MARK, On and off with different teams for ten years only a couple of races a year though. I really appreciate all the owners/throttlemen that have had the confidence in me to let me race with them
MICHAEL, Since 1973.
MARTY, This will be my first year competing with my own boat. I’ve been a NJ Offshore volunteer for the last four years helping out with the OPA series.
JOSH, 3 Years – H2O Performance Website.
KURT, I’ve personally been racing for 25 years now. OPA was formed back in the 80s and ran a few local races in the Barnegat Bay. OPA was reactivated three years ago to bring divisional racing back to the Northeast.
AUGIE, This will be my second year of racing.
RS, I’ve been racing for 6 years.

What was the high point of last season?
MARTIN, Working with the racers to build a stronger relationship between them and the APBA LLC.
TED, No race last season, but we held some fantastic poker runs.
MARK, Being fortunate enough to drive the new 39’ Kryptonite, F2-3 Lynch Mob, thanks to Bill Purnell, Will Lynch & Kirk Rogers. Awesome boat!
MICHAEL, GMC Title Sponsorship Announcement; Bob Lutz and Tom Stephens of GM endorsing our partnership with GM and attending the Worlds in Key West; Sunday’s Super Cat Race at the Worlds.
MARTY, The purchase of my first race boat. I should mention that my teammate, Vinny Lazzara is my partner in the boat.
KURT, Last year was very successful. We accomplished a lot on a very limited budget and yet we were still able to help several charities and fund raisers. That alone gave me a feeling of accomplishment
AUGIE, The high point of my season came when we won the OPA P4 High point championship and competing in the SBI Worlds in New Orleans.
RANDY, When Glen and I won the 2002 F1 World Championship title in Key West.

What do you hope to change/improve for 2003?
MARTIN, Grow the sport’s entertainment value through better TV coverage. Our contract with Speed Channel will continue in 2003 with 84 airings. We look for exciting racing on the racecourse; this is what makes watching a race exciting. We will continue to focus our broadcast on great side-by-side racing as opposed to watching boats run away from the pack. We don’t know what class we will cover in the show until we review the footage to see what classes actually had close competitive racing. If you want to be on TV, make sure your racing against someone else.
TED, It is important to focus on the sport and the racers, not the politics and the pseudo-money.
MARK, To somehow, someway race a lot more than I did in 2002.
MICHAEL, Stabilize our schedule, improve safety and the competition, increase membership and continue to find ways to lower costs for the teams and improve prize money and sponsorships for teams and series.
MARTY, Looking forward to making the move from the spectator fleet over to the milling area.
JOSH, Less classes and more coverage for smaller boats and low budget teams. These are the bread and butter of offshore racing and it needs to be affordable for these teams.
KURT, In 2003 we hope to build greater recognition and respect for OPA as the N.E. Divisional Series. Improve the quality of our racing venues and begin to give back to
our customers, the racers.
AUGIE, As a Board Member of OPA and a founding member of the Jersey Boyz, I’ll do whatever I can to help improve divisional racing. My personal goal is to make the OPA races as warm and friendly as possible.
RANDY, In 2003 we plan to win the National Championship title in addition to the World Championship.

Regarding racing, what is your greatest regret from 2002?
MARTIN, I didn’t get a chance to race even once last year.
TED, No race in the Chesapeake region last year, due to previous politics and overall apathy.

MARK, Not being able to afford my own race boat.
MICHAEL, My biggest regret from 2002 was that I did not get a chance to race at least once. I intend to remedy that this season!
KURT, My only regret is not enough hours in a day or days in a week to do everything. Many of the race teams are my customers at KURT Competition Center, so between preparing the race boats and setting up the race venues I have little time to sit back and enjoy participating in the actual race.
AUGIE, Blowing one of my engines in my first race and then blowing a drive in the second race.
RANDY, Breaking while in the lead at Daytona. Those points proved to be critical at the end of the season.

Do you have a master plan?
MARTIN, Yes, our plan for the TV show is to expand the coverage to include all aspects of the high performance boating lifestyle including some Poker Runs.
TED, No, other than to bring back a smooth, fun, and safe event.
MARK, Yes, to sign a lot more business and make a lot more money...that’s what it is going to take! Does anyone need an insurance policy?
MICHAEL, YES!!!!!
MARTY, The plan is to have the boat ready for the OPA season opener in Brick NJ, on June 1st.
KURT, Yes. To provide racers and race enthusiasts an affordable, safe and manageable way to enjoy our sport on a budget. We also want to make sure the whole family is having fun while being entertained.
AUGIE, To bring as many boats as possible to the OPA NE series. The bigger the party the more fun it is.
RANDY, The plan is to race all of the APBA national events and the OPA NE divisional series. We plan on winning every race we enter. Eventually some sponsor will notices us and pay us to race. We ran 14 races in 2002 so we’re doing our part.

If so, are you on target?
MARK, I’d say yes.
MICHAEL, I would say we are ahead of the original plan but fell behind a little bit on the revised plan once the economy weakened. But, we are entering the 4th year of a 10year plan and we are pleased with where we are in terms of our plan and where we think the economy will be by the fourth quarter of this year. I would say, however, we must remember NASCAR began its “new business” in 1947 and it took decades for them to achieve ultimate success and they really did not start on that road until 1971 when Winston signed on as their title sponsor. With GM in our corner, I would equate our position as NASCAR in 1971 but we plan on reaching 2002 NASCAR style success in far fewer than 30 years. Five years would be more like it.
MARTY, So far, so good. We’ll probably be installing the drives the night before the race but we should be able to make it.
KURT, Yes, 100%.
AUGIE, Absolutely.
RANDY, Let’s just say that the phones aren’t ringing off the hook yet.

Where do you see the sport in 5 years?
MARTIN, Continued growth as long as the politics can be overcome. Having two sanctioning bodies that run almost identical race formats isn’t doing the sport any good. Somehow, we need to get past this so we can focus on what is great within our sport.
TED, I would hope that some of the egos are quelled and a more respectable, respectful tone is carried throughout the sport.
MARK, I don’t think it will be at the level of NASCAR but I don’t think that it is unrealistic to think that there will be outstanding TV coverage, a strong fan base, substantial race purses and point funds as well as fully sponsored race teams.
MICHAEL, See above.
MARTY, I would guess in five years, APBA will be the Big Dog left standing. SBI will probably be reduced to local events…they (SBI) just aren’t drawing boats. APBA will have full “spec” racing…with only Factory GM/Mercury power plants. OPA will prosper into a large North East race series for grass roots racers like me.
JOSH, I see the sport becoming more mainstream and fitting more into the extreme sports genre. I think there is a huge potential for the sport to grow if it was marketed correctly. That seems to be one of the main issues right now.
KURT, I know you would like to hear me say how things will be different, or better in five years but unfortunately, I don’t see much change on the horizon. I do see that offshore racing will continue to grow as racers learn how to race more affordably. I’ve seen a lot over the last twenty-five years, so I can predict that over the next five years each sanction body will gain and lose momentum. Some of the players will change. The ego’s will come and go. But the game will remain basically the same.
AUGIE, Hopefully it will be bigger and better. I’d like to see it become more affordable so that more teams could see what the excitement is all about.
RANDY, Where ever it is, I’ll be there with the rest of Team Typhoon, aka, The Dog Pound. I’m easy to find, I’ll be the one holding the checkered flag.

If you could wish for one thing what would it be?
MARTIN, All the politics to go away. Both Sanctioning bodies should focus on the satisfaction of the racers above and beyond anything else. If the racers are happy, then everything else will fall into place.
TED, That more people could be exposed to the thrill of offshore racing whether through television, in person, or as a participant.
MARK, I would like to see a real entry-level spec class for teams with limited budgets. In my opinion Factory 1 is not even close to being entry level and the bracket rules of P5 are not that appealing. Something more like a 24’ with a single outboard engine should be the entry-level class.
MICHAEL, Peace, Health and Happiness for my family, including every one of our sponsors, teams, racers, their sponsors and families and our fans. With that, everything else falls into place.
MARTY, An unlimited racing budget.
JOSH, As far as racing goes, I would wish that all of the teams and various organizations would come together and put the past behind them and bring racing back to its roots.
KURT, That safety takes precedence over everything else.
AUGIE, To loose a few pounds and to have additional income to keep up with my new racing habit.

RANDY, To be able to race without it costing money out of my pocket.

What is your favorite race site and why?
MARTIN, Sarasota is great, Corpus Christi isn’t bad but Key West is my favorite place to race or watch one.
TED, Key West.... because it's Key West.
MARK, Point Pleasant, NJ. Being able to compete in the race that I followed so closely as a kid has been a dream come true for me.
MICHAEL, I refuse to answer that on the grounds that it might incriminate me! Actually, I truly believe every one of our race sites offers something unique and special to the offshore racing experience.
MARTY, Key West…the best atmosphere, hands-down.
JOSH, Corpus Christi is pretty great. The whole setup is first class and the city itself really supports the racers and fans. Everybody is really supportive and it seems the whole city of Corpus knows the racers are in town. Not to mention the great viewing from the seawall. Cannot be beat.
KURT, I enjoy different race sites as a way to experience all the cultures from around the world. I liked racing in Northport Michigan on the Great Lakes and I liked racing at The Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas. It’s also how well you do in a particular race that will make a site be one of your favorites to visit each year.
AUGIE, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ. Home of big water racing.
RANDY, You can not beat the Key West World Championship races. This is the water that separates the men from the boys.

 

[Ron P]

What do you think it will take to bring offshore racing to the point where teams could actually make money in racing?
MARTIN, We need to bring up the show value before the race teams can attract sponsors that will pay for the boats to attend the races. The sanctioning bodies need to understand that without the racers on the race course they wouldn’t be able to attract sponsorship either, so there needs to be a balance.
TED, The sanctioning bodies need to be truly fair and equitable and strive to create income specifically for the racers rather than for the sanctioning body. A true marketing plan is also needed with an eye towards mass-market exposure in every facet of the media.
MARK, That is literally the multimillion-dollar question. Offshore racing is the most exciting motorsport there is and it does not receive the recognition it deserves. Hopefully someday it will. I do believe that the APBA is making some positive strides in that direction.
MICHAEL, Look, it is a common misconception that the other motor sports make money for the participants. Many professional drivers in the major sports such as Formula One and NASCAR make nice livings but many of them don’t. The same is true with team owners. Indeed, one of the more prominent F1 teams recently folded for lack of funding. Very few actually make money directly from the racing itself but do derive income from racing related business ventures. Well, our sport has a growing number of folks most notably TNT Custom Marine in Miami, that makes money from racing and related activities. Names like Kurt Berger and Tres Martin whose chosen professions involve racing and high performance boat companies, are other examples.

I think the better question is: When will our sport see a noticeable increase in the amount of prize money and sponsorship money available to the teams and crews? I do not think the formula is rocket science material. First, the sport needs a big name, anchor series title sponsor with a long-term commitment to give the sport a higher profile, increased public awareness, and most importantly, big league credibility. Well, we have that so the next step will be to properly take advantage of the opportunity.

This will take a team effort. APBA Offshore now needs to secure additional investment capital and put that money to work on improving our television exposure, building infrastructure that enables us to produce our own events from sponsorships to event logistics – turnkey bleacher systems, tents, trucks and trailers to haul the show, portable corporate VIP suites, better television, more television, a full-time sales force to assist the series and the teams, more internal event production staff, etc.

The teams need to continue to compete as fiercely as they are now. They need to make sure they appear professional and competent at all times especially when they are on television.

With the anchor sponsor, our own sites, improved television, and good competition, all of the elements are in place. Now it is simply a question of time and patience. Rome was not built in a day and NASCAR was built over 50 years. We are looking at 5 more years so we should be excited and work together to make it happen.

MARTY, I don’t honestly believe that will happen.

JOSH, I’m not sure that is really possible unless we have support from the big TV networks that can capture the excitement and bring it mainstream. I mean, if these huge networks can really see what we’re all about, I think this would really help us to get people involved. And in return, bring in the sponsorship dollars that payout the winnings.

KURT, Until we can set up a racecourse in a stadium were we can control the gate it won’t be possible. We need to put it all in a nice neat package in order to sell it as a finished product; otherwise it’s like trying to sell swampland in Florida

AUGIE, Bring the boats in numbers and the sponsors will follow. Give the fans a close to the beach race with a race program so they know who’s racing. A better informed fan will enjoy the race more and feel like they are a part of the action.

RANDY, We need to move toward having less classes with more boats per class. Then run individual races with each class. Fans don’t like what they can’t understand.

Are you moving in that direction? If so, how?
TED, No, we are a not-for-profit organization that is not interested in national events or the baggage attached to them anymore.
MARK, I have been close with a few teams to signing a legitimate sponsor, but it hasn’t happened yet. I think the APBA’s competition based rules format has really improved the marketability of the sport.
MICHAEL, See above.
JOSH, I hope so. We are currently working with some pretty large restaurant chains and other possible large sponsors. Our goal is to put the sponsors and teams together. This makes it possible for teams to participate all season.
KURT, We have been shortening the racecourses, bringing the courses closer to shore, trying to contain the package, but in my opinion not drastically enough.
AUGIE, Working with OPA and the Jersey Boyz has been an experience for me. OPA’s new 5 class P class only format has hit a nerve with local racers as we have drawn about 60 P class racers to so interest in this grass roots race series. This will be the most affordable race series in years. Any boat can race because we can fit them into a speed bracket.
RANDY, Not from what I can see.

What are your thoughts on classes? Do you feel there are too many?
MARTIN, No not too many, just too many being covered by TV. We show racing on TV, whether it’s in F1 or SuperCat. Side by side racing will always get the camera’s attention.
TED, I think that the OPA idea for 5 classes is good for regional/divisional racing. A national race circuit needs to have enough pro classes to include all the different setups but not so many as to end up with 2 boats per class. Probably 6 classes including 3 true factory classes, Unlimited V, Unlimited Cat, and One Design (Reindl).
MARK, Yes and No
MICHAEL, People tend to forget that NASCAR nationally is made up of dozens and dozens of classes, and at many Winston Cup events you will see Trucks, Busch cars and other series racing on the same weekend. What you do not see is all of the vehicles on the same track at the same time – although that might be kind of interesting.

So, I do not think we have too many classes especially because there are so many different boat and engine configurations available today. What I would like to see, however, is a reduction in the number of technical rules based classes on the national or Pro Series level so we can build those classes, which we believe have the best chance of long term success and growth.

To that end, we have eliminated the twin engine outboard, A and B classes for 2003, due to a lack of participation and interest. I think in 2004 you could see the elimination of another 2 classes or so if we do not see growth and a commitment from participants this coming season. So going forward on the national or Pro Series event level you could see two Super Cat series classes, two – three Super V series classes and of course two Factory V-Bottom classes, all on sealed spec engines to control cost, increase reliability and greatly enhance competition. As we have seen, each of these classes has the potential to field 10-15 boats at every event and the racing is real tight and fierce.

The Outlaw Series is also critically important to increase our fan and participant bases. The racing is fun and exciting and as someone who has raced in a P3, I can tell you there is nothing “local” or “entry level” about it. This series works because it is simple – not perfect – and inclusive without all of the technical rules to complicate and aggravate the situation. We also envision a day when you will see Mega Events like we have now where all classes are invited and events with combinations of series or stand alone events with only one series attending. This too will increase the exposure for our sport and this the opportunities for our teams to race and perhaps generate additional money for their programs.
MARTY, Yes but it’s getting better.
JOSH, Way too many. It seems that the average spectator just cannot follow the races anymore. Isn’t that what’s important? We need to educate and make it easier for the All-American family to get a better grasp on the sport. And in my opinion, I think reducing the classes is the first logical step.
KURT, Classes are made for racers, some for sponsors and always too many classes as a result.
RANDY, See above.

What would be the ideal situation regarding classes of boats?

MARK, A select few national “Pro” classes that receive the majority of the media attention and prize money.... and many divisional “Sportsman’ classes providing an opportunity to attract as many participants as possible. This works in drag racing, sports car racing and off road racing, why not offshore powerboat racing? Divisional racing is the backbone of this sport in my opinion, the current P-Class system does not work as well as it could.
MICHAEL, See above.
MARTY, I’d like to see the P classes run as a separate divisional series apart from the Factory and Super Classes that run on the national circuit.
JOSH, Less classes and more boats in each class. What more could you ask for.
KURT, National races should be for Super Cat and Super Vee boats. Divisional races should support P- 1 through P-5 classes.
RANDY, Supercat, Super V Lite 2, F1, that’s it for boats on the national level. The other boats should race in divisional P class races.

Who is your most important client and why?

MARTIN, APBA has three clients. The racers, the sponsors and the fans. The racers need to be the most important of the three especially at this stage in the sport’s development.
TED, Our members, they are what keeps our club alive.
MICHAEL, Everyone is important to us from the P5 teams and families to General Motors. The only way we can thrive is to adopt that attitude from the top of our organization on down.
JOSH, The smaller race teams and poker runners. These are the guys that truly have a passion for boating and do it for the pure joy and exhilaration of it. They are also the ones that come to us for sponsor development programs and motorsports marketing materials.
KURT, That is a good question. Right now our most important client is the racer. That’s because he is the only one spending the money. So of course you take care of the guy with the cash. But I believe the fans and spectators must become our most important client as our series grows.
RANDY, My family, friends and fans. I have no clients because I don’t receive any money from racing. I should be an important client on some other people’s list.

What is your greatest asset and why?
MARTIN, My personal knowledge base and my credibility with the racers.
TED – Our members are our greatest assets.
MARK, My enthusiasm for the sport has lead to some success in attracting sponsors.
MICHAEL, My family because they are the source of my happiness and being happy is critically important to being successful
MARTY, Determination ... you have to have that if you want to be involved with this sport.
JOSH, I think my greatest asset is my passion for the sport. I truly feel that this is the most exciting motorsport in the world and love what I do. I look forward to being in this industry for a long, long time.
KURT, My greatest asset is that OPA is not a business, we do this as volunteers. That it does not have to generate a profit. It would be nice and I wouldn’t discourage it, but it doesn’t need to make money in order to survive. This allows me to take some chances to try and better the sport without worrying where our next dollar is coming from.
AUGIE, Being an honest and friendly person. I try to be helpful to everyone.
RANDY, The Crew and the Dog Pound.

What is your personal favorite racing class and why?

MARTIN, Super V, because I love going fast in a V-Bottom.
TED – Factory 2 is as close to the way racing was in the "Old Days" when the likes of Aronow, Cook, Bertram, etc. were racing. And the boats are big enough to still run in pretty big water.
MARK, Factory 1, strong fields of evenly matched boats is what it is all about.
MICHAEL, I love them all but if I had to choose I would say it is Factory 1. That is where I started racing. The guys and gals in F1 are nuts and tough as nails. It is a grueling brutal style of racing but most of all it is where I first met my best friends in racing.
MARTY, I like the V-bottom classes. I’m not a big catamaran fan.
JOSH, I have to say the Super Vees, but I am also a fan of P boat racing. They just are the epitome of what an offshore race boat is all about and very exciting to watch them race. Just wish there were more racers involved. The P Boats are also an incredible class to follow and its neat to watch them go at it neck to neck. The last few races were really close and it made for great racing.
KURT, I loved the old P-class. Those small blocks would really sing.
AUGIE, I really like the P classes, there are more boats to race against and the racing is more competitive.
RANDY, F1 because it’s the most competitive with the biggest fleet of boats. There are some really good racers out there and we really enjoy the deck-to-deck racing.

Please explain what you learned from racing that you have carried over into producing the race circuit?

MARTIN, The racers must be kept happy. They are the primary customers of any race series, especially when there is not a reasonable expectation that their involvement will yield them a profit. Until the sport matures and develops into a profitable business for the racers, they are the customers.
TED, Treat the racers as professionals until they act like children, and then rap them on the knuckles to get them back in line.
MICHAEL, Simply this: Create events that are fun and exciting for the racers and everything else will fall into place. Racers are our customers too.
KURT, Make it fun. Especially for the families and friends. If we are not going to get rich racing, at least we will have a blast going broke.
AUGIE, I’ve learned that there is no money to be made in offshore racing, YET! So just go out and have fun and that’s what it’s all about Racing is entertainment on many different levels. The family value has to be at the top of the list.

Do you have a personal message that you would like to send to our readers?

MARTIN, Keep the faith and keep focused on having fun. Look past the politics and keep positive.
TED, Watch for the return of offshore racing to the Chesapeake Bay, a good fan base will assure quality racing for years to come.
MARK, It is great to see the APBA and OPA, CBPBRA, OPBRA & GLSCS working together again. This could be the start of some great things for the sport of offshore powerboat racing. Remember Key West 1994 with 147 boats I think this year is going to be better yet!
MICHAEL, I share their love and passion for offshore racing and the decisions I make are always based on what I believe is in the best interest of the overall sport.
MARTY, Offshore Racing…get involved…it’s awesome!!
JOSH, Stay tuned for one hell of a race season. For up-to-date information and coverage of the 2003 season, be sure to visit: www.H2Operformance.com
KURT, Come and watch our show. Then tell us if the family fun, entertainment and racing excitement wasn’t worth the price of admission. Even if it was free!
AUGIE, Come out with your friends, family, and in-laws to enjoy a day at the races this summer. Stop by the pits and meet the racers, get an autograph or a T-shirt from your favorite team. If you have ever considered racing, there is no time better than now to get involved. Call APBA, SBI or OPA, to get your reserved seat on the starting grid for the most incredible adrenaline rush that you’ll ever have. Finally, I’d like to wish good luck and safe racing to all the teams in the 2003 season.
RANDY, We need some fresh competition to try and knock me and Glen off the podium in 2003. If you think you’ve got what it takes, you can find us at any of the APBA national series races in F1 and the OPA Northeast races in P4.

I’d like to thank each of our panel members for taking the time to respond to this questionnaire. The one message that I get loud and clear is that the best is yet to come!

The one question I didn’t ask was; What’s wrong with Offshore racing as it stands today? Believe the answer to that question is that nothing is wrong. As long as racers have a racecourse to race on and spectators fill the shoreline to watch the spectacle, we’re doing just fine.

I’ll see ya at the races,

Ron

 

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

The song remains the same.

 

[Ted]

Hmm, how bout dat

 

[Tres]

fastest thing on the water is going slow and will never get back on track untill all the classes turn into less classes and make everything aligned and One organization only.:willy_nilly: