WHM Motorsports Wins 20th Annual Super Boat Grand Prix
Super Boat International Powerboats Put On Great Show On The Hudson River
New York (September 14, 2010) – Beautiful weather early in the week gave way to a cloudy rainy day for the 20th annual Super Boat Grand Prix, but as luck would have it, the rains did not start until the checkered flag was thrown for hometown favorite, WHM Motorsports. Super Boat International (SBI) is the only racing sanction body permitted to close the Hudson River for an extreme event like Power Boat Racing. Fans on both sides of the river watched as teams competed on a very bumpy and changing racecourse.
WHM owner, Billy Mauff likes racing in New York City. “It’s a great race course with a spectacular skyline. I’ve always loved racing here and to come away today with a win is great. The weather held out for us and it was so much fun racing out there… diving in the turns and running along Manhattan.” For Mauff and teammate Jay Muller, it looked easy steering the bumpy course, but for the Popeyes Supercat, it was a completely different story.
As one team appeared to be racing as normal, they used every tool in the bag to steer around the course. Driver Stan Ware, alongside owner Michael Stancombe, put it best when Ware said, “It (steering wheel) just broke off and here I am, holding the wheel with no control. Michael looked at me like… wow, we shouldn’t be going this fast without a steering wheel.” Quickly thinking, Stancombe settled the boat down and, then like pulling a rabbit out of the hat, grabbed a pipe wrench out of the toolbag and secured it to the steering column. All was good with the makeshift steering arm. Determination, ingenuity, and maybe just being a little crazy, led Stancombe and team to finish first in the Super Boat Super Cat class.
Multi-time Vee Bottom champion, Peter Meyer, also exclaimed his love for racing the Hudson River. “This is it… I love racing here. My family and friends get to come down here to watch the race. My commute to the racecourse early this morning was by boat! You just can’t have a better day when you get to hop on a cruiser early in the morning when all is quiet, take in the scenery, pull up to the marina and jump onto the race boat for a day of racing. It was just unbelievable to look at the New York skyline while racing. Today’s race was great. We saw Media Master take off… we waited for things to settle down, then we just made smart and calculated turns. The rain held off and it was truly a good day.”
Along with Meyer, was driver Joe Sgro of Instigator Motorsports, who stated “everyone’s gotta like this race. With the waves slapping off the ferry boats and big holes, you just don’t know what you’re gonna get into… that’s what makes it fun.”
Other teams making a great showing this weekend were US-1 Warpaint, Loriblu Super Cat with their new MTI, and Shed’s Plus also campaigning a new boat for the 2010 season.
The next race for Super Boat International is September 17th – 19th, the 5th Annual Crystal Coast Super Boat Grand Prix in Morehead City, North Carolina.
