Team AMSOIL Offshore in Michigan City

Team AMSOIL Battles Lake Michigan for 3rd at SBI Great Lakes Grand Prix

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Immediately after a stellar performance at Saint Clair, Michigan, Team AMSOIL Offshore crossed the state for the SBI Great Lakes Super Boat Grand Prix in Michigan City, Indiana.  It was the first time since 2010 that the Team had raced at Michigan City and the large local spectator turnout that year had them anticipating another great event!  Not only does the picturesque white sand beach pack with people for miles, there is a Saturday night street parade and block party that, combined with the race, attract over 100,000 fans!


While the conditions in Saint Clair are almost always fast and flat, Michigan City is on the south east coast of Lake Michigan, which is generally rough and treacherous.  Aside from the rough water final race at last year’s Key West World Championships, the team had not run the AMSOIL 368 Skater in its current Superboat configuration in rough water “washing machine” conditions commonly found on the Great Lakes and in the Gulf.  Bearing that in mind, they went to work Friday and Saturday to find the right setup.  Throttleman Bob Teague and Driver John Teague tested multiple setups on Saturday as the Lake whipped up inconsistent 3 foot waves.  After 60 miles of hard running, they felt confident in their setup for the conditions.

Unfortunately, conditions on Lake Michigan can vary day to day.  The waves can be wind driven locally, or from 400 miles away, and stormy weather this time of year can be difficult to predict.  Making things more difficult, it is almost impossible to judge the severity of the water from the shore.  On Sunday, after hearing conflicting reports from some local sources, and further conflicting reports from participants in the first race of the day, the Team had a setup dilemma on their hands. Ballast must be solid form and set prior to racing since there are no pumped liquid or movable ballast systems allowed.  Stern drive gear ratio is also set at a 1.61:1 reduction per class rules. This makes propeller selection one of the few and most critical decisions a team can make for any given race setup.  After some debate, Bob and John settled on a set of propellers, and went out to the race course.

Before the father and son duo even made it to the milling circle, they knew they had made a mistake.  At the start, they took the AMSOIL Skater in closer to the beach, looking for smoother water to pull better top speed and sweep the first turn on the outside.  The first turn was too lumpy to carry good speed through it, and they came out even with boat #33 Sailor Jerry after some dicey moments.

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The back straightaway proved to be even worse with large holes exiting turn 1 and unpredictable holes at about half track.  Bob and John dove inside and outside over the next few laps, trying to find a way to get their setup to work and were forced to fall in line with Sailor Jerry.

The water was not just rough but out of rhythm and mostly unreadable, in other words, typical Lake Michigan.  They knew 80 plus miles in that water could break boats and men, and fell into survival mode knowing that their setup could not compete.  On lap 6 Cleveland Construction retired with a destroyed crash box or drive plate, losing forward gear.  After a few more laps, conditions improved slightly on the front straightaway and the #77 Skater started to pull the top RPM and speed they needed.

Although they pushed harder and improved lap times, Bob and John could not catch the #33 MTI and finished the race on the lead lap in 3rd place.  Congratulations to WHM Motorsports and Sailor Jerry on their 1st and 2nd place finishes, respectively.

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AMSOIL’s great sponsorship package, dedicated racing department team, and superior lubricants all make it possible for Team AMSOIL Offshore Racing to achieve success!  Team AMSOIL is “one of the most accomplished offshore racing teams ever” and has captured the prestigious Stugots Cup, awarded to the Team for an OPA Overall High Points Championship in 2011.  The Team was awarded the APBA US-1 Offshore National High Point award for Super Cat class in 2014.

The AMSOIL Dominator Racing Oil continues to be proven as the best choice for all extreme performance marine engines.  The Team has also proven that the absolute best oil for a Mercury dry-sump VISSM drive is AMSOIL Severe Gear for the ultimate in gear protection with minimal parasitic power loss.  Teague Custom Marine is an authorized AMSOIL dealer and offers the complete line of high performance lubricants in its store and for purchase over the phone.  There are also opportunities available for you to become a dealer!

See you at the races!

Next Stop: OPA International Powerboat Race – August 7-9, 2015 – Port Huron, MI / Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

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image001Official AMSOIL Site: http://www.amsoil.com/racing.aspx
Official Teague Custom Marine Site: http://www.teaguecustommarine.com
Follow both Teague Custom Marine & AMSOIL Offshore Racing #77 on Facebook!

Photos provided by:
Pete Boden, Shoot 2 Thrill Pix
Patti Fields
Jeff Helmkamp, www.jhelmkamp-photos.com
Shaun Ianitelli
Paul Kemiel, www.paulkemielphotographics.com

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