For the first time since 2010, the AMSOIL Offshore Racing Team took Highway 1 down the Florida Keys to the southernmost point in the United States and also the site of the largest offshore race of the year, Key West. Joining them were 7 competitive Superboat class contestants, including the new WHM Skater 40SS and the Broadco MTI. The Super Boat International (SBI) Key West World Championships consist of a week of standalone racing for points. Races are held on Wednesday and Friday, with a Sunday double-length, double-points main event.

The team setup pits on Monday, sharing space with the CRC/Xist Extreme MTI, which is powered by Teague 1200Sci engines. Work commenced on the boat, from complete services on the powertrain to data logger calibration, which is monitored by SBI. The AMSOIL Offshore Skater 368 then went through a thorough technical and safety inspection by the SBI staff, as they had not seen the boat in its current engine and class configuration. Everything checked out with flying colors.

Testing commenced on Tuesday. Being that the AMSOIL Superboat had not yet been run in the ocean, let alone Key West, which is notably tricky because of both course setup and water conditions, the first test session would be critical. Luckily, the team honed in on a proper setup with only a few changes.

Wednesday began with typical Key West weather and water conditions. A fast, long run out to turn one, with a medium rough swell between turns one and two, and a lumpy run back into the harbor.

SBI brought the turn one pin in closer to the island by about half a mile, making the race course more spectator friendly, but also harder to setup for based on past experience. Superboats would race last and alone, highlighting the class as the premier for competitive racing. Without assigned lanes for starting in SBI and a short yellow flag pace period, starts can be frantic and cut throat. Bob Teague and Paul Whittier in the AMSOIL Skater got a decent start, and came around to clock their first lap in 4^th place when disaster struck. An intake valve broke and dropped into a cylinder, destroying the starboard motor beyond repair. Bob and Paul arced off the course and into the crane area to find the motor locked up. The team would take a last place DNF for the first race.

Work began immediately. The starboard engine was disconnected and removed. At the same time, the port motor underwent surgery. Both engines had the same run time, so the intake valves in the running engine were no longer trusted. The team had a complete spare engine on hand that was unfortunately configured for the port side of the boat, creating more work.

Special thanks goes to Adrian Barrett from Barrett Custom Marine, whom jumped in the boat and worked into the night along with the AMSOIL crew. Work continued the next day. Cylinder head assemblies that were ready to go on the second spare in California were air freighted and installed on the port engine. SBI Technical Inspectors were invited to view the progress and inspect the engines’ internals. They were pleased at the high level of compliance in the Teague Custom Marine engines. Both engines were run, timed, and adjusted by the end of the day. A special test session was called for Friday morning for the teams whom had to complete major mechanical repairs and engine swaps, including Fastboats.com/Racing For Cancer and CMS.

Testing went well Friday morning, with no problems resulting from completely disassembling and reassembling the boat in 24 hours. The conditions were nothing like Wednesday’s. Wind was now out of the north and the water was about as flat as it gets by Key West standards.

After some agonizing and debating, the Team made the call on which propellers to run. After a last minute change on Wednesday yielded mixed results, the team was less likely to take risky setup choices with practically no race experience from Wednesday.

All the Superboats again made the start line to race in the main event on Friday. The AMSOIL Skater got a fair start again, and was running 4^th on the first lap. Broadco got the best start, and was in first, followed by Stihl and WHM. It became apparent Broadco was quicker, but Stihl had longer legs and top speed. WHM and AMSOIL were running similar times. On lap 3, the WHM Skater spun in the Mallory Square U-Turn, stopping facing backwards past the apex.

AMSOIL zoomed by, and WHM joined in hot pursuit. Then another plot twist, Stihl slowed and retired with an ignition issue. As the race went on and Bob and Paul completed more laps, their average speed improved considerably. By the end of the race, they were gapping WHM by one second per lap and matching Broadco’s pace. The team was thrilled with the second place finish and a flawless performance from all the boat’s equipment. There was a lot of floating seaweed patches that day from a lack of wind. The high capacity TCM sea strainers and large strainer to strainer crossover line did their jobs, as the starboard strainer was nearly choked with debris and the port water pickup helped supply the starboard motor. Other boats with other brand strainers were forced to retire with clogged systems and overheated engines.

Saturday was used to work on the boat and the team chose not to water test. Conditions were not reflective of what was forecast for Sunday: thunderstorms and south westerly winds. The boat needed a full adjustment and check as if the motors and setup were all new again because they were. Everything was serviced and deemed to be in fully race ready condition.

On Sunday, the storm rolled in. There was a lot of speculation about the conditions. The wind was scheduled to turn 180 degrees through the day. Although it was substantially rough for the first race, perhaps the wind and slowing tide would help ease the conditions? Bob, Paul and John went out to the breakwater off Turn 2 to watch the Unlimited’s run in Race 3, with the wind and current much like it would be in Race 4. They were stunned. The conditions were downright nasty, especially with huge current driven holes by Turn 2. Geico was running fast and loose, with lots of big air time. The CMS 52 MTI was struggling just to get a rhythm. The CRC 42 MTI was running strong but getting beat up badly in the process. All of these boats are substantially larger than any of the Superboats. The AMSOIL boys went back to the pits to change ballast and props. It was time to go to war.

Bob and Paul got stuck in a bad spot for the start, with their backs to the pace boat. They got caught up with Warpaint before they could get to Turn 1, and came back into the island in 5^th. The Superboat fleet returning to complete lap 1 was spectacular.

Stihl ran in 1^st with nothing to lose and hit the big Turn 2 holes and stood it nearly straight up and down on the transom. Out of all the boats, the smaller 368 Skater #77 came around that first lap on the outside perfectly flat and composed, running hard. By the 3^rd lap, AMSOIL had passed Warpaint and was actually gaining the most on the larger boats in the roughest section of the course.

Bob was running the boat hard, there was no other way to survive in the horrendous conditions, but not risky.

Unless Broadco broke and AMSOIL finished first, there was no way to win the weekend overall. After a few laps in the lead, Stihl lost an entire transom assembly and drive on the back straight. It sheared at the studs and literally came off of the transom. Luckily, a rescue boat was nearby to pump the inrushing water out and save the Skater 388 from sinking.

As Broadco, WHM, and AMSOIL were about evenly spaced, WHM slowed and continued the last two laps on one engine. The conditions were so rough that their fuel system on one side sucked a large air bubble and could not be reprimed. Broadco continued running uncontested in 1^st to the finish, with AMSOIL in close pursuit, finishing 2^nd. After the points were calculated for the weekend, Broadco was named Champion, followed by AMSOIL, and then Racing for Cancer.

It was a monumental effort to bring a new setup to Key West, practically destroy the engines on the first day, and rebuild the boat to finish 2^nd overall for the weekend. Team AMSOIL would like to congratulate Chuck, Grant, and the entire Broadco Team on a flawless Key West and a deserved World Championship. Team AMSOIL looks forward to more competition and more competitors next year in this growing class!

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 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!

Official AMSOIL Site: www.amsoil.com/racing.aspx
Official Race Series Site: www.superboat.com
Official Teague Custom Marine Site: www.teaguecustommarine.com

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Photos provided by:
Pete Boden, Shoot 2 Thrill Pix
Matt Brooks
Maggie Rae Henninger