AMSOIL Offshore Achieves 3rd Place in Heated Competition at 2015 SBI Key West World Championships

The 35th Annual Key West Offshore World Championships was the stage for the greatest race yet in the Superboat Class.  Nine Superboats were preregistered, including a brand new 388 Skater being raced for the first time by the new Performance Boat Center team and a completely in-house effort by Maritimo from Australia. All the new faces and equipment brought with them much intrigue and drama, but as any Key West veteran knows, it is experience and not hype that counts.

The Key West World Championships are a standalone 3 race event, with the final Sunday race counting for double points.  All the results from all the races through the season are meaningless on the outcome of Key West, and most teams will leave it all on the table for the World Championship.  Even though Team AMSOIL is only coming to their second World Championships with Teague Custom Marine Superboat Spec engines, they would now be considered veterans in the class.  Last year did not go smoothly, with a first lap DNF for the first race of the week.  This year Team AMSOIL Offshore had the mindset of finishing all 3 races consistently and without any technical mishaps.  The pressure would be on, as not only do tens of thousands of fans flock to the island from all over the world, a full film crew for NBC Sports shadowed all the teams for a 3 hour special, tentatively set to air in February 2016.

Preparation and testing Monday and Tuesday went smoothly for the Team.  Conditions were calm, smooth, and unusually hot for early November in Key West.  All Superboat Teams tested successfully except the HP Mafia 388 Skater, which had an oil pump fail and kill the bottom end of one engine.  They set off to rebuild the engine through the week, and 8 Superboats made the call Wednesday for Race 1.

Given the somewhat calm conditions, the teams knew that it would be a high speed race on the 4-mile course.  As Bob Teague and Paul Whittier prepared to throttle and drive the AMSOIL 368 Skater, respectively, they were still unsure of which propellers to run.  Bob and John Teague were on different sides of the decision, and after some discussion with Paul and threats of physical harm should they be wrong from Bob, they went shorter.

AMSOIL went to the inside lane for the start, and absolutely nailed the green flag drop.  They rocketed to turn one at 130 MPH side by side with Cleveland Construction.  Paul put the 368 Skater right on the perfect line through turns one and two.

WHM worked hard to get to the inside close behind AMSOIL, but was unsuccessful.  For all 10 laps WHM gave hard chase in 2nd, but it was not enough to catch AMSOIL.

Some drama happened late in the race when Broadco started to spin and hit the first turn 3 buoy.  A turn marshal boat came in to take the place of the buoy and caused some confusion for AMSOIL and WHM, which diminished Bob and Paul’s lead for a very tense last lap.

Team AMSOIL led the race from start to finish, with WHM in 2nd and Broadco in 3rd.  Cleveland Construction had an ignition coil failure, but looked strong early in the race.  Team Stihl had electrical issues and finished 4th while not running at full potential.

Team AMSOIL and WHM both passed on testing Thursday after flawless performances of their equipment, given the weather and water conditions were very similar to the day before. All systems on the AMSOIL Skater and Teague Custom Marine engines were given a service and evaluation, and were in excellent operating condition.  Friday came with more calm and warm weather.  Team AMSOIL was asked over and over if they would change anything after a dominant Wednesday performance.  Sometimes, the boat that was perfect on one day will need to change to be perfect for another day.  After doing as much reconnaissance as possible and deliberating the setup, the Team decided to run almost the exact same setup on Friday as they did on Wednesday.

Bob and Paul again drove the boat up the inside lane of the 8 boat Superboat race, and managed a good start.  Sailor Jerry rocketed to the lead, with WHM in chase and Broadco next to AMSOIL in 3rd.

After a few laps Stihl worked their way around AMSOIL and began to battle with Broadco.  AMSOIL was caught in behind their fight, and in dealing with the rooster tails and wakes, it became apparent their setup was one pitch too tall.

The water and wind conditions were just enough bumpier to hold down the top speeds to 125 instead of 130 MPH.  Late in the race, Cleveland Construction also made their way around AMSOIL in the bumps exiting turn 2, but then Stihl was forced to retire with steering system failure and an overheated engine.  Sailor Jerry would lead the entire race until the last corner, when they lost power steering and allowed WHM to pass for the lead.  Broadco finished 3rd, Cleveland Construction 4th, and AMSOIL 5th. This kept AMSOIL 2nd in the points battle with Broadco close behind in 3rd.

Friday evening was the parade of boats and street party open to the public on Duval Street.  Fans are able to get an up-close look at all the race boats, take photos, and meet the racers.  Team AMSOIL Offshore was situated in a prime spot in the center of the fanfare and were available to autograph Hero Cards, greet fans, and had team apparel available for purchase.

Conditions on Sunday were forecasted to be 25 MPH winds with 4 foot waves.  A Small Craft Advisory had been issued, causing the race to be abbreviated to the same 10 laps for a total distance of 40 miles as Wednesday and Friday.  Even with the short final race, the rough conditions would certainly test the durability of man and machine.  After the Friday race, the AMSOIL crew found a small chunk of steel in the Port bilge.  It was determined to be a piece of the drive plate that couples the engine flywheel to the SCS crash box transmission.  On Saturday the Team disassembled the rear of the Port engine and found the drive plate damaged to the point that it would have surely not lasted through the next race.  They serviced both engines and installed a new drive plate.  Bob tested the AMSOIL Skater with Paul and then again slightly later with John, finding that the water was getting worse through the day.  They were happy to see the HP Mafia boat running and complete a successful test late in the session.  Broadco and WHM did not test.  Stihl changed the engine they overheated and tested late Saturday and Sunday morning.

Sunday came along with the forecasted wind and rain.  Conditions were somewhat typical to Key West: rough water, with huge holes at turn one but a protected front straightaway into the Mallory Square U-Turn, unlike Sunday in 2014, when there were large bumps rolling though the harbor all the way past the Truman Annex Mole. The Team waited until the last possible minute to make a propeller selection, and decided to run the same exact setup they tested the day before.  All 9 teams made the call for Sunday’s start.  WHM was in the points lead, and needed to finish no more than one place behind AMSOIL and Broadco.  AMSOIL and Broadco were close enough in points that both teams were in a must-win situation over each other for 2nd place overall.

The teams came out of the milling circle and jockeyed for positions, as lanes are not assigned for SBI starts.  Maritimo and Cleveland Construction crossed behind AMSOIL and the three lined up tightly next to the pace boat.  Stihl and Broadco came up from behind and on the outside.  Perhaps they thought AMSOIL had room to move over or didn’t see Maritimo at first, but Broadco hit AMSOIL as they came across their bow and took their lane position next to Maritimo. Bob and Paul were blinded by their rooster tail and were forced to throttle down and pass behind the line of boats as the green flag dropped. Behind traffic and down on speed, Bob and Paul arrived to turn one in last place, just as HP Mafia hit the infamous “Wall” as you turn into the swell from one to two.  The white 388 Skater popped a large roller behind WHM and careened sideways though the air before barrel rolling and coming to a stop upside down.  Thankfully, the Smiths were unhurt in the incident.

Bob and Paul had a lot of work to do, but they had the setup and ability to make it happen.  Early in the race they hit down so hard on the back straight the intercom shut itself off, and they were forced to run the boat together using only instinct and hand signals.  One by one they drove the silver 368 Skater around the larger boats in the class in the nasty conditions: the 41 foot Maritimo, the 38 foot Performance Boat Center, the 40 foot Broadco.

They challenged Stihl for 4th, and after Stihl got around WHM, they passed WHM in the rough section of the course for 3rd place.  AMSOIL could not hold the position and slid back into 4th on the front straightaway.  Up front, Cleveland Construction took the lead on the first lap from WHM, and was running hard to beat the hard-charging Stihl.  Cleveland eked out the victory with Stihl right on their heels in 2nd, WHM in 3rd, and AMSOIL in a close 4th.  WHM ran a smart race for the points to secure the World Championship, with Cleveland Construction grabbing enough points with the double-weight Sunday win to secure 2nd.  AMSOIL rounded out the podium with a consistent week for 3rd place overall.

Especially at the three race format in Key West, equipment dependability and the goal of finishing all three races are just as important as the ultimate positions attained.  The AMSOIL Offshore Team exemplified their endurance racing legacy.  Their Teague Custom Marine engines, rigging, and support systems performed flawlessly through all three races and test sessions.

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 many National and World Championship titles.  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 World Championships, Engelwood Beach Waterfest, Englewood, FL – November 19-22, 2015

Official AMSOIL Site: http://www.amsoil.com/racing.aspx
Official Teague Custom Marine Site: http://www.teaguecustommarine.com

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Words by:
John Teague

Photos provided by:
Pete Boden, Shoot 2 Thrill Pix
Mike Freas, Foto by Freas
Shaun Ianitelli
Eric Oestreich
Andrea Teague
John Teague