Scream And Fly
11-28-2005, 03:52 PM
Team CRC Caps Perfect Season with OSS Cat World Championship
Fond Du Lac, WI., Nov. 23, 2005 - Mercury Racing (http://www.mercurymarine.com/mercury_racing) powered six new world champions in the Chrysler Jeep Offshore Super Series (OSS) World Championship Offshore Races, November 13-20, in St Petersburg, Fl.
Twin Mercury Racing OSS Cat race engines coupled to dry-sump Six drives powered Team CRC, a 40-foot MTI catamaran hull piloted by driver/owner Mike DeFrees of Vancouver, Wash., with veteran throttleman Jeff Harris of Greenville, N.C., on the sticks, to win the OSS Cat competition on Thursday. The team, which clinched the OSS Cat National Championship October 20th, finished second in the final race on Sunday, November 20 to capture the OSS Cat World Championship. Team CRC, who moved up to the OSS Cat class from OSS Cat Lite competition, also set a new Superboat (formally called Super Cat) world kilo speed record of 160.986 mph in August 2005.
Race conditions on Sunday contrasted the rough course conditions on Thursday – with clear skies and flat water awaiting competitors. The OSS Cat class competition was a race of attrition with one out of every five boats finishing the race. Race fans were treated to the most exciting racing of the season in what ended up being a shoot-out between Nichols/Pier 57 and Team CRC.
Reliable Carriers led the race at the start through lap four of the 15-lap event. A blown engine forced them out of the race on lap five. Nichols/Pier 57, displacing WHM Motorsports who was running a strong second through lap two, took the lead. WHM Motorsports was later forced out on lap five with mechanical gremlins. Popeye, a Platinum hull driven by Dominic Visconsi, Jr. with throttleman Jim Dyke on the sticks, was forced out on lap seven when one of two engines failed.
The attrition left leader Nichols/Pier 57 and Team CRC running the course. Team CRC merely needed to finish the race to capture the Championship. With only one boat to contend with – the temptation to win was overwhelming. Against their better judgment, DeFrees instructed Harris to put the throttles down in an attempt to catch Nichols. They ended up barrel-rolling their boat on lap 12 - with Nichols/Pier 57 going solo the final three laps to win the race. Thankfully, DeFreese and Harris escaped unharmed with minor scratches and bruises.
The combination of the first on Thursday and second Sunday provided enough points to clinch the OSS Cat World Championship. If Reliable Carriers maintained its lead and won the event, Team CRC had to finish in second place no more than 38 seconds behind to clinch the championship. Official results still pending final inspections.
"We knew we were racing in the Gulf of Mexico and thus set the boat up for rough conditions,” said Mike DeFrees."
"Our set-up was perfect for the storm course on Thursday. We put the hammer down and never looked back. We were first to the first pin in three to four footers. We finished 38-seconds ahead of Reliable Carriers who were followed by Nichols/Pier 57. We knew we needed to finish no less than 38-seconds behind Reliable, if they were to win on Sunday, to clinch the championship," DeFrees said.
http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/3517/harrisdefreeshorz3ob.jpg
"We thought we were in big trouble on Sunday with little to no wind resulting with racecourse calm as a mill pond. Our rough water set-up was all wrong for the flat water in front of us. We and Nichols/Pier 57 were the only teams to install new engines for Sunday’s race. Boy, are we glad we did! We can’t say enough about Mercury and their support. It was a team effort. We picked the right team players, right engines, and right boat. The MTI is an amazing boat. It has the right attitude, great cornering characteristics, everything. The combination of Jeff and I works well. We look forward to battling it out again in 2006," DeFrees concluded.
OSS Extreme:
Jay Muller piloted JEM Motorsports, a 39-foot Motion catamaran powered by twin Mercury Racing 750 h.p. OSS Cat race engines coupled to dry-sump Six drives, to beat Pair a Dice, a 40-foot MTI hull with twice the horsepower (twin 1500 h.p. Sterling race engines) in Thursday’s OSS Extreme class competition. The two boats exchanged finishes on Sunday. JEM earned the OSS Extreme World title with an edge in overall laps completed and quicker lap times.
OSS Cat Lite:
Twin Mercury Racing HP525 EFI engine packages coupled with dry-sump Six drives powered Motley Crew, piloted by Scott Roman and Ron Roman, to its fourth win of the season in OSS Cat Lite competition on Thursday. The win, combined with a strong second place on Sunday, was all the Crew needed to capture the OSS Cat Lite World Championship.
OSS Vee:
OSS Vee National Champ T Spiderman/Adrenaline, a Douglas Marine Skater Vee-bottom hull powered by twin Mercury Racing HP525 EFI engines coupled with dry-sump Six drives, earned the OSS Vee World Championship with back-to-back victories. Mercury Racing dry-sump Six drives were behind the winners in all classes in which it competes; OSS Cat, OSS Extreme, OSS Vee and OSS Cat Lite.
OSS Vee Lite:
Allen Campbell piloted Screamin Eagle, a Phantom hull powered by a single Mercury Racing HP525 EFI engine package, to win the OSS Vee Lite competition on Sunday. The win, combined with a strong second place finish on Wednesday, earned Campbell enough points for the World Championship.
OSS Cat Outboard:
Twin Mercury Racing 2.5 EFI Race Offshore outboards powered Bermuda Berrycuda to back-to-back victories and OSS Cat Outboard class World Championship.
Mercury Racing supports OSS with a $150,000 contingency prize purse for the 2005 racing season. The purse rewards racers who use Mercury Racing-approved outboards and sterndrives in OSS National Series events in OSS Cat Lite, OSS Vee, OSS Vee Lite and OSS Cat Outboard class competition. OSS Cat class competitors using Mercury Racing-approved OSS Cat engine packages will be rewarded a separate Mercury Racing Winners Circle promotional credit program.
Mercury Racing supports the contingency programs by providing on-site support at all 2005 OSS race events, with the legendary Mercury Racing offshore product support truck and staff.
Visit the Offshore Super Series website; www.offshoresuperseries.com (http://www.offshoresuperseries.com/) for complete race results.
Fond Du Lac, WI., Nov. 23, 2005 - Mercury Racing (http://www.mercurymarine.com/mercury_racing) powered six new world champions in the Chrysler Jeep Offshore Super Series (OSS) World Championship Offshore Races, November 13-20, in St Petersburg, Fl.
Twin Mercury Racing OSS Cat race engines coupled to dry-sump Six drives powered Team CRC, a 40-foot MTI catamaran hull piloted by driver/owner Mike DeFrees of Vancouver, Wash., with veteran throttleman Jeff Harris of Greenville, N.C., on the sticks, to win the OSS Cat competition on Thursday. The team, which clinched the OSS Cat National Championship October 20th, finished second in the final race on Sunday, November 20 to capture the OSS Cat World Championship. Team CRC, who moved up to the OSS Cat class from OSS Cat Lite competition, also set a new Superboat (formally called Super Cat) world kilo speed record of 160.986 mph in August 2005.
Race conditions on Sunday contrasted the rough course conditions on Thursday – with clear skies and flat water awaiting competitors. The OSS Cat class competition was a race of attrition with one out of every five boats finishing the race. Race fans were treated to the most exciting racing of the season in what ended up being a shoot-out between Nichols/Pier 57 and Team CRC.
Reliable Carriers led the race at the start through lap four of the 15-lap event. A blown engine forced them out of the race on lap five. Nichols/Pier 57, displacing WHM Motorsports who was running a strong second through lap two, took the lead. WHM Motorsports was later forced out on lap five with mechanical gremlins. Popeye, a Platinum hull driven by Dominic Visconsi, Jr. with throttleman Jim Dyke on the sticks, was forced out on lap seven when one of two engines failed.
The attrition left leader Nichols/Pier 57 and Team CRC running the course. Team CRC merely needed to finish the race to capture the Championship. With only one boat to contend with – the temptation to win was overwhelming. Against their better judgment, DeFrees instructed Harris to put the throttles down in an attempt to catch Nichols. They ended up barrel-rolling their boat on lap 12 - with Nichols/Pier 57 going solo the final three laps to win the race. Thankfully, DeFreese and Harris escaped unharmed with minor scratches and bruises.
The combination of the first on Thursday and second Sunday provided enough points to clinch the OSS Cat World Championship. If Reliable Carriers maintained its lead and won the event, Team CRC had to finish in second place no more than 38 seconds behind to clinch the championship. Official results still pending final inspections.
"We knew we were racing in the Gulf of Mexico and thus set the boat up for rough conditions,” said Mike DeFrees."
"Our set-up was perfect for the storm course on Thursday. We put the hammer down and never looked back. We were first to the first pin in three to four footers. We finished 38-seconds ahead of Reliable Carriers who were followed by Nichols/Pier 57. We knew we needed to finish no less than 38-seconds behind Reliable, if they were to win on Sunday, to clinch the championship," DeFrees said.
http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/3517/harrisdefreeshorz3ob.jpg
"We thought we were in big trouble on Sunday with little to no wind resulting with racecourse calm as a mill pond. Our rough water set-up was all wrong for the flat water in front of us. We and Nichols/Pier 57 were the only teams to install new engines for Sunday’s race. Boy, are we glad we did! We can’t say enough about Mercury and their support. It was a team effort. We picked the right team players, right engines, and right boat. The MTI is an amazing boat. It has the right attitude, great cornering characteristics, everything. The combination of Jeff and I works well. We look forward to battling it out again in 2006," DeFrees concluded.
OSS Extreme:
Jay Muller piloted JEM Motorsports, a 39-foot Motion catamaran powered by twin Mercury Racing 750 h.p. OSS Cat race engines coupled to dry-sump Six drives, to beat Pair a Dice, a 40-foot MTI hull with twice the horsepower (twin 1500 h.p. Sterling race engines) in Thursday’s OSS Extreme class competition. The two boats exchanged finishes on Sunday. JEM earned the OSS Extreme World title with an edge in overall laps completed and quicker lap times.
OSS Cat Lite:
Twin Mercury Racing HP525 EFI engine packages coupled with dry-sump Six drives powered Motley Crew, piloted by Scott Roman and Ron Roman, to its fourth win of the season in OSS Cat Lite competition on Thursday. The win, combined with a strong second place on Sunday, was all the Crew needed to capture the OSS Cat Lite World Championship.
OSS Vee:
OSS Vee National Champ T Spiderman/Adrenaline, a Douglas Marine Skater Vee-bottom hull powered by twin Mercury Racing HP525 EFI engines coupled with dry-sump Six drives, earned the OSS Vee World Championship with back-to-back victories. Mercury Racing dry-sump Six drives were behind the winners in all classes in which it competes; OSS Cat, OSS Extreme, OSS Vee and OSS Cat Lite.
OSS Vee Lite:
Allen Campbell piloted Screamin Eagle, a Phantom hull powered by a single Mercury Racing HP525 EFI engine package, to win the OSS Vee Lite competition on Sunday. The win, combined with a strong second place finish on Wednesday, earned Campbell enough points for the World Championship.
OSS Cat Outboard:
Twin Mercury Racing 2.5 EFI Race Offshore outboards powered Bermuda Berrycuda to back-to-back victories and OSS Cat Outboard class World Championship.
Mercury Racing supports OSS with a $150,000 contingency prize purse for the 2005 racing season. The purse rewards racers who use Mercury Racing-approved outboards and sterndrives in OSS National Series events in OSS Cat Lite, OSS Vee, OSS Vee Lite and OSS Cat Outboard class competition. OSS Cat class competitors using Mercury Racing-approved OSS Cat engine packages will be rewarded a separate Mercury Racing Winners Circle promotional credit program.
Mercury Racing supports the contingency programs by providing on-site support at all 2005 OSS race events, with the legendary Mercury Racing offshore product support truck and staff.
Visit the Offshore Super Series website; www.offshoresuperseries.com (http://www.offshoresuperseries.com/) for complete race results.