• Mercury Racing Blog: Women Attack Rouen!

    An International, all-female team will compete for the first time in the 48th annual 24 Hours of Rouen endurance powerboat race, May 26-28. Olympic Team Rouennais (OTR) drivers include Bimba Sjoholm of Sweden, Marie-Line Hericher of France, Norwegian Mette Bjerknaes and Canadian Tammy Wolf. The ladies’ attack vessel will use a Mercury OptiMax 200XS SST outboard to race against competitors with like power — those with Mercury SST 120 race outboards in Class 2. They’ll also be up against more powerful Mercury S3000 race outboard powered entries in Class 3. With OptiMax’s fuel economy advantage, Team OTR has a real shot at an overall win.

    Veteran female F1 driver Marit Stromoy of Norway, who is also competing in Rouen for the first time, will campaign a Mercury S3000 powered boat in Class 3 competition.

    This is Tammy’s first Rouen experience. “It is a dream come true to attend such a legendary and historical event. I never thought I would have the opportunity to compete in the toughest and most challenging tunnel boat race in the world,” said Tammy. No new comer, she’s been racing boats for over 17 years.

    Marit Stromoy drives this Mercury F1 race outboard powered boat in the UIM F1H20 race series. Photo courtesy Marit Stromoy.

    I asked Tammy how the team came about. “The team was chosen by Team Manager Albert Hericher (Marie’s husband) and Operations Manager Carl Kinder. They reviewed the top female tunnel boat drivers in the world and I am honored to be one who was hand-picked for this team,” Tammy said. Two-time Rouen champion Chris Fairchild has been giving her guidance over the past couple of months. “Chris taught me Rouen is not won on the first lap. The race will equally be about survival and speed. I believe a constant strong performance is needed to be successful,” said Tammy. “Driving in Rouen is an honor; finishing in Rouen is a great achievement; a podium finish will be a dream. The most incredible part of this journey is the amazing support I have had from Mercury, Peters and May, my family, friends and fans,” Tammy said.


    This is also Bimba’s first trip to Rouen. Bimba, a 17-year powerboat racing veteran, is the reigning European F4 Champion. Like Tammy, she plans to run a steady race, with finishing a priority.

    Marie has over 25 years of driving experience and is a 14-year Rouen veteran. She and her husband Albert will be celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary in Rouen. They were married on the banks of the River Seine during the 1999 24-Hour race. Marie, who has competed in all three race classes in Rouen, would love nothing more than to win the event overall. But – she is a realist. Her immediate goal for the team is to win Class 2.

    Read the full blog post here: http://www.mercuryracing.com/blog/wo...uen/#more-6603
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