This was a poster in the boating magazine Båt för Alla.
The race number 48 was from Paris 6 Hours 1974.
My yellow UIM SE class Clerici was also used for the Evinrude decal-sticker.
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Printable View
This was a poster in the boating magazine Båt för Alla.
The race number 48 was from Paris 6 Hours 1974.
My yellow UIM SE class Clerici was also used for the Evinrude decal-sticker.
Attachment 473679
Attachment 473680
Attachment 473681
Well..its 39 years ago now..:)
A fantastic day 35 years ago today.. September 19, 1981. A World Champion title and my son Richard was born.
http://svera.se/blogg/a-fantastic-day-35-years-ago-today-september-19-1981-a-world-champion-title-and-my-son-richard-was-born/
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Attachment 473710
They could have gave you gas money :)
6 men tooo lift it off the truck...…..
Well..here is a long answer because most people living on this side of the Atlantic dont know this..Quote:
Originally Posted by Capt.Insane-o
If you look at a map over Europe you can see Stockholm, Sweden is way up in the north Europe. Most of the 10 to 12 UIM OE/F3 races in the Aspen World series was run in central or southern Europe.
That means this little Swede must do a lot of travel to be part of the series.
Back in 1981 countries in Europe was still using their own currency, have their own borders with inspection before you could enter for example France or Italy.
After many years of traveling with a car and the race boat on a trailer I figure out a better way to do this.
This pick up truck was set up to try to bypass all the traveling difficulties..
Here is the advantage with my set up.
First..to leave south Sweden 1981 you must use a big ferry..Three options the one to Denmark, or the one to Germany or UK.
A pretty expensive trip if you have a trailer..with the pick up I pay for only one car.
Next thing was customs..with a trailer you must use the commercial entry in to every European country.. with my pick up I got away with using the car entry. Much easier and no Carne ATA document.
Even better was the speed limit..must countries have a max speed of 50 MPH ( 45 MPH in Sweden) with a trailer behind your car..
This "racing pick up" could run wide open on the famous Autobahn..I saved many hours driving much faster on my way to Italy for example.
Yes..there was two extra tanks on the pick up bed. One very large for gasoline and a smaller one for Methanol and yes I had sponsors for both gasoline and Methanol but I must do the fill ups in Sweden.
Back in 1981 a gasoline card for Sweden was not good in Germany etc.
This pick up was a big saver for me in many ways in 1981 when I won the Aspen World title.
I am not sure what I was doing in the first picture but could have been when I blow the pick up motor in Spain. We could not make it over the high mountains on three cylinders on the way back to Sweden. I was probably dumping the Methanol in the ditch do get over the mountains.
Back home I traded the blue pick up for a brand new red one with a lager cab.
https://www.screamandfly.com/attachm...5&d=1600687683
Every race most have cranes in the pit to get race boats in the water.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave S
Boat ramps was never used at the races.
Great story Lars.
Wondered about that truck being able haul/push all that.
Looks like an old Mazda like I used to have.
Was a great vehicle but not much of a truck.
I especially like the boat on top of truck as I used to “car top” my first 3 point hydros on top of a $125 ‘1972 Chevy Nova.
Motor, props, tools, gas, pit bicycle in trunk.
Camping equip in back seat.
Had seen that pic before but not heard the rational behind it.
Thx for the lesson.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lars strom
Yes, it was a Mazda pick up I purchased new early 1981. A perfect set up but the Mazda 4 cylinder engine did not survive the long wide open trips.
Blow a piston in Spain and no parts was available..a local service place made a Seat piston fit but did not last all the way back to Sweden.
Attachment 473729
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Here you can see my blue pick up in the pit. The AKAI/Burgess/Evinrude is already unloaded and sitting on the "pit trailer with wheels"
Pictures of that coming soon.
Attachment 473734
Milan/Idroscalo 1982. The new red Mazda with the same set up. You can see the "pit trailer with wheels" that bolts on to the top of the little truck.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave S
Yes..its OMC's Ric McChesney in the first picture talking to me.
https://www.screamandfly.com/attachm...7&d=1600700820
https://www.screamandfly.com/attachm...8&d=1531581226
More from Italy 1982.Quote:
Originally Posted by lars strom
My dad Roland and me in front of the red racing pickip and my American friend Russell working on the F3 boat. (yellow hat)
Russell was living in Sweden married to a Swedish woman.
https://www.screamandfly.com/attachm...3&d=1600707766
https://www.screamandfly.com/attachm...2&d=1600707755
I don't know how I got the two pictures but have been in my file for many years..
Lets speculate..there was maybe a plan to replace the fake V8 inboard/outboard with a real 2 stroke Evinrude F1-V8 outboard standing next to the Hodges boat..!!..:):)
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The UIM SE class European championship race in Copenhagen, Denmark 1981.
I think this was the last year for the OMC FT-19S in the UIM SE class. UIM voted the OMC engine out but the special 3 Cyl. Yamaha outboard was now legal in the class.
Lennart Strom drove his red #21 Sjoberg/Evinrude FT-19S and was in a hard battle with Denmark's Karin Nielsen in her #2 Molgaard/Johnson FT-19S.
They touched at the end of the straight away and Lennart got the worst part of it..A brutal WOT flipp..Lennart was OK but very disappointed..!!
Karin was the winner.
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Karin Nielsen
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:)
Pretty cool.
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This is from the start in one of the heats in Copenhagen, Denmark 1981Quote:
Originally Posted by lars strom
You can see my brother Lennart in the red boat next to Karen.
Also an update:
The last year for the OMC FT-19S in the UIM SE class was 1982.
Not 1981.
https://www.screamandfly.com/attachm...9&d=1600791339
Was this a clock start heat race? If so what was the maximum number of boats in a heat? In APBA the number was 12.Attachment 473821
Quote:
Originally Posted by lars strom
I received this picture below from an Italian friend today.. He was working for Renato during his time with Mercury. He was also working for Renato all the years Renato raced Evinrude for OMC.
This picture is from the OE & ON World Championship race in Auronzo, It 1976. Renato won boat classes witch is a very unique situation.
Well..this was high up in the mountains and Renato was the only one allowed the be testing at this little lake for over a week before the race.
I am not sure if the info is correct, but according to my Italian friend the OE class powerhead Renato was using was made by Renato at his factory in Como.
This was also one of the last races for Renato for Team Mercury. If I remember right, Amsterdam, Paris and Havasu 1976 was the three left for Mercury.
Early 1977 Renato & Bob Hering won Parker in his Evinrude V6 CCC powered Molinari.
https://www.screamandfly.com/attachm...0&d=1600795216
95% of all the UIM Championship races was always clock start. 5 drivers from every country was allowed to start. Sometimes like the UIM SE class European Championship race in Evian, France 1974 it was over 40 boats in a clock start..!!Quote:
Originally Posted by 2us70
http://svera.se/blogg/racing-historier/1974-was-a-very-good-year-for-my-se-class-racing/
https://www.screamandfly.com/attachm...7&d=1600808301
It’s official..
The Ralph Evinrude Test Center property in Stuart, Florida is sold.
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Attachment 473829
Over$14 million profit is pretty good..!!..:):cheers:
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The coolestQuote:
Originally Posted by lars strom
Turn 1 must have been quite interesting. But as I have said here many times "it seemed perfectly reasonable at the time"Quote:
Originally Posted by lars strom
Yes..always very stressful but part of racing back then when clock start was used.Quote:
Originally Posted by 2us70
Here is my experience from the race at Lake Geneva on the borderline with Switzerland & France 1974
////////////////////
My best memories is from Evian, France where I defended my SE European championship.
Over 40 boats in this race, the SE class was very popular in the mid seventy’s.
The Italian drivers was still upset from the year before when I “stole” the race in Finland so they teamed up to try to run me over in every start.
My new Clerici boat and the way I could fly it, was perfect for this 2 point race course, two mile long.
(Jim Wagner told me I was way faster then the OMC Factory OE boats).
Normally a race was 4 heat and 3 of them counts, and the big Lake Geneva was extremely rough.
In the final heat when I was up front, one of the Italian drivers slowed down waiting for me to lap him and then he
hit my boat on purpose in the turn, but I was lucky to bring it home in first place.
On top of that, the top Italian drivers ended up disqualified for not legal modifications to the engines.
The final result with me as the Champ was ready 4 AM Monday morning with very angry and upset Bonvicini brothers from Italy.
Earlier that year one of my sponsors Melins Motor made very nice stickers with a picture of my boat saying I was the 1973 European Champion, but they never told me that the printing office made a mistake, putting year 1974 on the first set of stickers so in the pit area after the race, they put a new sticker on my boat saying
I was the 1974 European Champion and that made the Italians even more upset!!!!
I never told them the true story about the sticker screw up.
https://www.screamandfly.com/attachm...2&d=1548176674
Some more memories from beautiful Evian, France 1974
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Nice.
The Hodges F1-V8 boat was painted by Andy Bullen late 1984.
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A mix of Andy Bullens F1-V8 boats.
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...Quote:
Originally Posted by lars strom
https://www.screamandfly.com/attachm...4&d=1600873649
Racing against people who will hurt you on purpose is not fun. I only had a couple of competitors like that and I did not look to racing them. Racing against the good guys was what made it worthwhile. Some drivers did not have to worry about what they broke. Guys like me who were racing on my own dime had to try to keep the equipment intact.Quote:
Originally Posted by lars strom
Andy Bullen going down in Bristol.
Attachment 473891
This is getting very interesting..Guido Cappellini..(a 10 times UIM F1 World Champ) is asking if anybody knows who owns the little red boat sitting in the water..Quote:
Originally Posted by lars strom
I was there in Auronzo 1976 and remember this and answering as you can see in the first "picture"
The second "picture" is the interesting one..it was Guido Cappellini's first race boat.
Yes..he was working for Renato as a young boy..
https://www.screamandfly.com/attachm...8&d=1600900412
https://www.screamandfly.com/attachm...9&d=1600900424
I can remember this race at Chasewater The British Grand Prix. Rodger Jenkins won this race with Tom Percival 2nd Steve Pinson 3rd. I think Andy Bullen raced his dads old Burgess in the race and Alfi drove the new Molinari with a 3.0 Looper engine.I went to visit Alfi 3 days later at the Hospital in Walshall to say he was very unhappy was a understatment.Alfi had a business to run and places to be he had broken his femur bone right at the top of his leg so this was no quick fix i think this had him out of racing for sometime and Andy took over his driving seat.Quote:
Originally Posted by lars strom
It always seemed to be the same. If prize money was involved, the demeanor of some drivers flipped like a switch. Risking my hull and engine for a weekend of racing for a paltry sum of money that didn't even put a dent in my operating expenses wasn't worth it. One thing I did learn though was when the composite hulls starting showing up, the guys who were stupid enough to try "trading paint" with wood hulls always got the worst of it. LOL Also, if the rescue situation looked even the the least bit risky, I would not attend that race to begin with.Quote:
Originally Posted by 2us70
Nice Evinrude V6 cross-flow
Attachment 473927
This become extra funny a few weeks ago..:)
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Velocity 30 with Johnson V6 power.
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Ben Robertson in his #57 Second Effort/OMC King Cobra/Johnson F1-V8 3.5 liter, looper, fuel injection and 6 inch mid section.
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London GP 1985.
Ben Robertson driving the #57 Velden Racing/Johnson F1-V8 3.5 liter looper, fuel injection and the new really short 6 inch midsection.
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Well..OMC found out 35/40 years ago..the 12 inch mid section for the F1-V8 engine was not the best design (like this picture, to top heavy) and come out with the 6 inch mid section 1985.
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The 6 inch mid section was much better and the fuel injection increased power & top speed.
On top of that a very nice, smooth sexy design.
Probably the best looking racing outboard ever.
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