Jack Aylsworth
Group expert - Top Contributor
Evinrude Sets World Speed Record Twice in 1960
Hubert (Hu) Entrop of Seattle set a new World Outboard Speed Record twice, the second time at 122.979 miles per hour on Havasu lake near Needles, Calif September 16, 1960 besting the old record of 115.547 set by Burt Ross. Entrop's needle nosed hydroplane sported an Evinrude Starflite V-4 motor with 89.5 cubic inch displacement, stock spark plugs and a special racing lower unit. He burned regular outboard fuel and oil. The speed run, consisting of two passes over a one-kilometer straightaway, was sanctioned by the National Outboard Association. (Entrop said his rig still had speed in reserve.)
Entrop Racing Back Story
Hubert Entrop embarked on his outboard racing career in 1951 building his own boats. In 1956, Entrop heard that Mercury was planning to build a 60 hp, 6-cylinder engine suitable for racing that project engineer, Charlie Strang, was developing - so he built a boat in anticipation of the new motor. Carl Kiekhaefer later invited Entrop to Florida to run the new engine at Mercury's test facility, Lake X. The existing U.S. record was around 70 mph, but early in 1958, an Italian boat with a converted 61 cubic inch automobile engine reached 100.3 mph and became the goal for Entrop and Kiekhaefer. Lake X had little space for a long running start and Entrop was unable to reach 90 mph. He had to return to his job at Boeing but convinced Kiekhaefer to allow him to continue working toward the straightaway record in Seattle testing on the east channel of Lake Washington. On June 7, 1958, Strang and Kiekhaefer watched Entrop become the first American to exceed 100 mph in an outboard boat. His official speed was 107.821 mph. Soon after, Entrop and Kiekhaefer had a falling out and Entrop "defected" to OMC.
On March 29, 1960, Entrop drove his Evinrude Starflite V4 powered Starflite Too to a new record straightaway speed of 114 mph on the Colorado River in Arizona. In response, Kiekhaefer hired Burt Ross (later a Johnson rep), another Seattle-area outboard driver to try to raise the speed. Ross hit 115.547 mph on Lake Washington on May 5, 1960. Entrop built a second another boat, Starflite III, and on September 16, 1960, using an Evinrude Starflite V4, he flew across Lake Havasu, Arizona, at 122.979 mph. By this time, Charlie Strang had left Mercury and was offering technical advice to Entrop and his crew. Strang soon joined OMC, eventually becoming Chairman of the Board.
Entrop built Starflite IV, but retired from racing without ever running it. In 1966, Gerry Walin took Starflite IV through the straightaway traps at a speed of 130.929 mph on Lake Havasu.
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