OPC Super-Sport information

**Danny McManus** · 08-31-2004, 01:38 AM

I've had the priveledge of getting numerous calls regarding the
creation and current state of participation in the relativley new
OPC Super-Sport class. I consider it an honor to answer many of them on this forum.
I've been reading the Scream&Fly forum since 1999 and feel like
I know many of the active participants here. One of my favorite features is the "profile" section, where I can "search all posts by this user". Upon use of this feature I feel it is safe to say that we all share a priceless passion for the the hobby of high performance outboard boating. For concern of being long-winded
I won't get into the obvious understanding we share that boat racing has created many of the high performance products we
enjoy today. (I once had a co-worker who, upon casual scrutiny of my pre-race preparations for a trip to the fla. barge canal outboard drag races, commented," who gives a **** about these boat races anyway? " to which I proudly pointed out that if it were not for racing, we would still be driving model-T fords and
traveling the waterways by rowboat!!!)...
Which brings me to the current state of general motorsports
management. With regard to our collective area of interest, Outboard Powerboat Racing....
My friend Ron hill is more qualified to give the colorful details of our sports history, and men I know only by their "screen-names"
i.e. Raceman, Olegator,MK75H,InLinesix,racer,and more, can support the sentiment that the evolution of outboard racing has
survived many situations of greatness and difficulty in our lifetimes. O.K. it's time to "get to the point" of my post...
thanks for indulgeing me in this,bear with me...

I have been honored with the titile of "Founder" or "Grandfather"
of the American Power Boat Association's new Outboard Performance Craft "Super-Sport" class. Under Ron Hills Administration as the OPC Chairman in 1999 he assigned the title
of " Class Advocate" to representatives in key posititions for each of OPC's classes. In my case, as the past Chairman of the
Outboard Drag category ( 2 terms in office ) I was simply the new guy to OPC who was just "Star-Struck" enough to agree to rig the first four boats for initial testing in a new concept class, and report back to the honorable OPC commisioners with the results of the on water testing.... lets take a closer look at that...

Imagine being an outboard racing enthusiast since childhood, involved in local competition, and a "student of the sport" for about 12 years, throw in a modest knowledge of APBA administration ( As Outboard Drag Chairman, and a Charter member of the Outboard Drag Commision, I got to rub elbows with many of my childhood heroes in boat racing ) and now the task of aiding my Heroes in creation of an " Orientation" program
aimed at the future of Outboard Performance Craft Racing !!!!!
O.K. now, don't stop there!!!! next I am told ( by Charlie Strang...
thats right THE Charlie Strang that He would personally endorse this project if I could assure him I would proceed with my enthusiasm) that I would be involved with a program aimed at
recreating the late E.C. Kiekhafer's vision of OPC from the days when that acronym stood for Outboard Pleasure Craft!!!!

At this point it seems like a "no-brainer" and I proudly proceeded.
Next the reality sinks in and the FUN begins. with contacts from four different outboard manufacturers, product began to arrive at my modest lakefront marina ( an Evinrude dealership since 1952),
Not to be left out here is the involvment of of other prominent members of the outboard racing world... Jack Barsh of Full Throttle
Boats, Noah Legear of Eagle-One Powerboats, Ray Anderson of Anderson Marine, and Ron Hill, OPC Chairman, all furnishied boats for the project....
This all began to take shape durring the winter of 1999, with shiney new 2000 model year 150 H.P. outboards "in the box" showing up in my marina's driveway, I was just like a "kid on Christmas morning" ( if I can get screen-name "OneBadStream"
to stop by, maybe he'd be kind enough to post some of my favorite pictures, especially the one of all four motor brands stacked up in the shop...still in their shipping boxes!!).
Then comes the hours of rigging, I completed Ron Hills 1993 Vision-Craft w/ 2000 year Evinrude Ficht 150 first. The first trip across lake Eustis with an old 29" pitch SRX showed 84.7 M.P.H.
(after meticulous break-in) and it handled like a dream, ( the target speed for this new class was approx. 80 M.P.H. so I was convinced that all the consulatants on this project knew what they were talking about! ) Speaking of consultants, and there were many, I think I'll try to recall some of them from memory
(please keep in mind it was over five years ago and I'm not getting any younger)... in no particular order, ...Jeff Grigg, Ron Hill,Glen Reynolds,Ron Baker, Jeff Titus,Edgar Rose,Stan Fitts,
Rick McChesney,Bill Seebold,Fred Hauenstein jr.,Ray Anderson,
Noah Legear,Charlie Strang,Buddy Beyers,Bart Garbrecht,Terry Phipps,Cliff Fabre',Howard Anderson, Bob Wartinger,Greg Jacobsen, Wayne Worthy,Pepper Ernest,the late Jim Everret,
Dean Pink,Dorsey Frabott, Steve David, the late Bernie Little,
Mike Jones,Bill Gohr, Fred Miller, and more...
Allright, I'm done "name dropping" but for those of you who are fellow students of our sport, it becomes clear to see how a modest man of my means could be star sruck when developeing a relationship on a first name basis with the names mentioned above...
I think that is a good start for the origin of the general concept.
I'll continue this thread with what I feel are interesting details of the "nuts and bolts" aspect af the Super-Sport class, and do my level best to answer some of the most Frequently Asked Questions...

Enjoy, and feel free to ask for any detailed answers, no matter how curious or out of the norm they may seem...

Thank You,
Danny McManus

**Danny McManus** · 08-31-2004, 02:01 AM

As a general rule, enthusiasts tend to copy other
popular customs of recreation... Having been an avid motorcycle racing enthusiasts, and knowing some local particpants, I enjoyed attending the Daytona 200 AMA superbike races. While the "200" was the premier event of the Bike-Week festival, I closley watched the 600cc AMA Super-Sport class. Admitedley the AMA super-Sport bikes were not "showroom stock" they did represent many of the high tech features found on many of the spectators bikes parked in the infield... thats where the name came from.

**Danny McManus** · 08-31-2004, 02:26 AM

As I mentioned above,there were many prominent
outboard racers involved in the concept. My initial involvement
began in 1987, upon returning from my first participation in an outboard drag race in Crystal river, Fla. (Barge Canal) in my then new Hydro-Stream Vector with a 175H.P. Johnson ( given to me by Greg Dunham A.K.A. rrrevinrude) I met an OPC Driver named Donnie McDowell. Donnie was racing in the International Outboard
Grand Prix ( I.O.G.P.) series and invited me go with him to "River-Race Augusta" in Georgia. from that weekend on I thought Mod-VP was a really cool way to go boat racing. Several years and races later I was racing in Auburndale, Fla. in the Outboard Drag category, one of the boats there was a 1993 red/white/blue Mirage Jaguar w/ a1992 175 johnson FastStrike, driven by
Pat Eves. As the boats were launching, I found myself talking with Dean Pink, Jeff Grigg and Jeff Titus about how much that boat reminded us of a classic Mod-VP rig. We then observed how
fast it was with that "mild" motor on it....the discusion evolved into a hypothetical fantasy of how cool it would be to see a "bunch" of them racing together.

From that day on I kept it in the back of my mind that if I ever saw a way to to bring back even a remote resmblance of the old Mod-Vp class, I'd do anything within my abilities to help out...

**Danny McManus** · 08-31-2004, 03:09 AM

In the first official letter to the then OPC Chairman (Ron Hill),
my thoughts were to use 150 H.P. as a baseline engine, going back to the early B.A.S.S. tournament days from 1983, that is to say the XR2 Merc, GT/XP 150 Johnson,Evinrudes, Pro-V150 Yamaha, Super-Six Suzuki era...Ron agreed but had been encouraged by the members of the New Class Commitee to
research a way to include the then new "low-emission" engines being offered. Upon a fun comparison of new product brochures
obtained from local dealers my brother (Bill) and I discovered that the manufacturers spec pages were all similar at the low (2 h.p.)
end of the scale and noticably different at the top (225+ h.p.) end.
We were like kids looking at the old Sears&Roebuck Christmas cataloge with these brochures spread out on the parts counter at the marina when we found that in the mid-range (150 h.p.) product comparison the engines were within 11 cubic inches and
18 pounds of each other. With that information in hand I reported back to Ron and the New class commitee that when considering the project goal of "readily avaible equiptment" and "as-shipped"
that with the 150h.p. engines would not require any alteration
for our competition application. On the other hand if we went with
higher horsepower engines the current generation of modified tunnel-V and V-bottom hulls, when combined with current propeller technology would exceed production gearcase capabilties,thus requiring alteration and susequently exceeding the 80 M.P.H. target speed.
(note that the 80 M.P.H. speed cap. was based on many of the consultants reflecting on some of their fondest collective memories
from the glory days of outboard racing in classes where 80M.P.H.
speeds were considered very fast. Add that OPC already had a rule book where many equipment combinations provide participants with higher speed capabilities...)
An additional factor was that all outboard manufacturers offer
Demonstrator Programs to qualified Dealers, and that these eligible Dealers can be assured under this application that they get their "Demo-Unit" back in un-altered condition...

**Danny McManus** · 08-31-2004, 03:33 AM

I'll try to find my original letter to Ron Hill, or hopefully he can dig it
up and post it. In that proposal I had the weights at 1475 pounds. After much research and discussion, it was determined that since the last era of Mod-VP class boats ran at 1450 pounds and the new engines were heavier, plus the fact we plan to attract "Big-Dudes" who otherwise would not neccasarily participate in our already popular lighter weight classes, 1600 pounds would work well . The 1600 pound number was also determined to allow for some modern accesories such as on board
air conditioning, onboard/ondemand underwater breathing apparatus, deployed airbag technology, communication equipment, and so on.
(Add: also lotsa Fried Chicken and Pizza consumption at the races)

**gdfatha** · 08-31-2004, 02:46 PM

Hi Danny...

I have a couple of short questions:

1) Is there a preliminary/master plan regarding SuperSport 2005?? How many potential drivers/boats in the class??

2) How about a SuperSport exhibit during this months Eustis. On the water ot under a tent??

3) Will there be fried chicken available for us fans at Eustis??

4) SPN# 43 asked who is attending the region 5 meeting. No one has replied in open forum. Will SuperSport be discussed there??

Thanks...

marc

**AnthonySS** · 08-31-2004, 03:16 PM

DANNY,

One of the main reasons I got interested in Racing was because of you. I will always remember those great O/B Drag reports in Propeller magazine.

You continue to show me why, due to creative writing style and heart for the sport you have.

Keep up the Great work

Blessings

**Danny McManus** · 08-31-2004, 08:50 PM

I've talked with the drivers and boat owners and we will
be meetingover the winter to go over our activities in 2005.

A part of our preliminary plan is to get to gether for a photo
shoot to update our promotional materials ( we would welcome
your input on this...)

The display at the Eustis race is another good idea and I'll
talk to Mike and Dorsey asap.

Don't know about the menu at Eustis race but I'll be gald to
pickup a bucket of KFC for ya

I do plan to attend this years APBA region 5 meeting, and while
there I'll gather some onfo we'll need for our 2005 event plans.
I also plan to be more active on this forum with info and updates,
plus adding some more details about the creation of the SS class.

Thanks for your reply,and all your interest and support.

**Danny McManus** · 08-31-2004, 08:56 PM

Thanks for the reply and the kind words, I'm glad to
think any of my efforts can encourage good people like you
and your family to enjoy our sport. Have fun, Be safe.

Stay Cool

**gdfatha** · 09-01-2004, 11:10 AM

Hi Danny

Danny:A part of our preliminary plan is to get to gether for a photo
shoot to update our promotional materials ( we would welcome
your input on this...)=================>

Me----Danny, I will be happy to support. As you are aware, I do not charge for photos and have a free site where anyone can download any photo free. I average 2000-300o hits per album, which is added exposure for the great sport.

DANNY: The display at the Eustis race is another good idea and I'll
talk to Mike and Dorsey asap.================>

DANNY---Don't know about the menu at Eustis race but I'll be gald to pickup a bucket of KFC for ya===============>

Me----Great! I'll take legs and thighs. I don't like breasts.--WAIT--That doen't sound right..LOL...I'll treat to water/beer

DANNY---I do plan to attend this years APBA region 5 meeting, and while there I'll gather some onfo we'll need for our 2005 event plans.

I also plan to be more active on this forum with info and updates,
plus adding some more details about the creation of the SS class.
====================>
ME---Better yet.. Region 5 needs dynamic/proactive and dedicated leadership. I hope added exposure is considered with articles in Propeller magazine. I am beginning to think that Propeller editors are missing REGION 5 on their keyboard..

Thanks for your reply, and all your interest and support to race starved region 5 fans...

Danny-Frances is heading your way..Take care guys.. God Bless..

marc

SS at St Pete==========>

**Danny McManus** · 09-03-2004, 06:44 PM

What I'm gonna say here is premature, it is possible.
Try to figure this out... the location of our planned photo-shoot
is a racing facility with historic signifigance, it's ininials are L.L. and is owned by I.S.C. go ahead and make a guess. I'll be watching as I closed the marina today to await the wrath of hurricane Francis and will stay logged on until I lose power...

**gdfatha** · 09-03-2004, 07:56 PM

The old Lake X

**Danny McManus** · 09-03-2004, 08:06 PM

...think trioval

**2us70** · 09-03-2004, 08:59 PM

Backin the 60s and 70s I came to Tavares every Feb. to run OPC in SE class. We called it the drive-in boat races since it was often so cold that the only people out of their cars were the drivers and officials. Now I retired parents living in Eustis so I find myself back in the area several times a year. I always enjoy riding by the marina and checking out these boats. I hope this class gets established cause it looks like a good way for a guy like me to come out of "retirement", if I realy get the bug again.