Facts about Evinrude/Johnson racing outboards made my OMC

[lars strom]

Ross Willaton’s E-tunnel with Evinrude power 1977.

Maybe Ross himself should tell about the end of this beauty..

[lars strom]

The UIM F-3 class is ready to take off in Nottingham 1981. Great place for tunnel boat racing. I raced there many time.

[lars strom]

#77 UIM F3 Patrik Kronegard
Evinrude FR-M31

[lars strom]

#77 UIM SE class Patrik Kronegard
Evinrude production 75HP

[lars strom]

WOW..thanks to FB and Fred Emeny I finally have a great picture of my black/yellow UIM OE class Molinari/Volvo Penta-Konig in Embassy GP/Bristol.

Fred Emeny
Lasse Strom: Bristol Docks 1977
European OE Sprint Championships

[Lake X Kid]

A photo by Cool, where driver & boat look Cool.

[Instigator]

Great shot!

A photo by Cool, where driver & boat look Cool.

[sharpeye Mike]

Lars, did you win any races with the Penta?

[lars strom]

Lars, did you win any races with the Penta?

Thanks for asking @sharpeye Mike A great question.


Yes, I won a few races with my VP-König powered Molinari 1977..but it was the wrong races..
(Next post is about the wins..)

The largest setback was the UIM OE class World Championship race in Brodenbach, Germany.
After my win in the last heat of the four heat races I was 100% sure I was the overall winner..but after 20 minutes waiting the German race officials came out and said #7 M. Werner's heat he won was half a second better than my best heat..It says laps in the Powerboat & Waterskiing report but that is wrong..Its the fastest heat win you count.
You race 4 heats..you take out one and 3 counts..Werner & I had the same points..thats when the winner is the one with the fastest heat time.
Back in 1977 it was all manual timing and no way for me to prove that my heat time was much faster than M. Werner's fastest heat..The officials said that Werner's heat was half a second better than mine.
Meaning I lost the race with less than half a second..
The first picture is when I am passing #7 M. Werner on the inside for my second heat win in the last heat.

[lars strom]

Lars, did you win any races with the Penta?

Victory in Groningen GP. Holland 1977.

I drove my UIM OE class #40 Molinari/VPK to victory.
Ahead of Paul Kalb’s OMC factory drivers and Mercury racers.
So happy for the Groningen win..

[lars strom]

Lars, did you win any races with the Penta?

After the Brodenbach race I got a very good relationship with Dieter Konig. Did a lot of engine development /testing at the Konig factory.
(Back then it was called West Berlin)
Konig's main business was the hydro classes and the 1977 UIM OB class World Championship race was going to be run in Austria.
The biggest name in hydro racing was Austria's #77 Erwin Zimmerman.
The rumors was the Japanese Yamato was going to introduce a brand new engine for the OB class at the worlds in Austria.
Dieter and Erwin got brand new stuff for the race and the UIM OE class was also part of the race.
Dieter asked me to take part of the race.
We left West Berlin for AschAch in Austria. A beautiful small village in the Austria alps.
Well..Team Yamato and the top driver Sugihara was extremely fast. Dominated testing. Every Japanese Yamato team members used white overalls with matching gloves.
Sugihara - Yamato won the first three heat races very easy ahead of Erwin Zimmerman and got the World Title. Dieter Konig was close to get a heart attack..
First big set back for Konig hydro racing.
On the good side..I won the OE class ahead of Dieter's sisters son Mareth..He raced the Konig 6 cylinders OE engine.
Germany's Micheal Werner was way behind in his Merc powered Burgess.
Great memories from my only race in Austria.

[Lake X Kid]

Race boat 1960's design (Molinari tunnel) transitions over to the sport-runabout's commercial pleasure market.

[sharpeye Mike]

After the Brodenbach race I got a very good relationship with Dieter Konig. Did a lot of engine development /testing at the Konig factory.
(Back then it was called West Berlin)
Konig's main business was the hydro classes and the 1977 UIM OB class World Championship race was going to be run in Austria.
The biggest name in hydro racing was Austria's #77 Erwin Zimmerman.
The rumors was the Japanese Yamato was going to introduce a brand new engine for the OB class at the worlds in Austria.
Dieter and Erwin got brand new stuff for the race and the UIM OE class was also part of the race.
Dieter asked me to take part of the race.
We left West Berlin for AschAch in Austria. A beautiful small village in the Austria alps.
Well..Team Yamato and the top driver Sugihara was extremely fast. Dominated testing. Every Japanese Yamato team members used white overalls with matching gloves.
Sugihara - Yamato won the first three heat races very easy ahead of Erwin Zimmerman and got the World Title. Dieter Konig was close to get a heart attack..
First big set back for Konig hydro racing.
On the good side..I won the OE class ahead of Dieter's sisters son Mareth..He raced the Konig 6 cylinders OE engine.
Germany's Micheal Werner was way behind in his Merc powered Burgess.
Great memories from my only race in Austria.

You lived the life Lars

[lars strom]

A Volvo Penta-König outboard in Paris Six Hours 1977.

After a really tough racing season 1977 Dieter Konig asked me if I was ready for the biggest race of the year..
I said yes and asked Dieter Konigs sisters son Joachim Mareth to be my co-pilot.

Well..A König engine in a Six Hour race does not make sense for any one that knows about boat racing.!!

Dieter was ready to make a special engine and we must use a 50/50 mix of racing fuel and methanol. The engine was using to much of 100% methanol.
We did a lot of testing and kept the good top speed with the 50/50 fuel and a marathon set up.
Finally Dieter also agree to install a electric fuel pump instead of the pressure fuel tank..
We where heading to Paris with my Chevy Van and the French Customs stopped us at the border in to France.
The Officer checked the van and asked about the 75 gallons of Methanol..
My answer: its our fuel was for racing 6 hours in Paris..He did not like my answer..
The Officer checked the book and it said Methanol was Alcohol. We where now heading for jail.
After a big fine we where going again.

Lots of attention in the Paris Six Hour pit..a Molinari with a König outboard covered up by a Volvo engine cover in a six hour race..!!
Most people was shaking the heads..They are not going to last long..
This year the race was where rough and windy..I took the start and we kept the lead after the refueling and driver change.
Angelo Vassena of Italy was the only OE boat that could keep up with our speed.
I was ahead of Angelo after four hours when I hit some debris in the river Seine and sank.
I could not believe it..now the König engine was holding up and the Molinari boat sank..end of story.

In the picture below you can see Dieter..(red arrow) and Joachim Mareth (blue arrow)..
Well my racing suit looks to big..the other one was damaged in a crash a few weeks before the Paris 6 Hour race..







More from the pit..Paris 6 hours 1977.
To the left of me.. is Bertil Wik (white arrow) and to the right..Dieter Konig (red arrow)..





The Molinari /Volvo Penta/Konig after the Paris race in Sweden.
Picture by Marcus Weman.

[Noah Burns]

Lars, do you have any pictures of the Koenig/VP powerhead?