Facts about Evinrude/Johnson racing outboards made my OMC

[WaterZebra]

Yes..............I was there ........Jimbo seemed to be running "off" that day with his set up. Running "flatter" than usual.

[lars strom]

Pretty cool..!!

[lars strom]

One more.

[Lake X Kid]

Was this the racing accident, that convinced Jimbo that driving a tunnel race boat is no longer in his best interest?

Cathy McConnell

The Day that changed Our Lives…… 38 years ago….. July 6, 1985.

[lars strom]

Was this the racing accident, that convinced Jimbo that driving a tunnel race boat is no longer in his best interest?

Yes..this accident was the last race for Jimbo.

Here is a some interesting reading from Powerboat Magazine after the race. Jimbo was driving a Molinari..sister boat to the one Renato and Barry Woods drove.
Renato never developed a safety cell for his F1-V8 boats..well..he started later but gave up.


This time
the victim was Jimbo McConnell.
McConnell, a favorite in Sacramento
after winning the California
race two-years ago, was returning to
F-1 competition after a 12 month
layoff while recouperating from a
shoulder injury he'd suffered in testing.
McConnell, who qualified third at
a very impressive 121 mph, had to
wear a corrective harness under his
lifejacket. His stark white Spirit of
Sacramento was the same Molinari
hull that both Barry Woods and
Renato Molinari had piloted to victories
last year.
McConnell, who like Thibodauxis a
paid test driver for OMC, was running
at full throttle in the middle of the
straightaway when he got the nose
down and the back end up. His boat
stuffed then somersaulted, disintegrating
immediately upon impact
and sent McConnell into the water.
The likeable veteran pilot spent the
next 24 hours in and out of surgery as
doctors worked diligently trying to
reconstruct his shattered larynx and
knees. In addition, the fibula bone on
McConnell's right leg was driven
through the bottom of his heel and he
also suffered new injuries to his tenderly
mending shoulder. At press
time, McConnell is recovering at
home and the prognosis for a full and
complete recovery is excellent.
"What really concerns me," says
Hodges who has spent more time,
effort and energy on safety capsule
design than anyone in the world, "is
that we have the most experienced
driver on the circuit, driving for a
company that knows what the capsule
can do and yet he didn't have one.
The time when a capsule works best is
in a nose dive situation. If he
(McConnell) had been in a safety
cockpit I guarantee he would've
walked away."

[lars strom]

F1-V8 racing in Sacramento 1985.
Not sure if this is before or after Jimbo's crash.

[lars strom]

Yes..this accident was the last race for Jimbo.

Here is a some interesting reading from Powerboat Magazine after the race. Jimbo was driving a Molinari..sister boat to the one Renato and Barry Woods drove.
Renato never developed a safety cell for his F1-V8 boats..well..he started later but gave up.


This time
the victim was Jimbo McConnell.
McConnell, a favorite in Sacramento
after winning the California
race two-years ago, was returning to
F-1 competition after a 12 month
layoff while recouperating from a
shoulder injury he'd suffered in testing.
McConnell, who qualified third at
a very impressive 121 mph, had to
wear a corrective harness under his
lifejacket. His stark white Spirit of
Sacramento was the same Molinari
hull that both Barry Woods and
Renato Molinari had piloted to victories
last year.
McConnell, who like Thibodauxis a
paid test driver for OMC, was running
at full throttle in the middle of the
straightaway when he got the nose
down and the back end up. His boat
stuffed then somersaulted, disintegrating
immediately upon impact
and sent McConnell into the water.
The likeable veteran pilot spent the
next 24 hours in and out of surgery as
doctors worked diligently trying to
reconstruct his shattered larynx and
knees. In addition, the fibula bone on
McConnell's right leg was driven
through the bottom of his heel and he
also suffered new injuries to his tenderly
mending shoulder. At press
time, McConnell is recovering at
home and the prognosis for a full and
complete recovery is excellent.
"What really concerns me," says
Hodges who has spent more time,
effort and energy on safety capsule
design than anyone in the world, "is
that we have the most experienced
driver on the circuit, driving for a
company that knows what the capsule
can do and yet he didn't have one.
The time when a capsule works best is
in a nose dive situation. If he
(McConnell) had been in a safety
cockpit I guarantee he would've
walked away."

Cathy McConnell

Top contributor

Wow……. This is a “haunting” photo.
We have never seen it before. Obviously, taken just before the accident. The arm brace he is wearing is to protect his arm from injuries that he got in an accident on Fox Lake, Illinois in May, 1984.
Sacramento was his first race back. Thankfully, the Sacramento accident was caused by rollers from a Patrol Boat and not anything to do with his arm.

[Lake X Kid]

Here is a some interesting reading from Powerboat Magazine after the race. Jimbo was driving a Molinari...sister boat to the one Renato and Barry Woods drove.

Renato never developed a safety cell for his F1-V8 boats…well…he started later but gave up.
This time the victim was Jimbo McConnell.

McConnell, a favorite in Sacramento after winning the California race two-years ago, was returning to F-1 competition after a 12 month layoff while recuperating from a shoulder injury he'd suffered in testing. McConnell, who qualified third at a very impressive 121 mph, had to wear a corrective harness under his lifejacket. His stark white Spirit of Sacramento was the same Molinari hull that both Barry Woods and Renato Molinari had piloted to victories last year.

McConnell, who like Thibodaux is a paid test driver for OMC, was running at full throttle in the middle of the straightaway when he got the nose down and the back end up. His boat stuffed then somersaulted, disintegrating immediately upon impact and sent McConnell into the water.

The likeable veteran pilot spent the next 24 hours in and out of surgery as doctors worked diligently trying to reconstruct his shattered larynx and knees. In addition, the fibula bone on McConnell's right leg was driven through the bottom of his heel and he also suffered new injuries to his tenderly mending shoulder.

At press time, McConnell is recovering at home and the prognosis for a full and complete recovery is excellent.

"What really concerns me," says Hodges who has spent more time, effort and energy on safety capsule design than anyone in the world, “is that we have the most experienced driver on the circuit, driving for a company that knows what the capsule can do and yet he didn't have one. The time when a capsule works best is in a nose dive situation. If he (McConnell) had been in a safety cockpit I guarantee he would’ve walked away."




[/QUOTE]

[lars strom]

@Lake X Kid

Well..1985 was the year when F1-V8 boats started to use safety cells..It was Hodges and Velden leading the development.
Bob Spalding and Bertil Wik raced the Hodges with safety cells and a few Velden drivers used safety cells. All the rest was without safety cells.
I raced without safety cell in the F1-V8 race in London August 1985. After London I was offered a ride by Cees Van Der Velden in a Velden with safety cell and raced in Antwerp, Belgium. I did not like the feeling to be strapped in and after the race in Belgium I made up my mind and gave up F1-V8 racing.
As far as I know..no other tunnel boat series was using safety cells 1985.

[lars strom]

Gene..the winner of the F1-V8 race in Sacramento 1985.
Pretty sure his #5 Velden is NOT a safety cell..You can not lean forward like that if you are strapped in a Velden safety cell.
I know that from my own experience and I did not like that feeling.

[WaterZebra]

Gene..the winner of the F1-V8 race in Sacramento 1985.
Pretty sure his #5 Velden is NOT a safety cell..You can not lean forward like that if you are strapped in a Velden safety cell.
I know that from my own experience and I did not like that feeling.

Bob Thompson's team returned in 1986 with full canopy'd Furnal safety cell tunnels and Ben Robertson started to dominate the series. Hodges and Velden had a huge development lead on safety cells over Molinari. I think Molinari stalled on cell development for lack of funding and he was thinking of walking away from tunnel racing anyway, so why bother? A lot of drivers used the capsule mandate in 1987/1988 as an excuse to quit (economics). When I look back on it, we were sitting atop a boat in a tight fitting seat surrounded by a thin flimsy skin of a fiberglass cowling. COMPLETELY NUTS! I did some of my fastest driving and turning because I was strapped in and not fighting to stay in my seat. I had $150,000 in medical bills for broken legs from being ejected in blow overs that could have been avoided with a $5000 safety cell retrofit. Do the math........

[lars strom]

Cathy McConnell

The Day that changed Our Lives…… 38 years ago….. July 6, 1985.

Cathy McConnell
Author
Top contributor

Lars...here are a few photos most people have never seen.
After the accident the largest piece of the Boat found was the one with Jimbo’s name on it.
I am still so Thankful for the people that helped retrieve the pieces and took care of our Truck and equipment.

[WaterZebra]

Cathy McConnell

Top contributor

Wow……. This is a “haunting” photo.
We have never seen it before. Obviously, taken just before the accident. The arm brace he is wearing is to protect his arm from injuries that he got in an accident on Fox Lake, Illinois in May, 1984.
Sacramento was his first race back. Thankfully, the Sacramento accident was caused by rollers from a Patrol Boat and not anything to do with his arm.

Did the rollers come from a support patrol boat or bigger boats that were pulling up to the west end of the course (down river)? I don't remember rollers but I do remember that end of the course being wind whipped at times. If they were rollers washing upstream, they would "flatten out" and their shapes would be very hard to detect @ 130 mph. Same thing happened to me on the Willamette River in downtown Portland. Was doing short sprints for the press and these tug / barge rollers were washing upstream and you wouldn't see them until you were right on top of them (literally).

[lars strom]

More very interesting reading from Sacramento 1985 about the winner Gene T. and Second Efforts Gary G..!!

[WaterZebra]

More very interesting reading from Sacramento 1985 about the winner Gene T. and Second Efforts Gary G..!!

I think the writer had his "Lee's" mixed up. David Lee never built a hull for OMC V8 power that I know of. Only Merc power. If he did, it was a closely guarded secret and the hull is probably stored right along side the UFO at Area 51? Lee Furnal on the other hand, built full canopied safety cell V8 boats that clearly beat the Veldens. Side note on the Veldens at Sacramento, Mostert barrel rolled and damaged one of the Kool sponsored hulls. I watched the Velden team take chainsaws to the hull, strip the engine and hardware off and extract the safety cell rather than shipping the hull back to Europe. Go figure?