Todd Bowden, Terry Rinker, Tim Seebold, Chris Fairchild in Top Five
BY Rick Stoff
TAMPICO, MEXICO (May 18) –Mike Seebold of St. Louis, Mo., was the winner Sunday in the first Champ-class boat race ever held in Mexico, the Telmex-Heineken Grand Prix of Tampico presented by Telcel. He averaged 124.345 miles per hour in a 50-lap race that was completed without a red flag.
The race was the first of the 2003 season for the Champ Boat Series presented by Mercury Racing. It was attended by an estimated 45,000 to 55,000 people to make it one of the biggest races held for the Champ boats since the class of tunnel boats was formed in the early 1970s. Tampico is a major industrial center on the east central coast of Mexico. For this race Mike Seebold was sponsored by Cataluna Ribbons of Mexico.
Todd Bowden of Monrovia, Calif., took the lead off the starting dock with Greg Foster of Anaheim Hills, Calif., in chase. Foster stalled on the course when his kill switch turned off the engine, and Mike Seebold passed Bowden when his boat was caught in traffic and rough water and slipped wide in a turn.
Bowden, sponsored by Concrete Coring Co., finished second. Terry Rinker of Riverview, Fla., driving for Rinker Boats, was third and Tim Seebold, the 2002 series champion, was fourth for the Bud Light Racing Team. Foster got his boat restarted but finished nine laps down to the leader.
The fastest boats in the preliminary races failed to finish the final. Fast qualifier Todd Beckman of St. Louis, Mo., suffered engine problems and completed 15 laps to finish 16th. Beckman set a new Mexican outboard powerboat speed record on Saturday when he qualified at 131.953 m.p.h.
Jason Campbell of Chandler, Ariz., dominated the heat races Saturday but had a battery fail just before Sunday’s final race and he was unable to start.
The hometown favorite, Carlos Kuri of Mexico City, barely survived a collision with traffic early in the race. He finished the race with a hole in his boat and his emergency flotation air bag deployed above his boat. He finished 13th with a sinking boat that had to be towed to the ramp by the rescue team.
Professional boat races have been held on Laguna del Carpenterio since 1991, but this was the first Mexican event for Champ boats, the world’s fastest outboard powerboat class.
Drivers in the two classes competed for $100,000 in prize money, one of the richest purses ever posted for tunnel-hull boats. The race was covered by 100 news media from across Latin America.
The Champ Boat Series races again on the weekend of June 7-8 at New Roads, Louisiana. Additional information can be found at the web site: www.champboatracing.com.
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Champ Final
1. Mike Seebold, Frontenac, Mo., Catalunas Ribbons 50 laps 124.345 mph
2. Todd Bowden, Monrovia, Calif., Concrete Coring Co. 50
3. Terry Rinker, Riverview, Fla., Rinker Boats 49
4. Tim Seebold, Osage Beach, Mo., Bud Light 49
5. Nathan Worthy, Brookline Station, Mo. HydroTec 49
6. John Jensen, Windsor, Colo., Reinell Boats 49
7. Chris Fairchild, N. Aurora, Ill., Hooters 49
8. Pete Nydahl, Bristol, Wisc., Nydahl Crank & Machine 48
9. Lynn Simburger, Elsah, Ill., Famous Craft 48
10. Max Toler, Baton Rouge, Tenn., The Advocate 47
11. Scott Jensen, Ft. Collins, Colo., Reinell Boats 46
12. Carlos Kuri, Mexico City, Mexico, Telmex 46
13. Shaun Torrente, Miami, Fla., Hooters 44
14. Greg Foster, Anaheim Hills, Calif., Sherwin Williams 41
15. Jimmy Ablott, Des Moines, Wash., Sprint 41
16. Todd Beckman, St. Louis, Mo., Australian Gold 15
17. Darren Rube, Baton Rouge, La., Bazooka Marine Audio 10
18. Ray Anderson, Nashville, Tenn., Yamaha Outboards 9
19. Jason Campbell, Chandler, Ariz., Lamb Racing Did not start
Champ Boat Series 2003 Schedule
May 16-18 Tampico, Mexico Champ (Mike Seebold) SST-120 (Greg Jacobsen)
June 7-8 New Roads, Louisiana Champ & SST-120
June 20-22 Bay City, Michigan Champ, SST-120 & SST-45
July 18-20 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Champ
August 15-17 St. Louis, Missouri Champ & SST-120
August 23-24 Windsor, Colorado Champ & SST-120
September 20-21 San Diego, California Champ
BY Rick Stoff
TAMPICO, MEXICO (May 18) –Mike Seebold of St. Louis, Mo., was the winner Sunday in the first Champ-class boat race ever held in Mexico, the Telmex-Heineken Grand Prix of Tampico presented by Telcel. He averaged 124.345 miles per hour in a 50-lap race that was completed without a red flag.
The race was the first of the 2003 season for the Champ Boat Series presented by Mercury Racing. It was attended by an estimated 45,000 to 55,000 people to make it one of the biggest races held for the Champ boats since the class of tunnel boats was formed in the early 1970s. Tampico is a major industrial center on the east central coast of Mexico. For this race Mike Seebold was sponsored by Cataluna Ribbons of Mexico.
Todd Bowden of Monrovia, Calif., took the lead off the starting dock with Greg Foster of Anaheim Hills, Calif., in chase. Foster stalled on the course when his kill switch turned off the engine, and Mike Seebold passed Bowden when his boat was caught in traffic and rough water and slipped wide in a turn.
Bowden, sponsored by Concrete Coring Co., finished second. Terry Rinker of Riverview, Fla., driving for Rinker Boats, was third and Tim Seebold, the 2002 series champion, was fourth for the Bud Light Racing Team. Foster got his boat restarted but finished nine laps down to the leader.
The fastest boats in the preliminary races failed to finish the final. Fast qualifier Todd Beckman of St. Louis, Mo., suffered engine problems and completed 15 laps to finish 16th. Beckman set a new Mexican outboard powerboat speed record on Saturday when he qualified at 131.953 m.p.h.
Jason Campbell of Chandler, Ariz., dominated the heat races Saturday but had a battery fail just before Sunday’s final race and he was unable to start.
The hometown favorite, Carlos Kuri of Mexico City, barely survived a collision with traffic early in the race. He finished the race with a hole in his boat and his emergency flotation air bag deployed above his boat. He finished 13th with a sinking boat that had to be towed to the ramp by the rescue team.
Professional boat races have been held on Laguna del Carpenterio since 1991, but this was the first Mexican event for Champ boats, the world’s fastest outboard powerboat class.
Drivers in the two classes competed for $100,000 in prize money, one of the richest purses ever posted for tunnel-hull boats. The race was covered by 100 news media from across Latin America.
The Champ Boat Series races again on the weekend of June 7-8 at New Roads, Louisiana. Additional information can be found at the web site: www.champboatracing.com.
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Champ Final
1. Mike Seebold, Frontenac, Mo., Catalunas Ribbons 50 laps 124.345 mph
2. Todd Bowden, Monrovia, Calif., Concrete Coring Co. 50
3. Terry Rinker, Riverview, Fla., Rinker Boats 49
4. Tim Seebold, Osage Beach, Mo., Bud Light 49
5. Nathan Worthy, Brookline Station, Mo. HydroTec 49
6. John Jensen, Windsor, Colo., Reinell Boats 49
7. Chris Fairchild, N. Aurora, Ill., Hooters 49
8. Pete Nydahl, Bristol, Wisc., Nydahl Crank & Machine 48
9. Lynn Simburger, Elsah, Ill., Famous Craft 48
10. Max Toler, Baton Rouge, Tenn., The Advocate 47
11. Scott Jensen, Ft. Collins, Colo., Reinell Boats 46
12. Carlos Kuri, Mexico City, Mexico, Telmex 46
13. Shaun Torrente, Miami, Fla., Hooters 44
14. Greg Foster, Anaheim Hills, Calif., Sherwin Williams 41
15. Jimmy Ablott, Des Moines, Wash., Sprint 41
16. Todd Beckman, St. Louis, Mo., Australian Gold 15
17. Darren Rube, Baton Rouge, La., Bazooka Marine Audio 10
18. Ray Anderson, Nashville, Tenn., Yamaha Outboards 9
19. Jason Campbell, Chandler, Ariz., Lamb Racing Did not start
Champ Boat Series 2003 Schedule
May 16-18 Tampico, Mexico Champ (Mike Seebold) SST-120 (Greg Jacobsen)
June 7-8 New Roads, Louisiana Champ & SST-120
June 20-22 Bay City, Michigan Champ, SST-120 & SST-45
July 18-20 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Champ
August 15-17 St. Louis, Missouri Champ & SST-120
August 23-24 Windsor, Colorado Champ & SST-120
September 20-21 San Diego, California Champ
