Marine
Terry Rinker Wins Grand Prix of Savannah
Seebold Captures 5th Series Title
OptiMax 200XS SSTs Make a Statement in Champ2 Competition
FOND DU LAC, Wis., Nov. 06, 2007 – With his boat powered by Mercury Racing, Terry Rinker of Tampa, Fla., won his second consecutive Grand Prix of Savannah tunnel boat race Sunday, Nov. 5, on the Savannah River in downtown Savannah, Ga. The 50-lap race was the sixth and final round of the 2007 F1-ChampBoat Grand Prix Series presented by Mercury Racing.
Rinker led from the pole and held onto every lap despite being challenged in the early stages by Shaun Torrente of Miami, Fla. Mercury Racing provided Torrente with a stock Champ race powerhead after his modified motor failed during qualifying heat racing on Saturday. The hard-charging Torrente moved up from 10th to 2nd, with his stock powered Gran Prix hull making ground on Rinker's modified rig with each tour around the 1.0 mile (1.62 kilometer) 4-turn course. Unfortunately for Torrente, a steering system failure knocked him out of competition with 11 laps completed.
Chris Fairchild of Paw Paw, Ill, moved into second, pursuing Rinker for the majority of the race. The highly charged competitors were side-by-side halfway through the race. Fairchild's chance to pass the leader was quickly diminished
after getting washed down in traffic, falling back to secure 2nd place in the race and 2nd in the championship overall.
Tim Seebold of Osage Beach, Mo., who merely needed to finish eighth or better to capture the championship, finished a solid 3rd place. It was Seebold's 4th podium finish this season, and his 5th F1-ChampBoat Grand Prix Series title.
“We did what we needed to in order to get the job done,” said Seebold.
“The Bud Light Racing effort put together some long hours this season and I want to especially thank my father, Bill, for doing such a great job behind the scenes all year long to give us back this coveted trophy,” Seebold said.
Terry Rinker's brother Randy of Syracuse, Ind., put in his best performance of the season with a strong 4th place finish. Texan Michael Schubert rounded out 5th in a Seebold hull powered by a vintage Johnson 3.0 Liter V-6 race outboard.
Tim Seebold won the title with 3,207 points – a 78 point advantage over 2nd place Chris Fairchild, and 79 points ahead of Terry Rinker who finished 3rd. Shaun Torrente placed 4th overall with 2,953 points; 254 points behind Rinker. Lynn Simburger rounded out the top five with 2,704 points.
Champ2
Kris Shepard of Antioch, Ill., defended his Champ2 title with a 6th place finish, while Glynn Mathews took the win and finished 232 points behind Shepard's winning total of 3,538 at season's end.
Racers and fans alike took notice in the impressive showing of Mercury Racing low-emissions OptiMax 200XS SST race outboards in Champ2 competition.
Rookie Mark Profitt, of Lake City, Tenn., competing in his second Champ2 event of the season, finished second. Jimmie Merleau of Fennville, Mich., also running a low-emission, 2-stroke direct fuel injected OptiMax 200XS SST
outboard, finished third. The strong performance of the environmentally friendly engines proves they are the future of Champ2/SST 120 outboard racing.
2007 Champ Class Final Standings
- Tim Seebold
- Chris Fairchild
- Terry Rinker
- Shaun Torrente
- Lynn Simburger
- Randy Rinker
- Jeff Shepherd
- Brian Venton
- Mark Major
- Brian Normand
2007 Champ 2 (SST 120) Class Final Standings
- Kris Shepard
- Glyn Mathews
- Kevin Ladd
- Michael Schubert
- Howie Nichols
- John Jorewicz
- Johnny Fleming
- Bobby Chaffin
- Tim Fry
- Jimmie Merleau
Additional information can be found on the official Web site for the ChampBoat Grand Prix Series at champboat.com.
About Mercury Racing
Based in Fond du Lac, Wis., Mercury Racing, a division of Mercury Marine, is a leading provider of high-performance marine propulsion systems to discriminating boaters worldwide, offering an exciting and fulfilling powerboating experience on the water.
Using leading-edge technology, Mercury Racing produces high-performance outboards, sterndrives, propellers, parts and accessories.
Mercury Racing-powered boats worldwide win more races and set more records than any boats powered by other marine engine manufacturers.
Mercury Marine is a division of Brunswick Corp. (NYSE: BC), the world's largest manufacturer of recreational products, including pleasure boats, marine engines, fitness equipment, and bowling and billiards.
CONTACT:
Rick Mackie
Mercury Racing
Senior Marketing Manager
Phone: 920-924-2032
FAX: 920-921-6533
E-mail: rmackie@mercmarine.com
