Marine
Shaun Torrente Wins Three Rivers Regatta; Third Consecutive Win Using Stock Mercury Racing Powerhead
FOND DU LAC, Wis., July 10, 2008 – Shaun Torrente of Homestead,, Fla., won the 27th annual Three Rivers Regatta F1-ChampBoat Series tunnel boat race Friday, July 04, on the Alleghany River in downtown Pittsburgh, PA. The race was round three of the 2008 seven-race F1-ChampBoat Series. This was Torrente’s third consecutive victory using a stock Mercury 2.5 EFI Champ race outboard powerhead leased from the on-site Mercury Racing factory support truck.
Torrente put in a repeat performance from his June 22nd victory on the Saginaw River in Bay City, Mich., earning the pole position and leading the 50-lap event from start to finish around the 4-pin 1.25 mile (2 kilometer) course.
The 29-year old Torrente held the inside of the first lap - forcing Tim Seebold of Osage Beach, MO., to the outside and in his rear view mirrors for the entire 50 lap race. Torrente had built up an eight second margin over Seebold when both Lynn Simburger of Elsah, Ill., and Billy Joule of Tiera Verde, Fla., came to a stop coming out of turns one and two - stopping the race with 48 laps completed.
Torrente blasted into the lead again on the restart for the final two lap “dash for cash” Tim Seebold finished a mere 1.2 seconds behind Torrente for a solid second place podium finish. Defending F1-ChampBoat Series champion Terry Rinker of Tampa, Fla., finished third.
“We had an excellent setup but it was a wild ride the final 10 laps as the boat got light and with the big waves and many holes on this really challenging course,” said Torrente . “We now want to keep the pressure on the rest of the field and hope we can keep our luck alive one more racing going to St. Louis.”
Jeff Shepherd of Woodlawn, Tenn., and Brian Venton of Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada rounded out 4-5. All were powered by Mercury 2.5 EFI Champ race outboards.
Terry Rinker’s third place finish places him 90 points behind series leader Torrente who leads the drivers championship with 1711 points.
Round four of the 2008 F1-ChampBoat Series is the Bud Light St. Louis Grand Prix, August 2-3, on Creve Coure Lake, MO. Additional information can be found on the official Web site for the F1-ChampBoat Series at www.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
