Despite, the hurtles he’s gone through in the past 3 seasons he has held claim and taken the mantle as the official “promoter” of the longest standing most prestigious tunnel boat series in North America and despite all the doubters who say the sport just won’t work in the 21st Century, the Texas native continues to prove people wrong.
(Mike Schriefer and Scott Gillman.)
“We have had more success than failure in the past three seasons,” said the native Texan. “It’s no secret it’s been a tough battle. We have had some great event partners, but we need more of them. We have great teams and drivers, but we need more of them too.”
“F1-ChampBoat also has had some disappointing partners and contractors and it’s taken us some time to get the right people in position to make it all work. I think we are almost there as we now have a great team of people working with us along with out excellent event staff, I think we are very close. Today we have some great sponsors but of course we need more of them to get us to the next level.” (more news belove picture)
“The naysayers in this sport need to realize that nothing worth having in the world comes easily. If they want success, they need to go out and earn it. Tim Seebold and Terry Rinker have done this successfully. Sponsors aren’t just going to land on their doorstep unless they are willing to put the professional effort behind their sponsor’s brand name. We are going hard to help our loyal teams. I strongly believe the past two years of marketing will pay off for many in 2009. I am confident of that.”
“I’m a relative newcomer to this sport only being focused on this race series for the past four years, I quickly realized how exciting and how important it was to show people around North America why this is such a spectacular way to spend a day along the water with these talented drivers,” said the 45 year-old who now lives in North Carolina. “This isn’t auto racing, where everyone here owns their own automobile and can relate to that sport. Not everyone owns a boat and very few understand what skills you need to make these boats go so fast on water and not hurt yourself at the same time trying to do it.”
(Terry Rinker, Tim Seebold and Chris Fairchild)
“I admire the skills of Terry Rinker, Tim Seebold, Shaun Torrente, Chris Fairchild, Lynn Simburger and the rest of our virtuoso people that work in this sport, it’s something really special and an art form to get it right,” states Mike. “I used to race competitively in motorcycles, open wheel racing and have worked closely over the years with many F1 racers and champions who are friends of mine including Emerson Fittipaldi, Danny Sullivan, Kevin Cogan, Rupert Keegan, Hans Stuck just to name a few and they have all told me how they admire the people that get in these boats and put their lives on the line race after race for the thrill of the speed going 130 mph (225 k’s) while pulling 4g corners lap after lap.”
“I got into this sport hoping that what I had learned from my days in auto racing and show producing for major auto manufacturers would pay off. I was very successful at this end but it hasn’t been easy in my new venture. It’s been a continuous fight with the “good old boys” and the politics in this sport that has slowed us down.”
“People have to understand that my good friend U.I.M. F1 Promoter Nicolo di San Germano and I along with few other people around the world are just a handful of people that spend 24 hours a day at trying to make this sport bigger, more spectacular and more well known in a continuing growing maze of new sports idea’s that continually fractions out the monies and interest around the world to other sports than boat racing”
“I think we have reached the time where all governing bodies must work together and not be suspicious of the people who are trying to continue to grow this sport to a higher level and remove it from the minor leagues to the Premier leagues where it belongs.”
(Mr X watching the birds)
“I’m here for one reason, to make this sport number 1 in racing whether it’s on the water or off and hope everyone who believes in this sport will help us accomplish our goals and enjoy the success together as we accomplish this hopefully in the near future.”
Meanwhile, on the F1-ChampBoat racing front, a pair of Florida pilots, series points leader Terry Rinker of the Amsoil/Rinker Racing Team and Shaun Torrente of the Talon Boats/Gary L. Barton Inc. sponsored group are locked in a head to head conflict that will be taken almost 3000 miles west for the Tempe Grand Prix the 6th Round of the 2008 F1-ChampBoat Series when drivers from three different countries invade Tempe Town Lake on the weekend of September 27-28 in front of thousands of expected boat racing fans.
CLOSE 3 WAY FIGHT FOR TITLE HEADING TO THE DESERT!
The 44 year-old veteran driver from Tampa, Rinker, holds 3 National titles to his credit and currently leads the championship with 2693 points which is 49 points better than fellow Floridian Torrente who is 2nd with 2644 points after the first five races of the 2008 campaign.
“We feel strongly that our season is getting better and better with each passing race,” said Terry. “We have a win in St. Louis and four straight podiums and we believe that consistency is going to win you titles. We however aren’t letting up one bit as we go for our 2nd victory of the season and we are really excited about heading out West and racing in Arizona.”
(Shaun Torrente )
Twenty-nine year old Shaun Torrente started out the season with three straight victories and looked as if nothing was going to stop him.
His wins at Pickwick, Tennessee, Bay City, Michigan and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania were strong as he had visions of chasing Terry Rinker’s all-time winning streak of seven that he accomplished back in 2006.
Since the 4th of July event in the “steel city” Shaun has a 2nd in St. Louis and crashed out in the last race in Michigan giving up the points lead at the same time.
“We were doing everything right early and we still believe this is our championship to lose,” said the native of Homestead, Florida.
“We have one did not finish in Algonac the last time out fighting for the win and this has put us in a bit of a chase for the title but we feel confident we can make up the points and still win it before the season comes to a close.”
Tim Seebold
Tim Seebold of the Bud Light sponsored Team Seebold racing organization is the man who is full of momentum having won the last race from the pole in
the rough waters on the Saint Clair River in Algonac, Michigan ahead of Terry while watching Shaun crash out trying to stay with the native of St. Louis, Missouri. The youngest racing member of the countries most famous inshore catamaran racing family has 25 career victories and is looking for his 3rd title in the last 5 years.
“We are doing what it takes to stay in the championship and still have a lot to say before the season ends in Naples in November,” said Tim. “We are confident that we can put together another weekend where we won from the pole position and never trailed and are ready to go right to the finish with another win here in Tempe.”
Lynn Simburger and his Playcraft Boats sponsored machine is 4th in the championship looking for his first win sitting with two top-3 finishes, while Canadian Brian Venton is 5th in the championship led by team manager Don Jenkinson in a new Gran Prix hull that seems to suit his style. Jeff Shepherd of Tennessee who has a podium and sits 6th in the title chase is hoping for more podiums in ’08, while older brother Randy Rinker joins his brother Terry on the Amsoil sponsored team in the top ten with a 7th in the drivers points.
Nithut Khunjeng
Thailand driver Nithut Khunjeng continues his first year in F1-ChampBoat and is enjoying the season despite being on his 3rd boat as he continues to settle into life in North America. He finished well in Algonac charging up from the back at the start and has a few top-5 performances in 2008 for the Singha Beer sponsored team.
Ninth in the championship in his first full year of racing is Missouri’s Matt Sadl with a 5th in Pickwick, Tennessee being his best performance so far this season for the likeable driver from the St. Louis area.
Rounding out the top-10 in the points chase is another St. Louis driver in speedy Todd Beckman who despite missing Pittsburgh had a fine 4th at his home Grand Prix for a driver who has won in the past on the tour.
All in all drivers from three countries and two different continents are getting ready to head for the Valley of the Sun and go toe to toe at 135 mph pulling 6 g’s in the corners while matching wits on Tempe Town Lake on the 27th and 28th of September. Seating for spectators will be available at Rio Salado Park which is a great local to be up close and enjoys the world’s fastest turning race vehicles anywhere for the Tempe Grand Prix!
