COUNTDOWN
Less than 24 hours remain before Sunday's grueling 10 and 15 lap Championship Races over the 10.1 mile course.

A somber mood has prevailed since Pepe Fereira's death in Wednesday's race. Famous T-man Bobby Moore and many others were in Miami Friday for the funeral.

Race teams have been working night and day since Wednesday to modify and repair engines, drives, hulls, hydraulics, linkages-- anything necessary to optimize their machines for Sunday's two main events. Rough seas and gusty winds made testing difficult Thursday and Friday. Winds of nearly 20 knots and seas approaching 10 feet should calm somewhat Saturday making conditions much more suitable for extensive open water testing.

The loss of several boats including ZeroDefect, Katana, Brooks Athletic shoes, Mr. K, and Black Shadow is disappointing to crews and spectators alike. Observers however are eagerly anticipating the battle of the remaining Superboats and Open Class boats which are among the very fastest the sport has seen. Nuff Respect, Jim Robinson's 4 engine Skater turned an 82 mph average lap time before a slight mechanical problem forced the boat to retire after the fourth lap Wednesday. Matt Alcone's Alcone Motorsports was the only other boat to post an 82 mph average lap time and is always a major force in Superboat. La Grand Argentina (Superboat winner on Wednesday), Jaws (the kilo record holder), Inxs, Recovery (which showed consistently fast times and was overall winner Wednesday), Systems, Admiral Casino Tivoli, Tweet Revenge, Cigarette Lady, Heavy Metal, Budweiser, Ohio Steel are also combative rivals in the final race for the World Championship.

Carl Hunt Hays III - Offshore Powerboat Racing Correspondent

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Last Modified on Saturday, November 11, 1995