3:57 AM Mon 15 Aug 2011 GMT
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'’Cintron’ roars past a group of bathers as it heads for victory in Superboat Unlimited off Michigan City. - Michigan City Grand Prix'
Rodrick Cox
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The 'Silver Streak', otherwise known as 'Team Cintron' has blown its rivals off the water to score a convincing Superboat Unlimited class win during the Great Lakes Offshore Grand Prix at Michigan City, Indiana.
With Rich Wyatt handling throttles and Hugh Fuller at the wheel, the immaculately-prepared 50' Mystic and its dual race-tuned 1500hp Stotler engines covered the 76.5 mile (124km) race in 50.09 minutes.
On its final lap, the sleek catamaran topped out at 102mph (164km/hr) to put the finishing touches to a well-earned victory.
One racer has every reason to remember the event; Gary Ballough, a 20-year veteran of the sport, recorded his 100th career win when he throttled 'Risk' (Jean Claude Chalhoub at the wheel) to a win in the Super Stock Class.
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’Risk’ took Gary Ballough to an astonishing 100 career wins when it claimed the Superboat Stock Class. - Michigan City Grand Prix - Rodrick Cox
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Nineteen boats arrived in Michigan City for the racing and for a time things looked decidedly bleak as a storm hit the region forcing race organiser Super Boat International (SBI) to delay the start.
SBI President John Carbonell advised teams to secure their boats in the wet pit area and urged all support vessels to find safe harbour until the severe conditions abated.
After one hour of strong wind and heavy rain, with the strong threat of hail, the weather broke and teams were given the go ahead to prepare for the race.
Two races were staged with teams earning half points in each; a one hour interval was allocated between races to give teams the time to re-fuel or fine tune any changes to the boats.
Race conditions were described as 'rough and unpredictable' for the first race, but conditions had settled down by the time the second race started.
There was no stopping 'Team Cintron' in Superboat Unlimited, registering top speed of the meet and never being headed in its all the way win.
Gary Ballough was delighted with his 100th; 'I've been racing for a long time and I've always said my next race is my best race, but this is one I'll remember for along time,' he said.
'Team Watch Your Back' claimed victory in Manufacturer's P3 with promising youngster Matt Janssen, son of team owner Dr Michael Janssen.
North Carolina's Brian Forehand was on throttles and the team looked very sharp in both races on what proved to be a demanding race circuit.
One crew experienced more action than the planned; 'Miss GEICO', another 50' Mystic catamaran, but with turbine power, came off a big wave, almost turned turtle in the air and came down hard on its port sponson.
Fortunately, driver Marc Granet and throttleman Scott Begovich survived uninjured.
Class winner from the highly successful third staging of the Great Lakes Grand Prix comprised 'Team Stihl', winner of the Super Cat class, 'Twisted Metal Motorsports' (P1), Page Motorsports (Super Cat 850), 'Team Velocity' (P4), 'WHM Motorsports' (Super Cat 850), 'Miss GEICO' (Turbine) 'Watch Your Back' (Super Vee Limited) and 'Global Warmer' (Super Vee Extreme).
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'Global Warmer' at wide open throttle and victory in Super Boat Vee Extreme. - Michigan City Grand Prix - Rodrick Cox
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The crews are now preparing for the next race on the Super Boat International series scheduled for New York City and the 21st annual event on the Hudson River.
Race organisers list the New York event as 'something special'; in honour of the 9/11 World Trade Centre outrage, SBI will race at 9am Saturday, September 10 as the State of New Jersey will be holding 9/11 ceremonies starting at 11am.
SBI has rearranged the race start to allow teams and fans to attend both the 10th anniversary ceremonies and the Grand Prix.
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’Watch Your Back’ heads for the chequered flag to win Superboat Vee Unlimited during the Great Lakes GP at Michigan City. - Michigan City Grand Prix - Rodrick Cox
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'Loriblu' took second place in Super Cat and pushed winner 'Stihl' all the way. - Michigan City Grand Prix - Rodrick Cox
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’Popeye’s Warpaint’ looked good early, but had to settle for third behind winner ’Stihl’ and second-placed ’Loriblu’. - Michigan City Grand Prix - Rodrick Cox
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by Bob Wonders
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Casey, TAS
