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It is always stated how evenly matched the SuperCat Class is in terms of Crew's talent and equipment. I just don't see it ... Having to only look at the results of Sarasota 2014, out of 7 teams there is a spread of almost 10 mph in average speeds and just 2 of them are 2 mph or less within reach of the fastest boat...

Hopefully the numbers have come closer over the course of the season.

To me, to this day, the first two days of racing in KW is nothing more than a drag race. I really wish they would bring back the days of doing 80 to 100 miles each day of racing. That was when you were really earning it . It is such a long way to go not only for the racers but the fans and if a fan blinks on day 1 or 2, the races could be over.... Just my opinion ...

Pete B

A poor prop selection, is the root of these high speed parade's, as is poor line selections. Consistent speeds given conditions, Lap traffic from other classes all have a being on overall lap speeds. if they were to run 100 miles a day, you would still get similar results. as some run better in rough than others, some turn tighter than others, some understand the geometry of the race course, and how to get around it faster than others. Some are willing to put it on the line!

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Well, after looking at all results from this year, it is consistent that Team Stihl is with the fastest average and only 2 to 3 others even close by a few mph. If it is all poor prop and line selections by the teams at the bottom of the average speeds, I guess they are consistent in what they do. Or the top three are just that much faster than the rest of the fleet.

The wild card will be Team AMSOIL. They haven't been afraid to show their dashboard with their onboard cameras . It's no secret they are truly going to be one of the top 3 fastest boats on the course.

Pete B

Kudos to Amsoil, Bob and Paul are a Top-notch Team, and Bob one of the best in the business, maybe that's why he is in business. But TNT takes care of Stihl and they are not slouches nor strangers to the world of high performance. And Grant Takes care of Broadco completely re-rigging the boat, and was the original rigger for the Stihl boat. and has beaten both of them so anything is possible. The new WHM will be another boat that will be in the hunt, as will the repowered Racing for Cancer boat. Like I said Luck, and who is willing to gamble is what will win. Bob's 36 will not be as fast if it is rough out, and if it is flat the others will have to work harder to keep up with Bob and Paul.

F1-00 Racing

Another wild card Tim... Supercat rules are different between the 2 groups... OPA allows ported heads and other misc things that SBI doesnt. There are also penalties for taking out markers that wont be over turned. I look forward to seeing the 8-10 boats competing and to truly see who will be dominate with actual competition on the course

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The AMSOIL boat is perfectly balanced and they know how to fly it in the rough ....

Donzi ZX

So I take it AMSOIL is Tim's favorite? It's hard to tell

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Are you suggesting a multi time championship team would not know the SBI rules prior to going to a World Championship race ?

I can already see it now. If Teague wins they will pull every inch of his boat apart and I hope to God some lame excuse to DQ him does not arise..... If he wins fair and square let him win.

I know one thing, Teague new what the OPA rule book stated when he was at the awards ceremony, A disqualification was not in the rule book for hitting a bouy. It merely stated that he had to pay to replace it. It's not like he hit it on purpose. I saw the video on how the boat hooked up on a sponson and pulled the boat tighter to the corner than they wanted to be. 1st lap 1st turn with no one around them, they could have gone as wide as they wanted. That's just not their style. They go pin to pin at all costs ....

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Matt Trulio

After almost 20 years of covering offshore racing, I have heard "To finish first, you first must finish" relative to the Key West Worlds a few hundred times. Cliche as it has become, it's also the truth ... Key West's triple-race format rewards teams for consistency and keeping their boats together.

That said, I've also interviewed, spent time, tested boats with and generally hung out and shot the crap with John Tomlinson more times that I can count. His record of success In Key West is pretty damn impressive, and without a single exception he credits three things, first and foremost, in his successful campaigns:

1. Practice/Testing
2. Practice/Testing
3. Practice/Testing

That means a ton of test time between a full season of races, at least for JT, a guy who knows what he's talking about. Practice/testing don't simply serve to improve the combined skills of the driver and throttleman. They help the team with setup for the conditions of the day, because the more time they're out the greater the variety of conditions they will be able to see and set up for.

When the Gasse Team still planned to go to Key West this year, Tomlinson told me point blank that he didn't expect to be competitive against the other teams because they had only run the boat once this season. Gasse is out, but Tomlinson's point still applies, at least if you're trying to pick "probable winners" in each class. Yes, anything can happen, but handicapping is about data-based probability not possibility.

And that said. it's going to be one hell of a Key West Worlds. Best of luck to everyone.