p4-33

Brian Bunch
Fountain of Youth P4-33
313 283-8148
Fax 734 676-9857
[email protected]
www.UltraTeamRacing.com

Konrad Marine
Fred Sparling
1421 Hanley Rd.
Hudson, WI 54016
715-286-4203
Fax: 715-386-4219
www.konradmarine.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 6/22/2004

Ultra Team Racing and Konrad Marine Team Up For The APBA Offshore Racing Central Division Tri-State Cup Series Competition

Gibraltar, MI – Ultra Team Racing’s Fountain of Youth race boat will be retrofitted with Konrad 540 PRS (Performance Replacement System) stern drives and taking part in the APBA Offshore GMC Pro Grade National Series by competing for the APBA Offshore Racing Central Division Tri-State Cup Series Competition. The Konrad 540 PRS replaces the outdated TRSs without extensive modification. Konrad Marine will be supplying drives and expedited support for the Fountain of Youth boat for a 2-year period.

The Fountain of Youth race boat will undergo a transom lift and transom assemblies. The old drives are removed, and Konrad’s 540 PRS is simply bolted on. The 540 PRS enhances performance and eliminates frequent drive failures.

Brian Bunch of Ultra Team Racing states, "Many performance boaters are in the same situation I was; running TRS hardware that has reached end-of-life. The drive ended production in 1994, and parts supplies are getting low.

"Konrad Marine introduced me to their 540 Performance Replacement System where they are able to swap out my TRS drives with their 540 Performance Stern Drives in a matter of a couple of days. No transom work was necessary, it was simply a bolt-on operation.

"We actually have to "de-tune" the drive system to remain competitive in P4-class, as the performance increases gained as a result of newer 540 gear case and driveline technology would have bumped me over the top of my 70-79.9mph speed bracket.

"There is no comparison between the obsolete TRS technology and Konrad Marine's 540 Performance drives. Investment security with modern technology, significant performance gains, and a commercially proven reliable package are what keeps the Fountain of Youth on the race course.”

Driven by Jim Lijana of Harrison Twp, MI, Brian Bunch of Gibraltar, MI, on the throttles, and Jerry Majeske from Plymouth, MI, as Navigator, the team made their APBA National Series debut in Port Huron, MI, running the Fountain of Youth, a 10-Meter Fountain Powerboats vee-bottom hull, powered by twin Mercury Racing HP500 engines. They are competing in Outlaw Performance Class level 4, with a top speed of 79.9mph.

The Fountain of Youth competed in the APBA Central Division during the 2003 season, winning 3 races of the six-race tour, finishing in second place in points for the circuit.

Look for the Fountain of Youth to race for their share of the $30,000 Tri State Cup purse. The Port Huron Offshore Gran Prix kicked off the series opener, and will be followed by the Cincinnati (Ohio) Offshore Gran Prix, June 18th, the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Offshore Gran Prix, July 30th, and the Richmond (Ohio) Offshore Gran Prix, August 6th. They will also be appearing in Sarasota, FL for the first jointly sanctioned event with teams representing both APBA Offshore and Superboat International on July 4th.

The Fountain of Youth P4-33 team is sponsored by Konrad Marine, Majeske Machine, Flow Technologies, and Fountain Powerboats, Inc..

The APBA Offshore GMC Pro Grade National Series is sponsored by GMC Professional Grade Trucks. The APBA Offshore Central Division Tri-State Cup Series is sponsored by Reindl Powerboats.

For all information on the Series, visit www.apbaoffshoreracing.com. For all information on the Fountain of Youth Team, contact Brian Bunch, equipment owner and throttleman, at 313 283-8148, via email at [email protected] or visit the team’s website at www.UltraTeamRacing.com

For information on Konrad Marine’s 540 PRS (Performance Replacement System) contact Fred Sparling, Application Engineer, at 800-927-3545 or visit their website at www.konradmarine.com.

# # #

Phantom1

Congratulations Brian. Sponsors are hard to come by, but it sounds like you landed a good one.

p4-33

Thanks Phantom,

The Konrad folks really build a solid drive system, and have a lot of Navy experience behind them. They have recently jumped into the performance market with their 540 PRS program, and have done a number of TRS retrofits with good results.

They were interested in my application because I'm running relatively mild power with HP500's and with my top speeds in P4-class at 79mph @5000rpm. With that setup, I should be able to feed back good info into their R&D group. The offshore race course is an excellent R&D environment.

These drives are capable of much larger power, as BIGGUS is pushing 750hp in a 11,000lb Cigarette. He is reporting that they are "strong as anvils". His application, as well as technical discussions with Fred Sparling at Konrad are what sold me on making this move.

I can't say enough good things about working with Mr. Konrad, Fred Sparling, Randy Sofie, Mark Anderson, and Richard Evans during this retrofit process. These guys are professional, knowledgeable, and just plain easy to work with. Everyone knows their stuff and all work well together as a team.

Bottom line... my TRS's, and my recent drive problems are now gone. Life is good.

Check us out in Sarasota on July 4th. The Konrad folks will also be there to answer any questions and show off our application.

Thanks,
Brian

Hi-Tech Marine

Great news!!!! Impressed with KONRAD and I think this will be a good opportunity to show their strength/value.

OffshoreGal

Way to go Brian.....Best of luck on the remainder of the season. I am glad that Konrad is helping you out. See you guys soon!!

ScottB

Way to go, Nice job Brian and Konrad

SteveDavid

Congratulations Jim, Brian and Jerry! And congratulations to Konrad. You've chosen an outstanding team to help showcase your outdrive. They are first class representatives and we're proud to have them in the APBA Family.

Steve David
APBA Offshore Chief referee

p4-33

Thanks everyone.

Just got back from a day on the water beating up these Konrads, and they are sweet! Better yet, I don't have any drive work to do, or even worse, tranny repairs to do before Sarasota. I couldn't be happier with how they perform.

Come check 'em out in Sarasota.

Thanks again,
Brian

Joe Todesca

Nice work Brian! Great Team , Great drive ! Jo

p4-33

Just got some new pics from Diana at Konrad.

Happy owner...