Nigel Hook Racing has become a multi-national conglomerate.  The British-American powerboat racer who has carried the US-based Lucas Oil sponsorship banner for eleven years, is preparing for his 2010 racing season by expanding his multi-continental boundaries-literally-to Sweden and Canada.
 
Swedish driver Michael Silfverberg and Nigel Hook met at this year's Powerboat P1 Scandinavian Grand Prix in Gothenburg, Sweden and continued their conversations about racing when they again met in the airport.  Obviously on the same "plane" they shared insights about various boats in which Silfverberg was interested and about racing in the Powerboat P1 World Championship.  Silfverberg was impressed by Hook's extensive experience and Hook was likewise taken with Silfverberg's enthusiasm for offshore racing.  After testing together, the duo decided to race as the Lucas Oil Scandinavia Offshore Challenge Team in Hook's Skater in the Key West SBI World Championship. 
 
Now, Hook and Silfverberg announce their plans to race together in the 2010 Powerboat P1 World Championship and will unveil the new Vector 40 race boat, featured on the cover of the current Powerboat Magazine.  This pleasure boat is the first of its kind with the hull designed by Swedish naval architect Ocke Mannerfelt with exterior design by his son, Ted Mannerfelt.

Ocke Mannerfelt Design's prestigious works include the "Bat Boat" that became known in US in the early 2000's  as the "One Design" class that enabled novice racers to rent the boat and compete in the APBA offshore circuit.  Its "wings" enabled it to cut through and seem to fly over waves. "Ever since I got passed by a B28 Mannerfelt in a Pacific Offshore race in 1994, I've been fascinated by the simplicity of this design,"  said Hook, who spent time with Mannerfelt in Gothenburg, "The Vector 40 may be the first of its kind, but it has true racing lineage. In fact, another newly-designed Mannerfelt race boat premiered this year in the X-Cat World Championships [in Europe] where his boats won every race in the UIM World Championship. That is very impressive especially since that class has 25 race boats in it!"
 
Proud to race in a Swedish-designed boat, Silfverberg, an experienced boat captain and Swedish Navy submariner, commented on the elegance and feel of the Vector 40, experienced while testing in Canada. "The Vector 40 excels in the way it moves through the water and its willingness to respond to power. That combined with the beautiful design and the excellent building quality of Vector Powerboats will make it a real thrill to race!"   The original Vector 40 design will be somewhat modified to suit Powerboat P1 rules and the powered and propulsion plans are in discussion.
 
The Scandinavian Offshore Challenge team will maintain Hook's #77 and the long-time Lucas Oil sponsorship.  The 40' boat is built in Kelowna, Canada by Vector Powerboats.  Company Founder and President, Rex Jardine carries 25 years of experience in the boat building industry and traces his racing heritage to his father's mentoring as the founder of Campion Boats, also in British Columbia, Canada's largest independent producer of over 37 models of boats.

"All of us at Vector Powerboats are very proud to be involved with such a high-quality group as the Lucas Oil Scandinavian Offshore Challenge Team," said Jardine, "We have no doubt that the combination of talent and experience in Nigel Hook and Michael Silfverberg, combined with our extraordinary team and revolutionary Mannerfelt design, will be a dominating force in P1." 
 
Hook's dual US and British citizenship, combined with his All-American sponsor, Lucas Oil, the leading producer of high performance lubricants, a Swedish teammate in Silfverberg, fellow-Swede boat designers, Ocke and Ted Mannerfelt, and Canadian boat builder, Vector Powerboats, gives this team a unique place in the international Powerboat P1 World Championship-a UK-based organization with a cross-continental race schedule including Western and Eastern European countries from Malta to Croatia to Turkey and others in the near future.  Visit www.powerboatp1.com for more information and updates to the 2010 provisional calendar.

World Champion returns to Key West to compete in the 2009 SBI World Championships after a thrilling World Wide Tour with Powerboat P1.

Swedish driver Michael Silfverberg and veteran Anglo-American Nigel Hook are uniting their two nations to compete next month in the 29th Annual SBI World Championships held in Key West forming the new entry #77 Lucas Oil Scandinavian Offshore Challenge.

Adventurer, businessman, and entrepreneur Michael Silfverberg, a native of Stockholm, brings a fresh energy to the team. He excels from a lifetime on the sea with service as a commercial captain, a navy submariner, and leader of a marine dealership Supreme Marine for yachts and high–performance boats in Sweden.

No other offshore venue draws the number of race boats as Key West. For over 40 years, this race track has been the proving ground for the offshore sports greatest. In myth and reality, Key West, where the Atlantic Ocean collides with the Gulf of Mexico, trumps them all.

The Key West races are produced by Super Boat International with John Carbonell at the helm. The week long event kicks off with a boat parade and registration at the Race Village, Truman Annex, on November 8th-9th. Testing and official practice will be permitted on Tuesday, November 10th, before the first race on Wednesday, November 11th.

Officially the opening race to the 2010 SBI season, Key West is an ideal catalyst to ignite the new international partnership between Lucas Oil and SOC. As Lucas Oil continues its expansion throughout Europe, a focus in Scandinavia will bring access to a market driven by Volvo, Saab, Scania and others.

Michael and Nigel will pilot the Super Vee Skater V399 with Mercury power, the World Championship winner in 2006.

"I’ve test driven on the water with Michael at speeds in excess of what we’ll be running on the Key West track, and I’m keen to play out our race strategy," said Hook.

"I feel very confident racing with such an experienced pilot as Nigel. I look forward to racing in Key West and I have a really good feeling about this," said Silfverberg.

The #77 Lucas Oil team comes off a busy International season having competed in Powerboat P1 with TV coverage broadcast to over 400 million homes across 79 countries. 4th Place Overall 2009 P1 World Championship Series

Lucas Oil is the leading producer of high performance lubricants.
Lucas Oil (www.LucasOil.com)
Scandinavian Offshore Challenge (www.SOCracing.se)
Mercury Racing (www.MercuryRacing.com)
Premier Shipping and Packaging (www.psap.co.uk)

Nigel Hook has vowed to do all he can to ensure his #77 Lucas Oil Outerlimits boat makes the start line come the opening round of the season in Croatia next year.

"2010?" muses the British-born pilot. "Well a lot depends on our sponsor Lucas Oil who have been, and still are, extremely supportive.

"They have been our title sponsor for 10 years and they are very interested in expanding their footprint in the worldwide market place. Powerboat P1 offers the most comprehensive TV programming I have seen in motorsport outside of Formula One. Certainly in terms of watersports, the worldwide coverage is incredible. I know the Lucas Oil brand values this."

Despite a promising start to the campaign which culminated in a dominant performance in the Sprint race in Istanbul in June, a variety of technical issues  - as well as a major accident in Gothenburg - prevented the American outfit from mounting a serious championship challenge.

"We started the season with very high hopes. We had the 43 Outerlimits which is a beautiful boat and handled very fast."

Hook added: "In hindsight, we probably put a little too much into trying to get more and more horse power from the engines when perhaps we should have aimed for greater reliability. We did well in Malta and Istanbul and definitely had the potential throughout the season.

"Looking back, we had a fast boat and did not have the need to go faster. The team had a lot of trials throughout the season, tried real hard in Sweden, then wrecked the boat."

Hook also hinted plans are afoot to expand his team’s presence in the Powerboat P1 World Championship.

"I’m sure our sponsor, Lucas Oil, would have liked us to have done better this year. If they still back us next year then perhaps we can run a two-boat team. Being based in the United States, and with the logistics and expenses, it would perhaps be more cost-effective

"For example, you cannot have a crew chief working full-time on one boat, but maybe you could across two or even three boats. It is an idea that may provide value for sponsors.

However, with a knowing glint in his eye, Hook has a warning for his fellow rivals. "Whatever happens, I definitely want to come back with at least one boat to try and win that title."

 

Lucas Oil P1 Team Says, "Sicily or Bust!"

It’s been a hectic few weeks for Nigel Hook. Fresh off the tumultuous end of the Powerboat P1 race in Sweden, he recovered from the barrel roll that totaled the new Outerlimits 43, put together a new deal for #77 Lucas Oil Outerlimits to race in Sicily with Belgian Nico Huybens in his 2007 Outerlimits SV 40, and has now moved to Plan C.

Logistics for racing internationally is complicated and after an intense work week, preparing for Sicily, it was decided late on Saturday, September 5, that the 40’ Outerlimits would not be "race ready" by the following day’s road trip to the port. The ever-resourceful and optimistic Hook then dusted off his 2008 boat which has been in storage in Belgium since it last raced in the Powerboat P1 2008 season finale in Portugal.

"Nico did everything he could to get the boat ready for Sicily, but there were some parts he couldn’t get at the last minute. People have no idea how difficult it is to do all these kinds of race preparations from a continent away—we’re in California, the boat factory is in Rhode Island and the engine was in New York and we’ve been on the phone with Belgium at 3 AM (since they are 6 hours ahead), to see about helping them with their needs!" stated Hook. He also added that he and Huybens were in close communication and are in total agreement about their race plans for Sicily.

For Huybens, who spent the 2009 season on the sidelines because his original Belgian crew had disbanded and become the Fountain Furnibo team, the offer was too good to refuse. "I tried everything possible to end this season as the #77 Lucas Oil Outerlimits," said Hook, "But at this stage of the game, I think we’re lucky to have a boat to race!"

Hook and his team’s challenges included a breakdown in France of the truck towing the boat on Sunday night and then another road accident where an auto hit and damaged the trailer in Italy on Monday afternoon. Luckily, it was not far from Rome where the boat was headed for shipment to Sicily, so now with Plan C in place, Hook will head for Italy and meet Huybens for some intense testing on Thursday and Friday.

"There’s no telling how it is going to run, but this is a real testimony to our commitment to race with P1 and to our sponsor Lucas Oil - it’s incredible that we’ve put it together! I can’t wait to get back into the midst of things!" Hook added, "Nico is a good racer and who knows? It might just develop into a new opportunity for next year - it would be good to have a partner in Europe!"

The provisional calendar for the 2010 Powerboat P1 World Championship season has been announced today by London-based rights holders, P1 Management Limited, reflecting growth, consistency and stability for the world’s leading offshore race series.
 
"We made a commitment to announce the 2010 provisional calendar as soon as possible in order to allow sufficient planning time for key stakeholders such as teams, manufacturers, sponsors, broadcasters, host cities and the broader marine industry,” said Powerboat P1 Chairman and CEO, Asif Rangoonwala.
 
The 2010 Championship will commence a month earlier than the traditional May start date with the opening Grand Prix of the Sea in Split, Croatia, which follows the conclusion of a three-year deal with one of the Adriatic’s most spectacular locations. In an exciting move, the event will be hosted in conjunction with the renowned Split Boat Show.

"This will be one of the finest events on the P1 calendar and the opportunity to partner with the boat show will give us the ideal opportunity to showcase the sport to a captive audience,” says Powerboat P1 Commercial Director, Robert Wicks.
 
P1 Management is in the final stages of negotiations with three potential host cities for the second event on the 2010 calendar, scheduled for late May and a decision will be made shortly. "We had hoped to have these discussions concluded by now but we’re not far away and it’s great to see the enhanced levels of interest in Powerboat P1 from what amounts to a diverse array of potential host cities,” added Wicks.
 
The third Grand Prix event revisits Istanbul, Turkey in June following the success of the 2009 event which saw the series take to the spectacular setting of the Bosphorus Strait for the first time in its history.
 
A welcome return to Portugal follows in July with the popular resort of Cascais hosting P1 racing next year. Portugal has previously hosted World Championship events and is a firm favourite for many of P1’s celebrated pilots. "Plans are already well underway for an extended festival on the water with several other disciplines joining P1 to offer even greater levels of entertainment for spectators,” said Rangoonwala.
 
The Championship will head back to Sweden in early August and Sicily in mid-September. "It’s essential at this point in the Championship’s history that we can demonstrate consistency and stability in our calendar – this gives the teams enhanced confidence and shows all our stakeholders that we are making important inroads in a  tough market,” added Wicks.
 
"Advanced negotiations are also underway to explore the possibility of a seventh Grand Prix of the Sea in October and we hope to make an announcement on this before the end of September.

"We believe the 2010 provisional calendar gives us a stable foundation on which to build the series for all our stakeholders in years to come and this will be boosted next year by the variety and geographical reach of Powerboat P1,” concluded Rangoonwala.

2010 Powerboat P1 Provisional Calendar:
Round 1 - Provisional Dates 16, 17, 18 April 2010 - Split, Croatia
Round 2 - Provisional Dates 21, 22, 23 May 2010 - TBA
Round 3 - Provisional Dates 18, 19, 20 June 2010 - Istanbul, Turkey
Round 4 - Provisional Dates 9, 10, 11 July 2010 - Cascais, Portugal
Round 5 - Provisional Dates 6, 7, 8 August 2010 - City TBA, Sweden
Round 6 - Provisional Dates 10, 11, 12 September 2010 - Sicily, Italy
Round 7 - Provisional Date October 2010 - TBA

 

Powerboat P1 has confirmed a new broadcast partnership with the American-based company, Mav TV, which will deliver its World Championship series to over seven million homes.
 
Launched in October 2004, Mav TV is a 24-hour digital television network targeting men aged 18-54, providing them with an exciting blend of sports, movies, comedy, gambling, business news, lifestyle information, gadgets and adventure.
 
The agreement ensures the full 2009 season including the season preview and review programmes shown on the channel, The highlights show includes all race weekends of the season for the World Championship Evolution and SuperSport classes. Each show will air a minimum of four times ensuring widespread coverage.
 
Powerboat P1 Commercial Director, Robert Wicks, said: "We are delighted to have agreed this partnership with Mav TV. The appeal of our exciting and glamorous championship continues to gather momentum, and over the past few years we have seen a period of sustained growth in both the worldwide TV audience figures and the number of dedicated P1 broadcasters.
"With America being such a significant powerboating market, it’s good to know that the World Championship is getting into more US homes this season."
 
Keep up-to-date with all the news in the Championship by signing up to the exclusive Powerboat P1 newsletter. Sign up for free by clicking on www.powerboatp1.com/newsletter.aspx. Also check out our new broadcast partners at http://www.mavtv.com.

#77 Lucas Oil Outerlimits pilot Nigel Hook has pronounced himself "as fit as a twenty-year-old" and ready to race in next month’s season finale.

Hook and team-mate Joe Sgro sustained minor injuries following the accident involving their boat in last Sunday’s Endurance race, an incident deemed serious enough to prompt Race Control to temporarily suspend the event.

"We are both fine," confirmed Hook. "In better shape than the boat anyway. There’s a little bit of soreness there."

The experienced throttleman added: "The boat is finished. It was the most violent barrell roll I have ever been involved in. The sheer force of the roll caused Joe to jump straight out of his shoe. Unfortunately, I broke my 20-year-old Rolex watch but the personal damage stopped there."

According to Sgro, the roll cage wrapped inside the canopy in the Lucas Oil Outerlimits hull saved the pair.

"It was just the most spectacular crash - I don’t know how many other boats could have survived such an impact.

"I lost my memory for about ten minutes. I couldn’t remember getting out of the boat or disconnecting my helmet. I turned to Nigel and asked if he was OK and we proceeded to get out.

"By the time I stood up, the boat was going down and was coming down on top of us as I swam away. Credit to the Bergamo Scuba Angels - they were so quick to the scene."

With only two rounds of the 2009 Powerboat P1 season remaining, Hook is determined to end the year on a positive note. "We are already hunting down another boat for Sicily and will be right up there aiming to finish on a high."

 


During Sunday’s Powerboat P1 Evolution Class endurance race in Gothenburg, Sweden, an incident involving Lucas Oil Outerlimits resulted in American pilots Nigel Hook and Joe Sgro being taken to Sahlgrenska hospital, Gothenburg, for precautionary observations, where they were both witnessed talking and comfortable.

Lying in second position behind leaders 2B1 Furnibo on lap ten, Lucas Oil Outerlimits appeared to barrel roll to the outside at the first turn at the South-West end of the Langedrag racecourse.

Rescue divers from the Bergamo Scuba Angels arrived at the scene in a matter of seconds and cleared the pilots from the canopy before Messrs Hook and Sgro were escorted to shore.

Powerboat P1 Chairman and CEO Asif Rangoonwala said: "Everyone at Powerboat P1 is delighted that both Joe and Nigel are safe. Unfortunately these things happen in motorsport racing and both pilots are amongst the best in the business, so we all wish them a speedy recovery."

 


Nigel Hook has admitted he is "overwhelmed" at the level of support Powerboat P1 is enjoying from the people of Gothenburg ahead of the Scandinavian Grand Prix of the Sea.

Hook’s #77 Lucas Oil Outerlimits hull failed to make the start line for Friday’s PowerPole qualifying session, but the throttleman confirmed that the Chief-powered boat will definitely compete in the Sprint race.

"It is hard just getting in and out of this place at the moment! It is incredible."

With the supporters of Gothenburg generally proving to be impartial as to who they will be supporting, Hook is keen to win the hearts of the local public.

"There is only one team to support. It is the number 77 Lucas Oil and it is a beautiful boat - all red and looks simply fantastic. Though I must confess I am a little bias.

"The boat was in the water last night and we did some late-night testing where everything seemed good."

#77 Lucas Oil Outerlimits may be struggling to maintain their blistering start to the 2009 Powerboat P1 World Championship but Lucas Oil Sales and Marketing Director Sam Dale admits the boat couldn’t be doing a better job for his company off the water.

"I am very happy with what we have got out of the boat with regards to sponsorship," said Dale. "There is no question the Outerlimits boat looks by far and away the most eye-catching and stunning boat in the sea – it is the most beautiful."

 


The marketing guru is heavily involved in sponsorship throughout the world ranging from motocross to drag racing and has well over 300 sponsored racers worldwide.

The American based company, which also has an office in Wales, sells products including engine oil additives, fuel treatments and gear oil and Dale believes sponsoring the Evolution Class hull is an ideal attachment to his growing portfolio.

"Everything we do is ultimately designed to boost our product which is the oil. It doesn’t matter what sport we are marketing we have the same philosophy and branding at all our events and that is to keep the message clean and there for people to see."

Sam has worked alongside Nigel Hook for the past 12 years, something which he has very much enjoyed.

"I really love working with Nigel because of his professionalism," he said. "He is one of those guys you wish you could clone and make every client like that."