The event, held April 27 in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., was the second stop of the 2008 Offshore Super Series season and marked the first time a top-tier offshore race was held on the popular Colorado River impoundment. The race was held in conjunction with the Desert Storm Poker Run, which has become one of the premier powerboating events in the United States. The poker run and its accompanying spectacles – a shoot-out, a Pacific Offshore Powerboat Racing Association race and the OSS contest – were supported by the Mercury Racing Offshore Support Truck out of the Mercury X-Site facility in Panama City, Fla., and eight Mercury Racing representatives.

Despite the team’s relative inexperience, Sesser and Dunbar, who are getting married in June, set up and handled their boat like seasoned pros. They beat the field to the first turn and stayed out front for the full 12 laps, beating Team Worthy Risk by a healthy 37-second margin. Team Wild Ride finished third, another 18 seconds back. Under Destruction placed fourth out of eight boats at the OSS season opener in Biloxi, Miss., April 4, so the team leads the OSS Vee Light national championship standings with 188 points on the season.

Vee Lights are powered by a single Mercury Racing HP 525 engine and are capable of speeds in the low 90-mph range.

Notes:
•        As a Cat Light in 2007, Team Shocker had a tough season. The 39 MTI hull was plagued by minor mechanical snafus, set-up issues and all-around bad luck, leaving owner Richie Prince of Metairie, La., frustrated. He upgraded the boat to the Super Cat 850 class in 2008 by rigging it with a pair of Mercury Racing 850 SCi engines, and grabbed the checkered flag at Lake Havasu to get a rather huge monkey off his back. Prince and throttleman Reggie Fountain III of Greenville, N.C., led the pack to the course’s crucial second buoy and held the optimal line, leaving his pursuers in a scrum that knocked Team Celerity out of the race with heavy structural damage and a briefly unconscious driver/owner Steve Page. Team WHM also sustained damage, but regrouped in time to grab runner-up honors. Shocker averaged 136.98 mph over a grueling 20 laps to beat WHM by 17 seconds. Team CRC rounded out the field, finishing 11 seconds behind WHM. Despite the scare, Page suffered only minor injuries and did not require a trip to the hospital.
•        Speaking of CRC, driver/owner Mike DeFrees and throttleman Jeff Harris might have fallen short in the 850 class, but that was about the only place. The two piloted their twin Mercury Racing 1200 SCi-powered catamaran to a 165 mph pass in the Desert Storm Shoot-Out to claim King of the Lake honors on Saturday, and then ran the boat to victory in the Cat Extreme class during Sunday’s OSS event. DeFrees and Harris also participated in the poker run on Friday.
•        In the Cat Light division, the three-boat field rounded the second pin seconds behind the 850 class and was faced with rude surprise: the Celerity boat drifting broadside on the course. Team Amsoil was able to find the clean line and grabbed a lead that owner/throttleman Bob Teague and driver Paul Whittier would not relinquish. Team Peppers, which had to pause momentarily in the confusion, finished in second, 37 seconds behind. Since Peppers edged Amsoil in Biloxi, the two teams
are deadlocked at 195 points heading into the third race, scheduled for      June 19-22 in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.

•        The Desert Storm Poker Run was comprised of more than 205 of the hottest pleasure boats in the country, and more than 100 were turned away, according to event organizers. Spectators piled in thousands more performance boats to watch the poker run and races, further solidifying Lake Havasu’s reputation as a powerboating Mecca.

Results
Desert Storm Gran Prix
Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
April 27, 2008

(Position, Boat No., Boat Name, Driver & Throttles, Laps, Total Time, Average Speed, Penalty)

OSS Cat Extreme
1) 007 - Team CRC, D: Mike DeFrees T: Jeff Harris, 12, 25:34, 134.95 mph
2)   11 - Bud Light, D: Mike Seebold T: John Tomlinson, 5, 9:14, 146.16 mph
OSS Vee Light
1) 104 - Under Destruction, D: Mark Dunbar T:Jenni Sesser, 12, 35:49
2)   28 - Worthy Risk, D: Brad Johnson T: Jack Crouse, 12, 36:26
3)   51 - Wild Ride, D: Ben Hedrick T: Larry Kostelac, 12, 36:44   
4)   10 - Imco, D: Matt Reed T: George Auriemma Jr , 12, 37:47
5)   17 – Laveycraft, D: Randy Willy T: Kevin Cooper, 12, 38:02
6)   29 - Typhoon, D: Jim Natolie T: Randy Schleuss, 6, 17:43   
OSS Cat Outboard
1) 111 - Car Credit 411.com, D: Alan Campbell T: Ryan Beckley, 1, 1:39   
OSS Cat Light
1)   77 - AMSOIL, D: Paul Whittier T: Bob Teague, 16, 38:33, 120.61 mph   
2)    2 - Peppers, D: George Stancombe T: Mike Stancombe, 16, 39:10, 118.73 mph   
3)   88 – Fury, D: Guy Costa T:Ray Delaney, 16, 41:09, 113.01 mph   
OSS Super Cat 850
1) 123 - Shocker, D: Richie Prince T: Reggie Fountain III, 20, 42:42, 136.98 mph   
2)    5 - WHM Motorsports, D: Billy Mauff T: Jay Muller, 20, 42:59, 136.08 mph   
3)    7 - Team CRC, D: Mike DeFrees T: Jeff Harris, 20, 43:10, 135.53 mph
4)    1 - Celerity Investments, D: Steve Page T: Joey Gratton, 0, 0, 0 mph
        
        For full results or additional information, please visit the Offshore Super Series Web site at www.offshoresuperseries.com.

About Mercury Racing
Based in Fond du Lac, Wis., Mercury Racing, a division of Mercury Marine, is a leading provider of high-performance marine propulsion systems to discriminating boaters worldwide, offering an exciting and fulfilling powerboating experience on the water.
Using leading-edge technology, Mercury Racing produces high-performance outboards, sterndrives, propellers, parts and accessories.
Mercury Racing-powered boats worldwide win more races and set more records than any boats powered by other marine engine manufacturers.
Mercury Marine is a division of Brunswick Corp. (NYSE: BC), the world’s largest manufacturer of recreational products, including pleasure boats, marine engines, fitness equipment, and bowling and billiards.

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