Since its
founding, the St. Louis Championship Grand Prix has featured the
world's leading outboard powerboat class. The king of the hill in
outboard powerboat racing is the "Champ" boat that is raced across
North America and around the world.
Zero to 100 MPH: 3.5
seconds!
Champ boats are 16'6" to
17' in length. Most are powered by a 2.5-liter, two-stroke,
electronically fuel injected, V-6 engine that produces about 360
horsepower. The boats, made of imported woods, fiberglass, Kevlar and
carbon fiber, must weigh a minimum of 1,125 pounds at the end of a
race. The boats can accelerate from zero to 100 m.p.h. in 3.5 seconds
and reach top speeds near 140 m.p.h. They pull up to four "Gs" in the
t
urns, making them the hardest-cornering racing machines on earth.
The high speed and nimble
handling of these craft create very exciting racing on the water, as
the Champ boats run within inches of each other and
often make contact. The 2002 entry list
included 80 drivers from 22 states and three countries.
The Boats