Super Swede ... Lars Strom

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Lars, I contacted Mike Ward. He says he normally doesn't compile such a list of drivers, but he has a lot of racing programs and he said he would go through them to see what he could find. I believe Mike also has the archives from Powerboat & Waterskiing that was published in London.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Mike was quick to gather up this info. As he mentioned in the disclaimer, this does not mean they got out on the race course, this is just the info he had regarding U.S. drivers during the respective years, and depending on when the list was printed, there could have been additional last minute entries.

[Lars Strom]

Again..Thanks for your help Wayne.


Hmmm..look what i found..Result from Paris 6 hours 1972..
Ron..please make a coment!! about the third place..



1972 Paris 6 Hours result

Bob Hering / Renato Molinari USA/Italy Molinari / Mercury ON
Tom Percival / Bob Spalding GB Molinari / Mercury ON
Jimbo McConnell / Ron Hill USA Scotti / Evinrude ON

[Ron Hill]

In the '71 Six Hours, I drove with Mike Wallace in a Schultz. Mike was lighter than me by many pounds, the motor had about 14 inches of set back, and Mike had quite a time driving that boat.

I on the other hand, at 6'5", 240 I loved the boat and drove it for almost 4 1/2 hours. I broke a crank while leading with 20 minutes to go, or less...I set the "Index of Performance" record which was to the person who made the most speed gain in his or her class from the year before .Monday morning after Paris, waiting for a cab, Gary Garbrecht offered me a job at Mercury and a ride with Team Mercury. I said, "Don't you remember you hired Jimbo and he worked one day for you, until my dad talked to him?" I said, Jack, Charlie and Ann have been good to me. I have a steady job teaching, thanks, but no thanks."

Fast forward to 1972, Jimbo and I are scheduled to drive OMC's number one boat. It is a new Scotti with slotted front, somewhat like a pickelfork, but handled like garbage, would not take a set with me or Jimbo and didn't seem very fast.

Jimbo started the race and we were in the top 6-8 which isn't bad for the first hour and half. When Jimbo stopped for fuel, the flex flywheel was broken, and Kenny.....and Mouse had a hell of a time getting the flywheel nut loose and we lost a ton of time.

When I finally left the pits I figured, great day to take a boat ride, too bad we'll be last.

I just kind of drove, maybe like Ted May would have. I watched the girls on the bridges and along the shore and just had fun. At three hours I pulled in for fuel and Jimbo wasn't in sight. Finally, I see him in STREET clothes. I realize he isn't taking over for me....

I yell at someone what place are we in and they say 12th or something. Anyway, I roar on out of the pits thinking what else would I being doing on a Sunday in October??? I keep seeing ON boats broke down, and by 4 1/2 hours when I stop again, I ask what place am I in, and am told like 5th...Jimbo is standing there with helmet and jacket on....I give him the BIRD FINGER, and take off from the pits just as he's going to get in the boat.

I ended up third...Jimbo and I enjoyed the trophy dinner that night. In our more than 50 years of friendship, Jimbo and I hardly every get mad at each other, and if we do get mad, we usually forget what we were mad about.

The next spring I was to drive that slotted Scotti at Parker and refused, I said, "I'd run my OWN Scott and my own DAMN motor..." Bill Muncey and John Schubert then drove that Scotti at Parker and had the steering wheel not broken, they may have won! John can fill us in on those details!

[Lars Strom]

Yes Ron and Thanks.. I really Want.. The "TRUE" Story????

In my opinion the Paris 6 Hour race have enormous stories
that has never been told..

OMC and Mercury Marine spent more money on this race than any
other race..

Always in the beginning of October and a new fresh budget for OMC
Sep. 30 - Oct 1 was OMC´S calendar year.

Look at all the drivers..from Reggie Fountain, to Birger Halsaa Norway..
I think if you ask them now..Paris 6 hours is the one we all remember
as the best..

Mr. Bladinarie..the officer of the day that only spoke French..
if you did not do things his way..disqualified..

Big after race party at Hilton Paris where all the drivers where staying..

the Paris 6 hour race make me tear up..thinking back..

[Ron Hill]

Something about walking from the Paris Hilton, under the Tour de Effiel, to the river Seine to race was MAGIC. And the drvier'sparty after was awlays great fun, considering us dumb Americans never knew which fork to eat with....but the waiters had no problem showing us!!!

I usually drank red and white wine, that way I figured I could be wrong...Oh how the FRENCH hated us UGLY AMERICANS!!!! Of course, Ted May would always remiond them WHO WON the WAR FOR THEM!!!

[Lars Strom]

From 1975..page one and two

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

In a previous post Ron talked about the slotted nose Scotti's the boats that led to the pickle forks. He said that i should post regarding how I & my co-driver Bill Muncey did. This story actually begins the week prior to the Parker race at the introduction to the Rotary race engines that OMC put on at the Miami Marine stadium hosted & emceed by Bill Muncey. It must be said here that Bill was to drive a Tunnel for Evinrude & Tom Ireland who was Evinrude's service manager at that time. Anyway, the media show at the Miami Marine stadium featured an Evinrude/Scotti Rotary driven by Jimbo McConnell, a Johnson/Scotti rotary driven by Johnny Sanders, a V-4 Johnson driven by Rich McKinley and an Evinrude V-4 on Ron's #9 slotted nose Scotti. We had the presentation on the water & then had a press recetion at a hotel down town Miami at the Dupont Circle hotel. (not sure of the name of the hotel). Jim Briggs asked if I wanted to drive the same Scotti & V-4 at Parker the next week with Bill Muncey as my co-driver. Of course I wanted to. OMC got the rig to Parker where with the permission of Jack Leek I found a sign painter & replaced Ron's # 9 with my #44. This was a 7 hour race & I stared having had experience at Parker. At that time we raced the 6 1/2 mile up river & return course. Heading up river I remember passing many boats including Billy Seebold. The first 2 boats to come around were the Rotaries driven by Jimbo & Posey. They both retired later with I believe gearcase failures. The Colorado River was very tricky as there were many turns with different directions. Due to some wind from some directions & thermal effects from the desert as the sun rised higher during the day you had to remember each previous lap wher the problem areas were. This created a lot of issues for Mercury drivers. Bobby Hering & Lee Sutter blew over in about the same are. I believe that Georgio Molinari or another Italian blew over & destroyed his Molinari, and there were others. At the first fuel stop about 1 1/2 hours I was in the top 5 considerably ahead of the eventual 1st place boat driven by Denny & Dewey Derghauer Mercury/Molinari & the eventual boat second place boat a Johnson V-4 Cougar pickle fork driven by Johnny Sanders & James Beard the partner in Cougar boats. Bill Muncy got in the boat & never came around. Finally he shows up at a very slow speed. IAt the upper turn the steering shaft spline stripped with the steering wheel spinning in his hands. Bill drove the 6 1/2 miles grabbing the cables on each side of the steering wheel between the drum & the coaming pulleys. This confirmed to me that he deserved the name "Iron Man". The OMC crew decided to drill through the hub of the wheel & shaft to fasten the steering wheel to the shaft. Tom Ireland asked me if at the last fuel stop could I stay in to the finish even though it meant driving for 3 + hours, I agreed if we were in contention. They fixed the wheel, I went out, but had no trim as when the wheel spun on Bill it broke the trim wires. You couldn't cut through the course so I had to go all the way around to return to the pits. They repaired the trim & off I went. I was in 3rd at the last fuel stop & felt bad for Bill as he was suited up ready to go but I stayed in & made up some laps finishing 3rd. Bill ran a different Scotti/Evinrude combo a couple of weeks later in Memphis, blowing over. Atlas Van Lines, his Unlimited employer, said "no more". I later had that boat sent to me to me in Florida where I lived & was working for OMC non-marine products & took it to the test station in Naples where McDonald closed the slots in the deck. I forgot to mention earlier that the 2 Rotary boats driven by Jimbo & Posey began their life withy slotted decks but were filled in at the boat shop in Waukegan, thus the reason I had Mack do mine. I had no problems with the slots but thought that it would perform better without them. Unfortunately, Mac was never the one to lean towards lightness rather then strength & filling in the slots added a lot of weight, but did handle better. I could beat Burt Ross with his pickle fork Allison but couldn't beat Jeff Titus with his shorter & lighter Scotti. That winter the boat went north to Long Island & Geoff Briggs. My job got better with OMC, but my driving career was over as Jim Briggs & OMC executives deemed that my job was higher priority.

[Lars Strom]

Thank you John..that is really fun stuff to read..

I came in to late in outboard racing to be part of the classic Parker and Havasu..

[Ron Hill]

Let's contact the people in Paris and run a six hour...No tunnels with capsules. On V-Hulls Sport Boats...Let the barges run like the old days!!!

Maybe allow MOD VP bottoms like our COR 2.0 Way cool to run a COR 2.0 in Paris...

If it is to be, it is up to us!!!!