Molinari Racing Boat History and Information

[Lars Strom]

Renato Molinari drove to victory in the Dutch 3 Hour GP 1977

Here is the Powerboat & Waterskiing story from the race and I need Steve Pinson to help out with more info.
Steve was driving a Barracuda but I think he got hit with bad luck. I think Hans Pelster is driving the Burgess/Johnson V-6 with race # 4 in the OZ class??..small picture or is it Steve Pinson. Look more like a Burgess the Barracuda??

[calvin]

Was renatos race team financed by the govt?

[Lars Strom]

I was told years ago that the Italian Powerboat Federation received lots of money from the Italian government.
They than gave money to the best Italian drivers in different classes based on successes.

Pretty sure Renato was one of them..lots of Mercury/OMC/Martini/SAFFA/Tecnocar money also

[Steve Pinson]

Renato Molinari drove to victory in the Dutch 3 Hour GP 1977

Here is the Powerboat & Waterskiing story from the race and I need Steve Pinson to help out with more info.
Steve was driving a Barracuda but I think he got hit with bad luck. I think Hans Pelster is driving the Burgess/Johnson V-6 with race # 4 in the OZ class??..small picture or is it Steve Pinson. Look more like a Burgess the Barracuda??

I can remember this race well Lars it was very exciting for me i was driving the no 4 boat which was a Burgess boat the first OZ boat he built for OMC Brugge in 1975` and was my old friend Alfi Bullens old boat he had just taken delivery of a new Hodges boat and i was told by Paul Kalbe head of European racing for OMC i had to drive it i remember sitting in the boat and thinking Alfi is 80lbs heavier than me and i remember thinking this is going to be a fun ride.My good friend and OMC teamate Hans Pelster had just taken delivery of a brand new burgess boat for this race i think it was the fastest boat in the race and he was doing good until he had a collision with Velden which put them both out`well i managed 2nd place behind Molinari which i was pleased with.Now for sundays race i borrowed Pelsters prop which was better than the one i had been using so everything looked good until the last half hour i did get a black flag for going wide on the top buoy on the outside of Molinari where the water was shallow not for the wrong side of a buoy which was tuff luck for me!.

[Lars Strom]

Thanks Steve..that is a very good memory you have from Amsterdam 1977.
I remember the Burgess you drove from OMC Brugge the year before.
Alf Bullen was driving it like a mad man to victory in Amsterdam 1976. I was there racing Paul Kalb´s OE boat.
(Paul was in my opinion the worse thing that happen to OMC in Brygge. I like the way Roger Jenkins wrote on FB a few months ago about Paul..but can not repeat that here)..

Below is Alf Bullen in the same boat..
I have one more interesting picture of you..Bristol 1979..I am going to post it soon..


AMSTERDAM 3 Hours 1976..
The overall winner was Alf Bullen of England driving a V-6 Johnson powering a Burgess tunnel boat in the OZ class. #6

Second picture is Steve in the same Burgess/Johnson V-6 in Amsterdam 1977..#4 (it is not a Barracuda)...Again Thanks Steve to correct this.

[Lars Strom]

Back on topic..Molinari boats..!!

Steve Pinson drove a Molinari/Johnson V-6 in Bristol 1979..#17
Please..tell us the story about this Steve..??
This boat look exactly like the OZ Saffa/Molinari/Evinrude V-6 I drove with Angelo Vassena in Paris 6 Hours 1978.
Well different paint job

[Steve Pinson]

Back on topic..Molinari boats..!!

Steve Pinson drove a Molinari/Johnson V-6 in Bristol 1979..#17
Please..tell us the story about this Steve..??
This boat look exactly like the OZ Saffa/Molinari/Evinrude V-6 I drove with Angelo Vassena in Paris 6 Hours 1978.
Well different paint job

What a good looking boat Lars even after all these years i remember enjoying driving this boat at Bristol until it started taking on water and got slower and slower due to a split tunnel.This was the 18ft version that i used but the year before Hering and Molinari had used the 17ft version?

[Lake X Kid]

Roy Ridgell factory driver for Mercury Marine is driving the first Molinari boat to race in the USA. Nice single tune exhaust stack on the Merc engine. This the Gold Coast (Miami to West Palm Beach and back) race in the early-mid 1960s.
Attachment 53995

[Rob Pols]

What about this 1:43 scale model of Molinari from 1994 made by Spark ?

Regards Rob

[Lars Strom]

One more from Motomaso, Spain