Raul Boesel sets sights on Super Boats World Championship

Key Biscayne, Fla. (October 7, 2000) -- Brazilian race car driver Raul Boesel hopes to capture his first Super Boat World Championship this week piloting the Rio Roses Cigarette boat with off-shore racing champion and friend, Phil Lipschutz, at the throttle. The Y2K Super Boat World Championship will be held Wednesday, November 8 and Saturday, November 11 in Key West, Florida.

Boesel, a multi-talented racer and ocean lover, has been involved with the ownership of Cigarette performance boats for a number of years, and in 1999 piloted the pace boat at the Cigarette New York Super Boat Grand Prix and the Nassau Paradise Island Super Boat Challenge. For the 2000 season, Boesel opted to enter the competitive arena himself with veteran Phil Lipschutz.

"Driving a boat is a lot different than driving a race car," Boesel said. "First, I just drive the boat and I have no control of the speed, that's the throttle man's responsibility. Plus, the waves are a constant moving ground. It's incredible, especially when you're traveling over 100mph! The waves can reach up to five to eight feet. And the beating you take physically is beyond words; it's a lot more than I expected, but the excitement makes it all worthwhile. It is unbelievable.

"The coordination between Phil (Lipschutz), the throttle man, and myself has to be more than perfect. We rely on each other completely for success. Phil and I were quite competitive this season in the National Championship battle, and I think we have an outstanding chance to win the World Championship."

Boesel and Lipschutz finished in the top-three in four of six events, and finished fourth in the National Championship despite not contesting two races. The Rio Roses entry finished second at Miami and Nassau and third at Key West and New York. Boesel missed the New Jersey event while competing at the Indianapolis 500, and a pre-race mechanical failure prevented the Rio Roses from starting at Deerfield Beach.

The Rio Roses is a 46 foot high-performance super boat in the Super Vee class. There are two 1100 hp engines on board built by Zul Racing Engines with speeds in excess of 130 mph.

Raul Boesel is a seasoned veteran with successful stints in numerous series including CART, IRL, Formula One, Sports Cars and American Le Mans. He began racing go-karts in his native country of Brazil at the age of 16, and quickly climbed up the competitive ladder. By 1979, Boesel had earned recognition as "Driver of the Year" in the Brazilian Stock Car Championship. In 1980, he started his international career racing Formula Fords in England, and two years later was competing in Formula One. In 1985, Boesel came to the United States to compete in Indy car racing becoming the Fastest Rookie Qualifier at the Indianapolis 500. In 1987, Boesel earned further distinction as the Sports Car World Champion driving for Jaguar. In 1988, he won the 24 Hours of Daytona for the TWR/Jaguar team, and three years later he won the Miami Grand Prix and finished second in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Boesel's competitive skills continued to excel with Dick Simon Racing in Indy cars as he garnered front row starts for the 1993 and 1994 Indianapolis 500s. His most recent achievement was producing the second fastest qualifying speed, the seventh fastest overall, for the 2000 Indianapolis 500 while driving for Treadway Racing.

Phil Lipschutz, a 30-year veteran in boat racing, is one of the winningest active boat racers. In the past ten years, he has won five National Championships and two World Championships. Lipschutz tested his first boat at the young age of 13, and by age 16 he qualified as a hydroplane driver. Numerous victories followed as well as multiple records, and Lipschutz's "LIP- SHIP" name became synonymous with victory in the hydroplane and off-shore racing world. He campaigned the 41' Apache Super Vee class between 1990 and 1998, claiming several victories, including National and World Championships. In 1999, he served as the throttle man with Cigarette's Racing Team in the Manufacture's F-2 class, and clinched the National Championship.