Factory Billet-Powered Marker 17 Marine To Run APBA And RWO Circuits

Brian Forehand and Vinnie Diorio, the driver/owner and throttleman of Marker 17 Marine—last year’s Super Boat International Superboat Vee-class world champion team—have ambitious plans for the 2019 offshore powerboat racing season. Their designs include running the six-race American Power Boat Association Offshore Championship Series as well as the three-race Race World Offshore series, which will finish up in the first full week of November with three days of racing in Key West, Fla.

Marker 17 Marine will compete in the APBA series’ Super Vee Extreme class and in Race World Offshore’s ProStock Vee ranks. Diorio said that while he and Forehand are eager to get back on the racecouse they have no particular allegiance to either circuit.

If its current plans hold, Marker 17 Marine will compete in nine offshore racing events this season. Photo courtesy/copyright Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

“We just want to race,” he said. “We don’t play that game.”

Forehand and Diorio have stayed busy in the off-season. First and foremost, they repowered their canopied SV 29 raceboat with a 509-cubic-inch Factory Billet engine.

“Jim Schultz, the owner of Factory Billet, and Mike Faucher, his engine builder, take things seriously,” said Diorio, who declined to release horsepower and torque numbers for the naturally aspirated, carbureted engine. “When they go into anything, they go to dominate.

“Plus, they’re longtime Outerlimits guys,” he added, then laughed.

For a closer look at Marker 17 Marine’s new Featherlite race trailer, check out the slideshow above.

In addition to repowering in the off-season, the team built a new Featherlite race trailer. Offshore racing fans will get their first look at the repowered raceboat and new support trailer at the APBA series opener, the 10th annual Thunder On Cocoa Beach event (May 17-19) in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

Related stories
Inside The APBA Offshore Championship Series: Understanding Class One International
Race World Offshore To Run 2019 Season Independently Of APBA