Seebold Optimistic About F1 Future
After winning last weekend’s third round of the US F1 Powerboat Tour series—the Bay City River Roar on Michigan’s Saginaw River—veteran driver Tim Seebold was quick to look ahead to the final three races of the season as well as the future of tunnel boat racing in general.
“As usual, Bay City was good—it kind of reminded me of the Bay City of years past,” said Seebold, who finished ahead of Rinker, Mike Klepadlo, Brian Venton and Jose Mendana Jr., rounding out the top five spots. “It was as rough as I’ve ever seen it thanks to some good wind gusts and more boats on the course than we’ve had in quite some time.”
Seebold was quick to point out that the F1 class included a sizable fleet of 16 boats, as did the Formula Lights class. The F2 race, which was won by Rob Rinker of the AMSOIL/Rinker Racing team, featured 12 teams. The sheer number of boats at the event got Seebold excited about the future.
Tim Seebold won his first US F1 race of the season in Bay City.Seebold prevailed despite some tough conditions and excellent competition to earn his first victory of the season and get his team back in the points chase. Seebold, who drives the NGK/Seebold Sports boat, trails Terry Rinker of the AMSOIL/Rinker Racing team by 116 points (1749.33 to 1633.33). While knows he’ll need a little luck to catch Rinker for the championship, Seebold said he’s not ruling out the possibility.
“It seems like there’s a renewed interest in the sport,” said Seebold, a third-generation race boat driver. “The atmosphere is good and the racing is competitive. I feel like there’s a bit of a resurrection taking place with the racing. Just look at the number of boats we had in all the different classes in Bay City.”
With three races remaining, you can bet the Seebold Sports crew will be working hard to dial in the team’s equipment. Next stop for the US F1 Powerboat Tour is Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada (July 12-14), followed by races in Seattle (Aug. 2-4) and Windsor, Colo. (Aug. 10-11).
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