The 24 Hours of Rouen endurance powerboat race concluded May 1 in Rouen, France, and for the 16th time in 17 years, Mercury Marine took the first-place trophy in the grueling 24-hour race. In fact, the top eight spots were occupied by boats powered with Mercury Marine outboard engines.
Running nonstop for 24 hours on the Seine River, with the exception of fuel stops and driver exchanges, the tunnel-boat endurance race tests both man and machine.
Powered by a Mercury S3000 race outboard, the winning team, Team Casino Forges Eaux, finished 44 laps ahead of Team Star Boat another Mercury-powered boat. Team Casino Forges Eaux pilots Philippe Masselin, Thierry Marchand, Jean Marie Guerra and Arnaud Gallard completed 798 laps for the overall title.
In the Class 2 competition, Mercury again took first place with Quicksilver Boat Team pilots Pierre Charlot, Stephane Lemoine, Pierre Yves Huon and Jean-Beptiste Thomas completing 676 laps in their low-emission Mercury OptiMax 200XS SST race outboard-powered boat. Coming in second in Class 2 and fourth overall was CMN, 46 laps behind Quicksilver Boat Team.
Results by Category:
Top 5 - Class 3
Team Casino Forges Eaux, Mercury S3000, 798 laps
Team Star Boat, Mercury S3000, 754 laps
V S I Racing, Mercury S3000, 618 laps
Team RMSM BRP, Evinrude E-Tec S3000, 530 laps
Drakkar Inshore, Mercury S3000, 382 laps
Top 5 - Class 2
Quicksilver Boat Team, Mercury OptiMax 200XS SST, 676 laps
CMN, Mercury SST 120, 630 laps
Team Loutz, Mercury OptiMax 200XS SST, 626 laps
IXE Team, Mercury OptiMax 200XS SST, 597 laps
Navikart, Mercury OptiMax 200XS SST, 594 laps
, the tunnel-boat endurance race tests both man and machine.