A new OMC Factory OE Burgess for Paris 6 Hours 1976

OMC Belgium asked me and my friend Bosse Nilson to rig this brand new Burgess OE boat ( #47) and race it in Paris 6 hours 1976.

Finally OMC´s new good midsection-gear case for OE-F3 racing was ready.
Bosse and I spent many days before the race in Bruges testing and hanging out
with fun wild American race drivers.
One of them was Barry Woods…
We tested lots of new props on the river next to the OMC boat house in Bruges..
The best and fastest props was always the ones made by famous Hill Marine.
We picked one that had thicker blades..maybe not the quickest
but lots of debris in the river Seine.. thicker blades made them last better.
This was the first year I did not need to bring my own refueling equipment..OMC took care of that..
The deal was I start the race and drive for 1.5 hour, refueling and Bosse the next 1.5 hour…you get it.
Long story short..I was running with the leaders of the OE class but after 1 hour engine problems forced us to park the Burgess on the trailer.
Again..a Paris 6 hour set back..fore sure..this is a very hard race to win..!!
Yes..I am the little one sitting in the cook pit before start..11.00 AM firm.

PS. This was also the first and only time I raced OE-F3 with a Johnson cowling.
Well..Evinrude cowlings never made me disappointed!!

One more thing…
As an OMC dealer and loyal racer I most of the time said
that the reason for not finish a race was never the engine.
Always something else..
35 years later I think I can tell the true reason for not finish..
.
Paris Six Hours 1977 coming soon..I raced a Molinari/ Volvo-Penta/Konig in the OE class..
 

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