Seattle, Washington (October 1, 2009) – The Formula One PROP Tour, which conducted the top level of outboard powerboat racing in North America from 1995 through 2002, will return to the water in 2010.

 Formula One PROP Tour was formed and directed successfully by the late Gary Garbrecht, a long-time team manager for Mercury Racing, advisor to Outboard Marine Corporation and a boat racing pioneer. He was a past vice-president of the Union of International Motorboating and was instrumental in the formation of the current world Formula One boat racing series.

The series is being revived by three veterans of the marine industry and boat racing, Greg Jacobsen of Seattle, Washington, Bob Schubert of Richmond, Texas, and Wayne Worthy of Nixa, Missouri. All three have experience in boat racing as drivers, team owners and administrators.

The Formula One PROP (Professional Racing Outboard Performance) Tour expects to conduct six to eight races next season for the Formula One, Formula Two (SST-120) and Formula Three (SST-45) classes of outboards. The races will be sanctioned through the American Power Boat Association (APBA), which has overseen boat racing in the United States for more than a century.

 The 2010 Formula One PROP Tour season will open in Naples, Florida, next March.

 Worthy, who has served as executive director of two previous racing series, will serve as executive director of the Formula One PROP Tour. The tour will be guided by a board of directors consisting of a member from each racing team. The board will form steering committees for competition, finance, race management, legal and promotional activities.

We’re reviving a very successful boat racing circuit,” Worthy said. “We thank the Garbrecht family for allowing us to carry on the traditions of the Formula One PROP Tour.

 “Bob and Greg and I are taking the helm as caretakers, but the organization will consist of all the teams who have supported the sport,” Worthy said. “Our goal is returning our sport to its previous level of activity with sites, schedules and cost structures that make sense for promoters and teams.

 “Our intention is conducting professional events with professional officials and rescue crews. This will be a team-based series drawing on the experience of people who have run racing series successfully and who will call on the input of the teams that make boat racing possible. We want to have fun and provide an excellent, cost-effective racing series. We intend to work inclusively with our friends in the Formula Two and Formula Three classes for the betterment of the whole sport.”   

Formula One PROP is planning on a 6 to 8 race season in 2010. The season will open in Port Neches, TX. in May 2010.