Extreme Measures driver and owner Jonathan Tardieu is hoping to come across rough waters when the Carib Great Race rolls around on August 27. Riding on a 29-foot Formula III, Tardieu feels that difficult conditions will give his crew the edge over its D Class (60 MPH) rival Rabble Rouser, a 24' Skater Catamaran. "We've been hearing that the waters have been calm and flat but that's not something we want," he told the Guardian yesterday. "Hopefully it will be choppy and give the other boats some trouble. Length is strength on the North Coast and that will give us an advantage."
The vessel, formerly Extreme, made its Great Race debut in the early 2000s and was later purchased by Tardieu in 2007. After breaking down with fuel trouble in its first run that year, the boat went on to place second in the D Class in 2008, first in 2009 and third in 2010. Having recently upgraded from a 225 V6 to a 250 V8 Johnson engine, Tardieu, who will be joined by trottleman Ricky Belmontes, said his expectations were high for this year's race. "It's less than two weeks away and we're very excited. The boat is coming along nicely and we're happy with what we've seen so far. It looks very promising." He added that he was looking forward to winning bragging rights over the Rabble Rouser crew. "We have a friendly competition going on between the two boats with a lot of 'picong'. We enjoy having them as rivals and expect that they will be chasing after us."
