Champboat Racing - Mendana Enterprises

April 22, 2012 – Miami, FL

With the 2012 racing season a week away, Mendana Enterprises will begin the season once again with its multi boat team with the 2011 Rookie of the Year Carlos Mendana in the #27 Formula Lights machine with older brother and three time World & National Champion, Jose Mendana Jr. in the #21. Port Neches, Texas will once again host the season opener for Formula 2 and the Formula Lights classes at the eleventh annual Port Neches Riverfest. This will mark the first event for the 2012 season for the Formula One PROP Tour with the Formula Two drivers and the Pro Tunnel Tour for the Formula Lights (SST-45's) teams where drivers will do battle on the big, wide and potentially rough Neches River. This will be the 11th annual event in Port Neches which will also run its successful Texas class that was introduced which crosses motor packages between the Formula One & Two classes. The Formula One class will not be running at this year's event with their season opener slated for Bay City, MI in June. With fifteen to twenty boats expected in all three classes, (F2, F Lights and Tri-Hulls) plenty of exciting racing should entertain the always big crowds that will be in attendance. The inaugural event in 2002 was won by Jose Mendana Sr. in the Formula Lights class event and then later won by Jose Jr. in 2006 which was both of their first career victories. Mendana Jr. also kicked off his 2010 championship season with a victory at the Riverfest. The Port Neches festival is a four day event that includes car shows, concerts, carnivals and of course the powerboat racing which has added to the level excitement level with the addition of the Formula One boats.

Jose Mendana Jr. and younger brother Carlos are ready to open their 2012 seasons with podium finishes in a effort to start what they hope will be a championship season. The offseason which included a weekend long test session brought further excitement to the team where the belief is that both boats will be in contention for victories at all events. Mendana Jr. will continue to pilot the #21 while Carlos will pilot the #27 Pugh hull. Mendana Jr. is coming off a 2011 season where he captured three second place finishes and ended third overall in the championship standings running a part time schedule. Mendana Jr. will be one of the favorites for the Formula Lights event and hopes to bring back another win home for Mendana Enterprises. Carlos, who started the 2011 season, off with two DNF’s and a major accident in testing at Bay City, looks to begin the 2012 season on better note. Carlos who made a great recovery in 2011 from the bottom of the championship standings, was able to finish second overall and Rookie of the Year honors. Carlos is expected to be a championship threat if he can remain consistent throughout 2012. Carlos brought home three consecutive fourth place finishes at both the World and National Championships with a fourth place finish at the season finale in Orange, TX. Carlos is poised to claim the podium in 2012 and perhaps claim his first career victory, and what better event for that to happen than Port Neches, where Jose Jr. and Sr. both notched their first career victories. The #21 will be sponsored in Port Neches by Fuzzy’s Tacos with the #27 sponsored by Candlewood Suites of Port Arthur.

For JR., the time has come to kick off another season. "Port Neches is one of my favorite races for various reasons and it is a race that will always have my support. The fans at Port Neches are awesome, probably one of the friendliest and most passionate boat racing fans we see all year and I do not think there is a better venue to kick off a racing season. A big field of Formula Lights is expected at the season opener." Mendana Jr. is seeking to begin another win streak which he saw snap last year as he went winless for the first time in four seasons. . "Win, win, win, that's all we are thinking about for the Formula Light. Not winning a race last year left a sour taste in our mouth especially when we could have won three races last year. Steve Dawe had everyone covered last year, and we hope we found just enough in testing to do the same in 2012. I am looking forward to the great field of boats that are expected and am excited the best boats are going to be there. It should be a lot of fun racing the really competition, I have nothing but respect for the guys that knocked me off the top last year, in particular Butch Ott and Steve Dawe and Mark Schmerbauch who is a darkhorse in my eyes."

Pipewelders Custom Marine will again be on the side of the all of Mendana Enterpries boat for 2012. Please see below for a complete weekend schedule of the weekend's events with the Formula Lights 30 lap final scheduled for 3:30 Sunday afternoon.

Additional Notes:

Mendana Jr. has 6 career Formula Lights/SST-45 starts at Port Neches with 2 wins, 3 podiums and 4 top fives.

Mendana Jr. began his rookie season in F2/SST-120 & F1 in 2008 & 2009 respectively at Port Neches.

Mendana Jr. finished 5th at Pt Neches in 2010 in Formula One.

Carlos Mendana finished 2nd in the 2011 PTT Championship Standings while capturing Rookie of the Year

Crew Chief – Jose Mendana Sr. won the inaugural event in 2002 in Formula Lights/SST-45 and was crew chief for Mendana Jr. for his victory

Race Report: Showdown on the Sabine - Orange, TX

Mendana Brothers Finish Season with Top Five Finishes for the Second Consecutive Race;

CARLOS EARNS 2011 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR & 2nd PLACE FINISH IN CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

October 1, 2011 – Port Saint Lucie, FL

The final event of the 2010 season for the Formula Lights Pro Tunnel Tour took place on the Sabine River for the 3rd annual Showdown on the Sabine in Orange, Texas. After a rough beginning to the 2011 season, Mendana Enterprises ends the season on a solid note with another pair of top five finishes at the final race in Orange, TX and both drivers finishing top five in the season championship. After a third and fifth place finish at the National Championships, the Mendana brothers came home in third and fourth with Jose Jr. coming ahead of Carlos in both finishes. Fourteen Formula Lights were entered to entertain the Texas crowd throughout the weekend as hot and windy conditions provided the roughest conditions in the four year history of the event. Three heats of racing and a 30 lap final gave drivers plenty of opportunities to make their moves to the front of the field and carry some momentum into the offseason.

The weekend’s format for the formula lights included time trials, followed by three qualification heats to determine the starting lineup for the 30 lap final. Mendana Jr., started the weekend off with the third fastest time in time trials behind his younger brother Carlos and Travis Thompson of Humble, TX. At the start of heat one, Jose and Travis beat Carlos to turn #1, with Travis leading. Jose and Carlos would have a side by side battle for lap one with Carlos taking over second place. The top three for heat one would be Travis Thompson, Carlos Mendana and Jose Mendana Jr. The starting lineup to heat two was the reverse of finishing order from heat. Mendana Jr. blasted off the dock to take over the second position on lap one. After a race stoppage and restart due to an accident involving rookie driver Chris Hughes, Jose beat Steve Merleau off the line to take the victory in heat two. With two laps remaining in heat two, Jose lost a blade on his number one propeller which hurt his chances for the remaining of the weekend. Jose would be able to hold on for third place finish in the final behind Mark Schmerbauch and Butch Ott. Heat three saw intense racing action with 20-25 mph winds. Jose battled Carlos, Butch Ott and Jimmy Robb for third place with Carlos and Jose coming home in fourth and fifth. The top five for the starting lineup for the final was as follows: 1. Travis Thompson, 2. Mark Schmerbauch, 3. Jose Mendana Jr, 4. Carlos Mendana, 5. Butch Ott. Mendana Jr and the team will be seeking for more speed in the offseason and look to get back to their winning ways in the 2012 season. “We had a solid year, even though we did not win a race this year. It is not easy trying to field two boats and have both boats run up front like we did the past couple races, but we are both going to be faster next year and be contenders. We were the boat to beat in race trim here, but that broken propeller pretty much dropped us to a 3rd or 4th place boat. Despite the slow start we got off to this year, as a team we ended pretty solidly and it was a blast to race my brother and see him grow and learn so much in his rookie year, especially after those first couple races. Hopefully next year we will obtain a 1-2 finish in the championship.”

After a pair of accidents and DNF’s in the first two events of the season, Carlos bounced back nicely with top five finishes in the remaining three races which included fourth and fifth place finishes at the Worlds and Nationals. Carlos was also able to secure his first career pole in time trials with a lap of 31.5 seconds giving him the top spot to start the weekends qualifying heats. Carlos, who has been struggling with starts this season, was quick enough to recover in the heat and finish second, fourth and fourth in the three qualifiers. Carlos who lined up fourth for the start of the final fell back to tenth before a race stoppage after turns one and two were wiped out. On the ensuing restart, Carlos was able to drive up to the fourth position and finish behind his older brother. Carlos is officially the 2011 Formula Lights Rookie of the Year and impressively finishes second in the season championship behind Steve Merleau.

As the 2011 racing season has come to an end, preparations already begin towards the 2012 season. Mendana Enterprises will once again conduct multiple test sessions in Central Florida and look to contend for championships in both Formula 1 and Formula Lights. Check back throughout the offseason for the 2012 racing schedule and driver lineups.

A little about Champboat racing:

The F1 ChampBoat series is the exclusive formula one powerboat racing series in North America.

Champ boating has 3 available classes:

Champboat (F1)

Champ 2 (SST-120 / 200)

Champ Lights (SST-45 / 60)

Due to the shape of their tunnel hulls, Champ Boats are able to turn almost instantaneously, incurring more "G" forces than any other racing machine on earth.

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Race Report: APBA Formula Lights World Championship

MENDANA BROTHERS BRING HOME TOP FIVE FINISHES AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

August 1, 2011 – Port Saint Lucie, FL

Twenty Formula Lights boats lined up at a chance to earn the 2011 Formula Lights World Title. This year's racing on the Detroit River saw plenty of action, close racing and passing as drivers drove through the big pack of boats. Steve Dawe from California found redemption after last year's technical difficulties by crowning himself as the 2011 Formula Lights World Champion. Dawe who earned the title with three heat victories, came from behind after losing the first heat to Jose Mendana Jr. and Jason Nelson who rounded out the podium. After the victory, Dawe now has a commanding lead in the National High Points race and is a front runner for the APBA Hall of Champions. Carlos Mendana, RJ West, Rob Rinker, Steve Lee, Steve Merleau, Butch Ott and Jose Mendana Sr. rounded out the top ten.

For the first time in Formula Lights history, a father and two sons participated in the same event. Last weekend in Trenton, MI. Mendana Sr., who made his first start in six last month at Bay City, MI made his next start with both sons behind the wheel as well. Mendana Sr., who was the only light spot at the Bay City River Roar with his second place finish, was able to bring the third Mendana Enterprises entry home in the top ten. Mendana Sr. running in the sixth position in heat one was upended by the #66 of Steve Merleau leaving Mendana upside down. The boat and driver were okay, however, Mendana Sr. would not be able to make it back for the second heat. Sunday was a better day for the father driver, as he battled both Mendana Jr. and Carlos in heats three and fourth to bring home a 4th and 6th place finishes. Heat four provided some excitement for all three Mendana's as all three engaged in a heavy battle for fourth position with Carlos coming in fourth, JR in 5th and Sr. in 6th.After all points were tallied, the overall finish for Mendana Sr. was tenth.

Mendana Jr. who was looking for his fourth World title was denied by upcoming star Steve Dawe. With his second place finish, Mendana Jr. earned his second consecutive second place finish at the World Championships and his fifth podium in the last six years. Mendana Jr., who was the winner of heat one, suffered a one lap penalty in heat by jumping the start forcing Jr. to drop his second heat. After starting in the 17th position and Dawe, 19th, heat three provided some late excitement with Jr. nearly stealing a heat victory from Dawe in the last couple laps when the two approached lap traffic. Mendana Jr. lined up second for the final heat but had nothing for Dawe, and dropped back to fifth after the heat was over leaving him in the second position overall just ahead of the #18 of Jason Nelson, the 2009 World Champion. Mendana Jr., who did not run the Formula Lights event at Bay City, sits ninth in the Pro Tunnel Tour championship and will be entered in both Formula One and Formula Lights at next month's National Championships in Kankakee, IL. "We had a good weekend of racing, Mendana Jr. said. All boats ran competitive and we brought everything back in one piece. We were a top three boat all weekend even though we gave up a lot of time in time trials. A second place finish to Mr. Dawe is pretty good, he is by far the best running 45 in the country now and he deserved the title. We will try to find a little more speed for Kankakee and give him a run along with everyone else. It was tons of fun to race the old man and little brother. I could not been any more pleased with how it all went and how quick the #27 can be when it stays out of trouble."

After a weekend ending practice crash for the #27 in the opening session at Bay City, the #27 was built as good as new by Paul Trolian. Carlos in just his third career start was able to drive the boat to a fourth place finish at the World Championships. Carlos opened the first heat with a fifth place which was then followed up with a ninth. Sunday produced a fourth place finish in heat three and a fourth place in the final heat which included Carlos passing his older brother Mendana Jr. on the inside on lap 4. Carlos now sits third in the Pro Tunnel Tour Championship behind Steve Merleau and Don Wilson.

The next stop of the season for Mendana Enterprises will take place on Labor Day weekend in Kankakee, IL which plays host to the 2011 APBA National Championships. The event takes place just South of Chicago in Kankakee, IL with testing Friday and three full days of racing Saturday thru Monday. Will Carlos be able to close the gap on the points lead in Formula Lights or will Mendana Jr. be able to defend his 2010 Formula Lights National title? Please check back for updates for the event in the upcoming weeks