Jerry Jacoby
Jerry Jacoby (born 1937) is a former UIM Offshore PowerBoat World Champion (1981) and APBA American Champion (1982).[1]
His first race was in the 1978 Tampa Bay Race, where he rented one of current US Champion Joel Halpern's 38' Cobra's (named 'Beep Beep'). Finishing 3rd in this race despite suffering from an extremely slow start that saw him five minutes behind the leaders after lap one, he soon after purchased the 35' Cigarette Anheuser Busch from Rocky Aoki,(this 35' Cigarette had formerly powered Tom Gentry to a World Championship in 1976).[2] Named the 'Ajac Hawk', after his Elmont NY based transmission business, Jacoby finished 3rd in the next race, the Bacardi Trophy Race, after Preston Henn in his 38' Bertram was penalized five minutes for a jumped start and was demoted to 4th position.
In 1979 Jacoby started a hi performance marine engine company, Hawk Marine Power. Hawk Marine Power became the supplier to several of the world's premier offshore racers. In 1981 HMP's engines were in 4 of the 5 class of boats entered in the World's Championship . All four of the boats with Hawk's engines won their class' World Championship. Also in 1979 Jacoby had close friend Don Aronow build him a 37.6 foot Cigarette racer, also named Ajac Hawk;[3] this was the first of the 'Top Gun' line of Cigarette power boats. It was made by putting a 'block' into the 39' Cigarette mold, and fixing the raised bar deck of the 36' wide-beam racer (but with the standard 8' beam of the 35' and 39' models)
In 1981 Jacoby, with his 37.6 Cigarette, Ajac Hawk, went on to win the World's Championship in Key West. Ajac Hawk (later renamed Cigarette Hawk in 1982, after he purchased the Cigarette Boat company from Don Aronow) and Brut Faberge in 1983) featured famous throttleman Keith Hazell. Then in 1982, after following his World Championship win the previous season, Jacoby won the Bacardi Trophy Race and finished the 1982 season leading in points and became the USA National champion. In 1983 Faberge became Jacoby's sponsor and the Cigarette Hawk was renamed, Super Brut .[4][5]