Japanese Stadium Racing

[Flatiron]

I have watched this quite often on YouTube it's great to watch on a big screen smart Tv. But I've always wondered why this type of racing wasn't done in the U.S. This is just a question of my own Curiosity not trying to start any arguments or conflicts. I will say this those little Japanese Drivers are animals

[Ram4x4]

It is entertaining, but their premise is gambling. They bet on drivers like we do horse racing. I agree, I think it would be fun though.

[jsilvestri]

It is cool and if we were to adopt something very similar it could work here too! I'd race it! Just think of the possible race sites it could open up??? You wouldn't need as much water and rough water conditions wouldn't really hurt as much either.

[ryan_4z]

This is basically what BSR(15ssR...) is(was?...) all about except these hydro guys all want to run on NASCAR sized race tracks.

[Hydro doc]

I got down in the pits at a race. The drivers are responsible for their prop. They were working on them. All other equipment was interchangeable. Interesting, that I was only allowed in the pits, if I couldn't speak Japanese.

[GrandpaRacer]

The deep prop shaft means almost no rooster tail and no blow over risk, so they can maneuver anywhere safely. Then the one pin turns make lead changes common. The inside lane is not quit the advantage because a supper tight turn will slow the boat and a wide turn will slide the boat out making room for another who started wide to dive inside on the back side of the turn. It all makes it fun to watch. I did not know that the drivers can mess with their props, this adds a new dimension to racing and betting! John Adams

[DeanFHobart]

I think they can only change the pitch and cup of the propeller... The propellers are brass so they are easy to ‘Bend’. They can not change the outside perimeter shape or the diameter or the blade area.

[dwhitford]

Bud Wiget told me in the 1960s that before WW2, they used to flood a horse-race track somewhere in in northern California and then race boats on it. Whether any betting took place, Bud didn't say.

[ZUL8TR]

Thanks to Kyotei we have Yamato engines

[Dr. Thunder]

Thinking that a longer course and three pin turns wouldn't affect the close competition and multiple lead changes due to the fact that they require a single design boat and sealed engines ...

[Hydro doc]

Ward said they ,Yamato, said that APBA made a mistake when they selected 3/4 inch as the height.

[CSR4C]

I was there with Ric Montoya in 1996. It was the last day of a 3 day meet with the same group of drivers, so I didn't see anyone working on their props. I did know the the drivers were responsible for their own props. When the 80s were imported, they came with props, so it was different at that time. The drivers were jockey size, about 110#. the boats are built strong and heavy about 160#. They are a 10' step hydro. I owned a couple of them for a while, sold them to Ron Hill. The setup is with the cavitation plate even with the bottom of the boat, so no cooling problems at all! Short 1 pin course, speed in the low 50s, lots of punch. 6 boats per race. Clock start like ours, but they mill off plane and jockey for lane at about the 200' mark they punch it and off they go. If they are early or 1 second late at the start, all money bet on them is returned. It also a good way to loose their job. 3 lap races. The boats turn more like roll up runabouts than a hydro. It is very competitive with about the bottom 1/4 of the drivers dropped each year. To win at the betting, you need to pick 1st & 2nd in the correct order.
They were using 302s, also they were testing ways to make them quieter, which led to the 321. They did have a diversion with the 4 stroke that was used at one stadium, but wrecked a lot of parts every time they got wet.

[Big Don]

Darrell or anyone else...how fast do they go in that configuration?

[CSR4C]

They run in the low 50s

[Matt Dagostino]

Ward said they ,Yamato, said that APBA made a mistake when they selected 3/4 inch as the height.

No mistake was made? We import those motors to race on the hulls and at heights that fit our style of racing. The issue was we should have allowed them to cool when they were first brought into the country in the 1970's. But we were to worried about blueprinting them and profiling the lower unit and so forth.

[jsilvestri]

Thanks for the history lesson Darrell! Very interesting!s. Sems like we could learn a thing or two from them.