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By Paul Durham
Assistant Sports Editor
As Saturday's rough weather gave way to Sunday's blue skies, the waters of Lake Buckhorn became the scene of speed and thrills.
The Wilson Parks and Recreation Department facility was the site of the American Power Boat Association's Southeast Divisional championship for the Stock and Modified Outboard divisions.
Some 150 racers descended upon the quiet reservoir for what was to be two days of racing, including that in the junior division, or J-Class. However, high winds and, ultimately, severe storms cancelled all racing on Saturday, leaving Sunday with a full schedule in 15 classes.
Official results were not available at the race's conclusion on Sunday and will be published later in the week.
For the Stock and Modified Divisions in the two types of boats, the Buckhorn event served as the Southeast Divisional. A win in the Stock classes meant an automatic berth in the national championship to be held in Wakefield, Mich., in August. The vessels are either hydroplanes, which run slightly above the surface of the water, or flat-bottomed runabouts.
Wins in Modified were worth double points, a facet that made Sunday's triumph in the class C Modified Hydroplane race extra special for New Bern's John Runne.
Runne, the 2005 national champion in the class B Modified Hydro, picked up his second 2006 victory in the C Modified Hydro field.
"We're off to a good start," said Runne, who was one of the race directors, along with Beaufort resident Dennis Burke.
Burke congratulated Runne for his victories in both heats. Power boat racing points are amassed from the times of two heats, consisting of three laps totaling one-mile on the oval course.
The race is often won or lost in the "flying starts," achieved when the racers time their approach to the starting line with the help of a large digital timer.
"We were both a little late. It's hard to see the clock in the sun so we were both trying to do our best," Burke said of the duel at the start between he and Runne.
"He's just an excellent driver," Burke reminded of Runne.
Runne suggested that he was lucky because he was late to the starting line — but so were the other drivers.
Then the 49-year-old, three-time national champion pointed out: "I've also got one of the fastest boats in the country."
Runne's boat, along with the others in the Modified Hydro field, were moving upwards of 80 miles per hour.
Runne's nephew, Dylan, posted the best time in the J-Class Hydro and earned a win in his first race of the season.
"I was pretty happy with it. It's a new boat, my first race with it," said 11-year old Dylan.
The younger Runne said his restrictor plate-limited speed was around 42 miles per hour.
The tightest race was in the class C Stock Hydro, in which Travis Pond punched his ticket to the nationals with a 1.1-seconds win against Matt D'Agostino.
Pond, a 21-year-old racer from Midlothian, Va. who has been racing for 12 years, was exuberant after the race.
"I hadn't been able to get to the nationals, so this is the first year I've qualified that I'll be able to go," said Pond with a smile.
D'Agostino, of Bowie, Md., emitted a good-natured groan over the close times as well as the fact that Pond was driving one of D'Agostino's former boats.
"Yeah, that's a tight one but I've had 'em within tenths (of a second) though," Pond reminded.
The second heat had to re-start after Guy Hamilton IV of Maggie Valley flipped his boat on the third turn of the first lap.
"I hit some rough water. I thought I was going to go through it," said Hamilton. "But it stuck and I flew out of the boat."
Hamilton sustained no injuries other than severe disappointment as his craft was grounded for the day.
After the choppy waters of Saturday had subsided, Sunday's gentle breeze left the course in fast condition.
"There's just enough wind to keep the bugs off of you and there's just enough chop on the water to keep the boats from sucking to the water," confirmed Burke. "This is fast water."
The course conditions, beautiful weather and an enthusiastic crowd of some 185 spectators all made for a great day of racing.
"The guys are thrilled and can't wait to come back next year," John Runne assured.
paul@wilsondaily.com | 265-7808
Copyright ©, The Wilson Daily Times, Wilson, North Carolina
Assistant Sports Editor
As Saturday's rough weather gave way to Sunday's blue skies, the waters of Lake Buckhorn became the scene of speed and thrills.
The Wilson Parks and Recreation Department facility was the site of the American Power Boat Association's Southeast Divisional championship for the Stock and Modified Outboard divisions.
Some 150 racers descended upon the quiet reservoir for what was to be two days of racing, including that in the junior division, or J-Class. However, high winds and, ultimately, severe storms cancelled all racing on Saturday, leaving Sunday with a full schedule in 15 classes.
Official results were not available at the race's conclusion on Sunday and will be published later in the week.
For the Stock and Modified Divisions in the two types of boats, the Buckhorn event served as the Southeast Divisional. A win in the Stock classes meant an automatic berth in the national championship to be held in Wakefield, Mich., in August. The vessels are either hydroplanes, which run slightly above the surface of the water, or flat-bottomed runabouts.
Wins in Modified were worth double points, a facet that made Sunday's triumph in the class C Modified Hydroplane race extra special for New Bern's John Runne.
Runne, the 2005 national champion in the class B Modified Hydro, picked up his second 2006 victory in the C Modified Hydro field.
"We're off to a good start," said Runne, who was one of the race directors, along with Beaufort resident Dennis Burke.
Burke congratulated Runne for his victories in both heats. Power boat racing points are amassed from the times of two heats, consisting of three laps totaling one-mile on the oval course.
The race is often won or lost in the "flying starts," achieved when the racers time their approach to the starting line with the help of a large digital timer.
"We were both a little late. It's hard to see the clock in the sun so we were both trying to do our best," Burke said of the duel at the start between he and Runne.
"He's just an excellent driver," Burke reminded of Runne.
Runne suggested that he was lucky because he was late to the starting line — but so were the other drivers.
Then the 49-year-old, three-time national champion pointed out: "I've also got one of the fastest boats in the country."
Runne's boat, along with the others in the Modified Hydro field, were moving upwards of 80 miles per hour.
Runne's nephew, Dylan, posted the best time in the J-Class Hydro and earned a win in his first race of the season.
"I was pretty happy with it. It's a new boat, my first race with it," said 11-year old Dylan.
The younger Runne said his restrictor plate-limited speed was around 42 miles per hour.
The tightest race was in the class C Stock Hydro, in which Travis Pond punched his ticket to the nationals with a 1.1-seconds win against Matt D'Agostino.
Pond, a 21-year-old racer from Midlothian, Va. who has been racing for 12 years, was exuberant after the race.
"I hadn't been able to get to the nationals, so this is the first year I've qualified that I'll be able to go," said Pond with a smile.
D'Agostino, of Bowie, Md., emitted a good-natured groan over the close times as well as the fact that Pond was driving one of D'Agostino's former boats.
"Yeah, that's a tight one but I've had 'em within tenths (of a second) though," Pond reminded.
The second heat had to re-start after Guy Hamilton IV of Maggie Valley flipped his boat on the third turn of the first lap.
"I hit some rough water. I thought I was going to go through it," said Hamilton. "But it stuck and I flew out of the boat."
Hamilton sustained no injuries other than severe disappointment as his craft was grounded for the day.
After the choppy waters of Saturday had subsided, Sunday's gentle breeze left the course in fast condition.
"There's just enough wind to keep the bugs off of you and there's just enough chop on the water to keep the boats from sucking to the water," confirmed Burke. "This is fast water."
The course conditions, beautiful weather and an enthusiastic crowd of some 185 spectators all made for a great day of racing.
"The guys are thrilled and can't wait to come back next year," John Runne assured.
paul@wilsondaily.com | 265-7808
Copyright ©, The Wilson Daily Times, Wilson, North Carolina