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Moved to new thread for Ray.
A beautiful day a great spectator crowd, and beautiful water greeted the USTS for our first race of the year. Being in Ocoee brought many a smile and an ahah to us northerners soaking up the sun and the hospitality of the Mayor and his group that helped with the logistics.
A good field of open boats kicked off our first day of racing on Saturday. However the gremlins were out in full force for the first day of racing for the Title Series in 2010, and for our day at Ocoee. This race is on a surveyed 3/4mile course for records and some were set.
Some were un-intended and unwanted by a number of drivers this weekend.
Between engine failures and jumping the gun it cost a number of drivers world records as well as loss of position in all of the classes. In a number of heats, we started with as many as 9 boats and saw only two running at the end. I told the crowd, by the looks of this, you can tell that this is the first race of the year for most of the drivers.
125H started with 9 boats and the first heat ended up with 2 boats running at the end of the first heat. Amy Nydahl and Kevin Ellison were the only two that finished. As the other two heats ran the gremlins were held at bay and had good numbers in the second and third heats. Kevin in the 3rd heat had is steering cable fail and snap rolled him on the backstretch and found him tangled in the boat, but was able to reach the surface of the water and was okay.
BJ Tetro had a terrible start to the day as he blew over in the first turn while testing, was pitched out of the boat in the first heat, but came back in the second heat to set a record of right at 64+mph for the second heat. Congrat to you BJ.
At the end in 125H
Amy Nydahl
BJ Tetro
Amy Eldredge
Tim Small started this weeked with great intentions, only to have a 500 motor blow up so bad and stop so quick that he almost went out of the boat, cracking the cowling in his F-5 and finding himself watching instead of running.
In 500R a spirited first heat with Jared Gryskiewicz and Mike Thirlby, racing side by side for 3 laps, resulted in a win and new record of over 71mph for Jared. Mike then took a heat and Jared and Mike were tied up on points. In the end Jared beat out Mike by less than 1/2 second for the win.
500R
Jared Gryskiewicz
Mike Thirlby
Dave Anderson
In 350H
The gremlins were really out as Michael Schmidt, the younger, and Ken Godwin, driving a brand new Pugh for Chick LaRose collided in the bottom turn and virtually destroyed Michael's boat, with a little sponson damage and small hole in bottom the Pugh, put both of them on the beach for the rest of the day. Michael suffered a cut that took a few stitches between the thumb and the forefinger, but will be racing tomorrow.
Chris Hellesten had a world record go by the wayside as he jumped the gun and handed a win to Ike Yoder. Ben Thompson in a brand new MJR he built over the winter finished third.
The finish for 350H
Ike Yoder
Chris Hellesten
Ben Thompson
In 250R
Paulie Bosnich III drove a great race, taking 1st in the first heat as Tim Small had a problem right at the finish line and took 4th after leading. He drifted across the finish line just ahead of Brandon Thirlby who has his own set of problems. Paulie set a record in the first heat to take the 400 points which proved pivotal to his winning overall.
Paulie taking his points where he could get them, a first and two seconds to combine the finishes with enough points to take home his first 250title race in a boat painted up to a point we ordered it covered all weekend to ensure no one was blinded.
Tim Small , who celebrated a b-day yesterday, was not done just yet as he put a heat win in the second heat in the record book, by beating Paulies record set in the first heat by 4MPH. He upped the record for 250R to 65.49mph.
Congrats to Paulie and Tim for their wins.
250R
Paulie Bosnich III
Tim Small
Brandon Thirlby
More tomorrow!
Ray
A beautiful day a great spectator crowd, and beautiful water greeted the USTS for our first race of the year. Being in Ocoee brought many a smile and an ahah to us northerners soaking up the sun and the hospitality of the Mayor and his group that helped with the logistics.
A good field of open boats kicked off our first day of racing on Saturday. However the gremlins were out in full force for the first day of racing for the Title Series in 2010, and for our day at Ocoee. This race is on a surveyed 3/4mile course for records and some were set.
Some were un-intended and unwanted by a number of drivers this weekend.
Between engine failures and jumping the gun it cost a number of drivers world records as well as loss of position in all of the classes. In a number of heats, we started with as many as 9 boats and saw only two running at the end. I told the crowd, by the looks of this, you can tell that this is the first race of the year for most of the drivers.
125H started with 9 boats and the first heat ended up with 2 boats running at the end of the first heat. Amy Nydahl and Kevin Ellison were the only two that finished. As the other two heats ran the gremlins were held at bay and had good numbers in the second and third heats. Kevin in the 3rd heat had is steering cable fail and snap rolled him on the backstretch and found him tangled in the boat, but was able to reach the surface of the water and was okay.
BJ Tetro had a terrible start to the day as he blew over in the first turn while testing, was pitched out of the boat in the first heat, but came back in the second heat to set a record of right at 64+mph for the second heat. Congrat to you BJ.
At the end in 125H
Amy Nydahl
BJ Tetro
Amy Eldredge
Tim Small started this weeked with great intentions, only to have a 500 motor blow up so bad and stop so quick that he almost went out of the boat, cracking the cowling in his F-5 and finding himself watching instead of running.
In 500R a spirited first heat with Jared Gryskiewicz and Mike Thirlby, racing side by side for 3 laps, resulted in a win and new record of over 71mph for Jared. Mike then took a heat and Jared and Mike were tied up on points. In the end Jared beat out Mike by less than 1/2 second for the win.
500R
Jared Gryskiewicz
Mike Thirlby
Dave Anderson
In 350H
The gremlins were really out as Michael Schmidt, the younger, and Ken Godwin, driving a brand new Pugh for Chick LaRose collided in the bottom turn and virtually destroyed Michael's boat, with a little sponson damage and small hole in bottom the Pugh, put both of them on the beach for the rest of the day. Michael suffered a cut that took a few stitches between the thumb and the forefinger, but will be racing tomorrow.
Chris Hellesten had a world record go by the wayside as he jumped the gun and handed a win to Ike Yoder. Ben Thompson in a brand new MJR he built over the winter finished third.
The finish for 350H
Ike Yoder
Chris Hellesten
Ben Thompson
In 250R
Paulie Bosnich III drove a great race, taking 1st in the first heat as Tim Small had a problem right at the finish line and took 4th after leading. He drifted across the finish line just ahead of Brandon Thirlby who has his own set of problems. Paulie set a record in the first heat to take the 400 points which proved pivotal to his winning overall.
Paulie taking his points where he could get them, a first and two seconds to combine the finishes with enough points to take home his first 250title race in a boat painted up to a point we ordered it covered all weekend to ensure no one was blinded.
Tim Small , who celebrated a b-day yesterday, was not done just yet as he put a heat win in the second heat in the record book, by beating Paulies record set in the first heat by 4MPH. He upped the record for 250R to 65.49mph.
Congrats to Paulie and Tim for their wins.
250R
Paulie Bosnich III
Tim Small
Brandon Thirlby
More tomorrow!
Ray
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