Parker 300

**gn7** · 10-19-2013, 11:47 AM

Its simple, get rid of the divisional speed limits. One course speed limit set by the APBA per insurance for safety reasons, not speed limits for individual classes.

**FormulaZR** · 10-19-2013, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by gn7

Racing is who gets there first, not who keeps a schedule and arrives on time.

So...in a way, the divisional speed limits turn this into a bracket race?

**gn7** · 10-19-2013, 12:58 PM

That's exactly what they do. But in bracket racing it is written into the rules and you have a rule book you can go to, point and say, your out. No such rule exists in APBA circle racing. You can be penalized a lap for going inside a buoy, or starting before the flag drops, but not for going too fast.
The entire race is a bracket race of sorts, because boats take off at different times, or in this race are given handicap laps, as opposed to a longer head start. But that's for the overall win. The overall in this is not how the points are given out for the GN class or CJs. Thats between them. Its a APBA race inside of the enduro. You can be 15th overall, but get 1st place GN points. But speeding because you are racing a GN next to for a lap can get you penalized a lap. or maybe both of you. It is theoretically possible, and even probable with the way some GNs choose to run the race, be to be too fast every lap. Because some GNs find a pace, and some roll the dice and hammer it the whole time and hope it holds up. Each boat runs the race as he chooses and thinks is the best way to win, Its all strategy. Each guy has his way of running the race. Like the rabbit and the hare.

**HB Vic** · 10-19-2013, 01:17 PM

GN7, what do the racers want?? Just a guess but I doubt no race/venue/governing body, can or will please all racers, classes or divisions. Someone will always get left out, whether intentional or otherwise. What would you like to see as a racer, keeping in mind we spectators want as much bang (for lack of a better word

) for our buck.

**gn7** · 10-19-2013, 01:29 PM

NO PENALTIES FOR SPEED! It doesn't get any easier than that. Do not penalize a race boat for going too fast. They ran 7 previous 300 with no speed limit other than one limit that applied to all boats for insurance/APBA/safety reasons and that limit applied to every boat on the water, Not individual limits for each class.

Deeboat · 10-19-2013, 02:37 PM

Originally Posted by gn7

The enduro is the hardest by far, and we have never done well in it compared to other classes, but well enough within the GNs too lock up the championships and that's was the main goal in two of them. Being in the points lead going into the enduro forces you to run it differently than you would if in 2nd. Circle boat racing, and GNs in particular is a chess game and that took 3-4 seasons to figure out.
Winning Burely the last 3 years we have gone 2010, 11 and 12 is big for any team. That place is tuff, and its hands down one of the best places we race. Traveling 2400 miles round trip and spending a week doing it, and coming home with the trophy and points beats losing there anytime. Burley is like the hinge point of the season. You need to come out of Burley with the points lead, or its a uphill battle. Biggest disappointment is having never won Long Beach, but we are working on that. Only place we have never won,
Most memorable aside from one race at Burley, the same year, with very similar results was a race that Shooter video'd at Puddingstone in April. This was the race that we served notice that you better bring your A game to Burley in June. At Burley we lapped the entire field twice in 20 laps, in this vid he only laps them once in 10. This was the race where I knew I had the motor program worked out and the boat worked out, and now we could go racing, finally.

I owe Shooter a THANK YOU for getting this on video. Its not cheap for Jerry to do this kind of stuff, and there is virtually no return on his time, and money. If Jerry had not shot this video, this would only be a memory, as would all the races he has video'd. Nobody shoots a boat race like Jerry does. He is the best at what he does because he understands the races. The vid concentrates a lot on my boat, but that's because Jerry was using two cameras, one on the lead boat, one on all the others, but he never edited the two together, and this is the raw footage from the lead boat camera.
Jerry shot a similar video the following year, but Bill held back and stayed on the same lap because we no longer needed to test the boat or engine like we did in this vid. This was an severe acid test of the whole deal, boat, motor and Bill.

This race is a restart of the race the 29 boat flipped in.

This the is the 1st lap of the race prior to the one above.
The first 2 boat you see are gn7 and Robbie Devine(the current leader in SS PS and K for 2013) in GN47 and the boat that flips is Danny Bells GN 29 with Mike Johnson driving. You have no idea how close Mike came to drowning in this flip. His life jacket got hung up in the boat rigging and he was going down with the boat. Luckily he kept his head and freed the jacket. If you watch the 2nd vid you see Mike is lose of the boat, but then the boat scoops him back up, It happens all the time, more times than you can imagine. its weird!!!!, Second to the last frame he is still in the boat under water, then you see him in the last frames when the rescue arrives. But before rescue gets there, Mike is under water and they have no clue where he is.

Enjoy reading your post gnu two thumbs up over here

**78Southwind** · 10-19-2013, 03:04 PM

What advantage is there for running the enduro like it was a River Racer/Nostalgic type race (Is it the extra day of racing/qualifying or is a way for them to come up with a start/position strategy)? I just don't get it. Also, how are they keeping track of the Speeds (I know in Jet River Racer they have to have a GPS in the boat)?

**FormulaZR** · 10-19-2013, 03:04 PM

Originally Posted by gn7

That's exactly what they do. But in bracket racing it is written into the rules and you have a rule book you can go to, point and say, your out. No such rule exists in APBA circle racing. You can be penalized a lap for going inside a buoy, or starting before the flag drops, but not for going too fast.
The entire race is a bracket race of sorts, because boats take off at different times, or in this race are given handicap laps, as opposed to a longer head start. But that's for the overall win. The overall in this is not how the points are given out for the GN class or CJs. Thats between them. Its a APBA race inside of the enduro. You can be 15th overall, but get 1st place GN points. But speeding because you are racing a GN next to for a lap can get you penalized a lap. or maybe both of you. It is theoretically possible, and even probable with the way some GNs choose to run the race, be to be too fast every lap. Because some GNs find a pace, and some roll the dice and hammer it the whole time and hope it holds up. Each boat runs the race as he chooses and thinks is the best way to win, Its all strategy. Each guy has his way of running the race. Like the rabbit and the hare.

That's how the run automotive endurance races - like the touring and GT cars. Doesn't make sense to have individual limits, at least not to me.

**gn7** · 10-19-2013, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by 78Southwind

What advantage is there for running the enduro like it was a River Racer/Nostalgic type race (Is it the extra day of racing/qualifying or is a way for them to come up with a start/position strategy)? I just don't get it. Also, how are they keeping track of the Speeds (I know in Jet River Racer they have to have a GPS in the boat)?

As far as I know they are going to use lap times. You can exceed the speed limit any where on the course, which rules out the idea of it being a safety thing, If you KNOW you are too fast you can slow down before coming to the start/finish line. How you KNOW you are too fast is something else. Rally cars have co pilots that keep track of this stuff. So the enduro racer is suppose to keep track on a stop watch??? I have no clue?
I cannot tell the WHY, only that from the very beginning with this race, even when there were no handicap start, and the slower boats were racing for class win because they had no chance of an over all, there were still speed limits on the lower classes, but NONE on the top class. It pretty much assured that a top class boat would win. I was not intended to be a handicap type race. And that cool and I have problem with it being a heads up race, but why the speed limits on the lower classes?

Some how the idea of limiting the lower classes stuck even when it was changed to a handicap race.
My guess, the start times and speed limits will reflect a bias towards the top division. Won't know that until the times and lap handicaps are set on Friday. But its my guess. From the beginning, RD has shown he doesn't care for the race being won buy something other than the fastest boat on the water. I understand the thinking, but then just have a heads up race and do away with the handicap and no speed limits other than one for all boats for safety reasons, or do what was done in previous 300s and write the rules so boats that fast can't enter. You can't run a Indy car at a Nascar race. Nobody is ever going to allow a Unlimited hydro run the enduro. Limiting the type of boat engine size that can run has been done before. Its done is all forms of motor racing everyday. There are limits to Nascar, Indy, drags, Formula 1. Problem was, he found out vast majority of the entries wouldn't be there if he ran it as a heads up race with no handicap start. The majority of the boats are out there trying to win the overall.