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Some news was posted on Instagram yesterday and so far today they posted a short video.
https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ww ... EQ8uNssl9f

8 of the 10 expected boats showed up for Saturday.....
Jesse and Kristain did not race on Saturday.
Ben made his first race on Saturday running his Voodoo.
The Gordon family was very strong on Saturday.
Hope they post results here and maybe a video or two.

I watched the short video of one of the Halliburton T850 starts with 8 boats in the heat.
The first two rows had 3 boats running side by side into the first turn.
Not usually for a clock start with 8 or more boats in the heat.

T Class runs 5 lap heats back to back with a short break between.
5 laps is a challenge drive for racers.
The slower boats really take more of a beating during the race.
The ride is much smoother running near the front of the pack.
The slower boats generally never get to experience running in the lead or 2nd or 3rd..
You don’t really know how competitive your boat is compared to the other boats unless you have the lead and the boats past you.
A simple trick is to jump the clock start so you have the lead on the first lap. Since your basically not in the championship race...what difference does it make to you points wise and you get the opportunity to see how good your boat is and where it can be improved Plus it’s a lot more fun leading the race.

Races can be a boring parade lap after lap especially a 5 lap race.
That’s why we tried the NASCAR START.
You need 8 boats minimum to make it work.
You run 2 boats in each row.
The lanes alternate row to row.
Row 1 uses lane 1 & 3
Row 2 uses lane 2 & 4
Row 3 uses lane 1 & 2
Etc.........................

The slowest boats are in the front .
The faster boats are at the back.
You run the same order both heats of that day.
You adjust the start order the next day or next race based on where you finish .

You still use the clock to start.
But the front two boats control the start.
You cannot change your lane or pass until you cross the starting line.

What happens!
Great racing lots of action, more fun for drivers, better for fans.
Competitive right to the end!

We also wanted drones and onboard cameras years ago.
We were ahead of our time with different ideas.

Found my notes on the NASCAR START
That date we had 2 Yamahas on row 1
Jim Whittington and Rick Cole
Jim had a radio so we could tell him from shore how everyone was lining up.
The start was very good for most.

One issue we noticed with the last couple of rows where the drivers in the row behind were closing up in their lane so they were almost right beside the boats in the row ahead as they crossed the starting line. They weren’t following 10 yards behind the row ahead. Which was the idea.
A later thought was to do rows using lanes 1 & 2 only to force the boats directly behind to pass on the outside until the field spread out.

Both Jim and Rick controlled the start very well and they were running 1st and 2nd for most of the race. The fastest boats did eventually catch and pass them. In fact the race finish was very close with the top boats racing for the win on the last lap.

I think controlling the start is key......if the boats in the front row cross the start line at 1/2 to 3/4 throttle and then accelerate to turn one....then the pack has a better chance of keeping the same order through turn one and the boats in the first few rows get out to a good lead before the faster boats catch them. After the second lap the water conditions get rougher so it is always an advantage to be the boat ahead.

Like anything new you need to try it and racers need to follow the starting rules. 5 laps is enough distance that the faster boats will still win. But it is also far more fun for the pack runners. It keeps them more interested to come out and race. Not much fun being lapped in 3 laps every race and taking a physical beating.

Results
http://www.torc.ca/2024-results.html

Eric is the new T850 champ!

Just trying to go through the footage for all the races. We did have gopros on a few boats but alot of them didn't record.. first attempt at doing multiple. Once I get some videos posted I will put the links here!

Here's some footage from Haliburton. Each Heat filmed from shore and I got 2 heats from my helmet gopro

Heat 1
https://youtu.be/beErXW-L47Q?si=XNZDUrSM8znt1F29
https://youtu.be/c1pt61f-ikc?si=gRbQYFia_FZVvMZ4

Heat 2
https://youtu.be/O5Pz_OR2dBY?si=B2-boJYo6b1epxYK

Heat 3
https://youtu.be/O0QpSOhojoc?si=JEHj5DuB2IF1n4j5
https://youtu.be/p5SJsUGuGBs?si=g12C7QBSGmVo_PnJ

Heat 4
https://youtu.be/YPVyQfcOxiE?si=s0BSwhnZ2D0irasN

The onboard videos from Eric’s delta demonstrate what it is like to drive a very competitive T850 raceboat in a race.
The view from the shore doesn’t show the experience and the skill required to race a T850.
The video of heat 1 shows the advantage of a good start and finding a good lane with calm water.
It also shows the advantage of leading the race.

Eric’s onboard video of the 3rd heat is an excellent learning video for people wanting to race T850.
Running 3rd and trying to pass other very competitive boats is a challenge. You can see how quickly you can gain on the boat ahead because of their driving miscues or rough water and how the opposite can happen to you and you lose ground on the boat ahead.

Eric’s driving talent and his boats balance is evident in this video. The boat is running of the edge and in control. You can tell by how calm Eric’s hands are driving. He is very comfortable and confident in how his boat will react in those various water conditions. You can also see in this video how the rough water after a couple of laps is an equalizer for all of the boats running in the race.
It’s is very difficult to gain positions once the water conditions worsen. The start and the first lap is where the top runners can show their performance advantage. Luck! Is always a factor.