Race Results & Photos - Inverness 2008

[Original Looper 1]

Overall winners today (unofficial results) for 125cc Hydro were:
1st - BJ Tetro
2nd - David Augustine (David took 2 1sts then jumped the gun on a 3rd heat)
3rd - David Jones
4th - Ellison (missed the 1st name because of motor noise)
Ralph Donald finished 5th.


Overall winners today for 500cc Hydro were:
1st - Sean McKean
2nd - Ike Yoder (Ike gave Sean a real run for the money)
3rd - David Hooten
4th - Jack Gossman
5th - Jack Wright

There were only 2 boats for the last heat of 500cc Hydro due to 4 dropping out from mechanical issues. McKean and Yoder put on quite an exciting show with McKean pulling out in front on the straight-a-ways but Yoder cutting tight turns to take the lead coming out of each turn. McKean won by barely a boat length.

Tim Small won 250cc Runabout overall and Gary Buskirk won 350cc Hydro overall.

K Pro Hydro had quite a few entries, including new driver Tyler Thirlby.
Amy Nydahl took 1st overall (2 2nds and 1 1st).
Wendy Eldredge won 2 heats but jumped the gun on the 3rd heat so lost 1st place overall due to points. Wendy took 2nd overall.
3rd place went to Kurtis Nydahl. (dad Pete should be proud - 2 winners in the family)

I will be posting pictures that I took today as I sort them all out. Everyone had a great time. The weather was sunny and no winds to cause problems.

Saw lots of old friends. I got to see Dr. Phil Wagner and also Jerry Simison's brother, Paul, that I hadn't seen in 35 years. He was taking pictures of the races for his own personal collection. Paul shared with my wife and myself wildlife photos he had recently taken. Paul is an expert photographer!

thanks,

Paul A Christner

[Dave_E71]

Paul,

See my father (Dave Augustine) tomorrow, he has something for you

Dave

[Original Looper 1]

First round of photos from the 3rd annual Thunder in the Hills regatta at Inverness, Florida.

Kristi Ellison did a heck of a job putting this event together.

Photos are as follows:
#1 - Wet Pits
#2 - Also Wet Pits
#3 - Sean McKean
#4 - F88 David Hooten
#5 - More Wet Pits
#6 - K Pro racing
#7 - 71W Amy Nydahl (overall winner K Pro) and F4 Jeremy Edmond

thanks,

Paul A Christner

(Please note: These pictures are for your enjoyment and are not to be copied or posted to other web sites without my written permission.)

[Original Looper 1]

Round 2 of photos from Inverness today. Same disclaimer about copying or posting the photos elsewhere applies.

#1 - K Pro: V94 Zack McGuire & F4 Jeremy Edmond
#2 - K Pro: new racer Tyler Thirlby
#3 - A1 Shawn Cavanaugh & Z11 Michael Ellison
#4 - Wet Pits - 125cc
#5 - 125cc Heat
#6 - 125cc Heat
#7 - 125cc Heat

Thanks,

Paul A Christner

[Original Looper 1]

Round 3 of photos from Inverness today. Same disclaimer about copying and/or posting the photos applies.

Photos:
#1 - F3 John Madrell
#2 - F3 John Madress (heat winner)
#3 - A1 Shawn Cavanaugh
#4 - B2 (don't have the driver's name)
#5 - F122 Curt Hellsten
#6 - Wet Pits
#7 - F22 Ralph Donald


thanks,

Paul A Christner

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Thanks for the info and pics Paul. I would loved to have visited with Phil Wagner and Paul Simison, along with yourself. And of course Ralph Donald. Would have loved to see the battle between Sean and Ike Yoder. That's the kind of racing that you remember.

[Original Looper 1]

Round 4 of photos from Inverness. Same disclaimer about the photos applies.

Photos:
#1 - V23 Paulie Bosnich
#2 - M14 Amy Nydahl (?)
#3 - Z7 Kevin Ellison
#4 - F88 David Hooten
#5 - Guess who's 500cc engine
#6 - Paul Simison, photographer & brother of famous racer Jerry Simison
#7 - Pete Nydahl, pit crew for his 2 children


thanks,

Paul A Christner

[Original Looper 1]

Round 5 of photos from Inverness. Same disclaimer about copying/posting applies.

Photos:
#1 - Wet Pits for 500cc Hydro
#2 - F44 (name?)
#3 - M50 Ike Yoder
#4 - Fire Wagon/ Wright Racing
#5 - Fire Wagon
#6 - F88 David Wooten
#7 - F122
#8 - Pete Nydahl with his kid's K Pro boats (1st & 3rd place winners overall)


thanks,

Paul A Christner

[Original Looper 1]

Round 6 of photos from Inverness today. Same disclaimer about the photos applies.

Photos:
These are all 125cc Hydro race action. For those wondering why I don't have any photos of the 250cc Runabouts, 350cc Hydros & 500cc Runabouts - we arrived too late to see those races. What should have been a 2 1/2 hour trip to Inverness from our home took twice as long due to all of the "snowbirds" heading back north on I75 and bottlenecking the road for over 100 miles. Talk about frustrating!

Wayne, thanks for your nice comments. We felt it important to bring these pictures "hot off the press" to all you folks out there that couldn't be here in person.

thanks,

Paul A Christner

[Original Looper 1]

Last round of photos from Inverness today (whew). Same disclaimer about copying or posting the photos also applies.

Photos:
(These are all 500cc Hydro action.)
#1 - McKean
#2 - Thirlby
#3 - Yoder
#4 - Hooten
#5 - Fire Wagon
(These are 125cc Hydros.)
#6 - F11 Eldredge
#7 - F122 Hellsten (don't know who's driving)
#8 - K Pro Amy & Kurtis Nydahl, 1st & 3rd place winners

That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed the show.

thanks,

Paul A Christner

ps: Some of you may be wondering why I posted a picture of a pig with yesterday's pre-race photos from Inverness. Ask the Thirlbys....

[fbref5269]

paul,

another great job. i can smell the castor! thanks for taking the pictures and posting.

frank

[aojesus]

Thanks for the great shots! We must have been standing beside each other.

[Original Looper 1]

Thanks to those who have commented.

Sunday at Inverness saw a lot of really good racing until the winds picked up, making it too dangerous to race. The race was offically called at 4:00pm after the completion of 2 heats for all classes.

These are the unofficial heat results from today.

125cc Runabout
1st Heat winner = ??? Missed the first heat.
2nd Heat winner = Brian Payne X21

175cc Hydro
1st Heat winner = B J Tetro 45F
2nd place = Buddy Tennell F40
3rd place = Bill Hossler F81
2nd Heat winner = B J Tetro
2nd place = Ralph Donald F22

250cc Hydro
1st Heat winner = Rob Erble F26
2nd Heat winner = Rob Erble

The 250cc hydro race (both heats) was some of the best and most competitive racing I've seen for a long time, especially the 2nd heat. Rob Erble was on Chris Hellsten's prop wash like I've never seen before. He did everything he could and had that boat every which way except at times in the water - he literally flew that boat practically the entire 2nd heat trying to pass Chris. Unfortunately for Chris, he broke with about 2 laps to go and Rob shot out in front. What was so spectacular about this race to me was that the 2 front runners had entirely different types of boats. Chris had the new European style, rough water boat and Rob had the more traditional American hydro. Great racing by both guys!

350cc Runabouts
1st Heat winner = Mike Thirlby M47
2nd Heat winner = Tim Small F5

1100cc Hydro
1st Heat winner = Jack Gosman F44
2nd Heat winner = Brandon Thirlby M4

McKean was busy today sorting out engine tuning. However, he showed strong performance & we expect to see him dialing it in by next weekend at Lake Wales.

Pictures to follow.

Thanks,

Paul A Christner

[Bob Dunlap]

Great shots Paul, for the photos above Marshall Eldredge jr is in the F-11, and Billy Allen is in the B-2

[Original Looper 1]

Bob Dunlap couldn't make Inverness this weekend but he was in Florida too, at the big antique boat & motor event at Mt. Dora, FL. Unfortunately, both events were held on the same weekend.

I went to Mt. Dora on Friday and took photos of some spectacular boats & antique outboard engines (both pleasure and racing), plus got to see several friends. Will post those later on this web site as well as on the Quincylooperracing.us site.

As to Inverness today, here is the 1st round of photos for everyone that couldn't attend.

#1 - Large Crowd in attendance
#2 - Mr. & Mrs. Sean McKean
#3 - B16 Billy Allen
#4 - Billy Allen racing
#5 - Eldredge Team in wet pits
#6 - F6 David Mitchell
#7 - X51 Rich Krier
#8 - Runabout Heat

thanks,
Paul A Christner

(Please note: These photos are for your enjoyment and are not to be copied or posted to any other web site without my written permission. Thanks.)

[Original Looper 1]

Round 2 of photos from Inverness on Sunday. Same disclaimer about copying or posting the photos elsewhere still applies.

Photos
#1 - my good friend Bill Hosler
#2 - F26 Rob Erble, who won both heats of 250cc Hydro today
#3 - F22 Ralph Donald
#4 - Q24 (don't have the driver's name)
#5 - Interesting looking helmet. Guess who's?
#6 - Wet Pits from Sunday
#7 - Nice engine
#8 - D1 Mike Schmidt

thanks,
Paul A Christner

[Original Looper 1]

Round 3 from Sunday at Inverness. Same disclosure about copying or posting the photos still applies.

Photos:
#1 - F77 David Weaver & F6 David Mitchell waiting to race
#2 - Heat winner Mike Thirlby with Ed Thirlby (ask Mike about his new "mascot")
#3 - Kristi Ellison, President US Title Series

I have to stop for a moment to comment about what a big job it was putting together the regatta at Inverness this weekend & how hard Kristi worked. She was all over the place, making sure things ran smoothly. Good job!

#4 - F40 Buddy Tennell
#5 - Brian Payne, heat winner 125cc Runabout
#6 - M50 Ike Yoder
#7 - 1100cc Hydro winner, Jack Gosman
#8 - Dr. Phil Wagner (middle) with friends

thanks,
Paul A Christner

[Original Looper 1]

Round 4 of photos from Inverness on Sunday. Same disclosures about copying or posting these photos elsewhere still applies.

As I said earlier, the races were stopped after the 2nd heats were completed due to the wind blowing hard across the lake, making the water too rough for racing. I wandered around the dry pits and took some other photos while waiting.

Photo:
#1 - F5 Tim Small
#2 - F5 Tim Small, winner heat 350cc Runabout
#3 - Steve Litzell was busy all day
#4 - A26 250cc Hydro champ, Rob Erble
#5 - Bill Hosler & his lovely wife
#6 - Ralph Donald
#7 - VRP 175cc engine (no, it's not really pink, it was the tent above that made it appear pink)
#8 - another shot of the VRP engine

Just a few more pictures from Inverness to go.

However, I will have a special treat for you all in a couple of days. My good friend and professional photographer, Paul Simison (brother of the great former racer Jerry Simison), very kindly provided my wife with 2 disks full of racing action photos. He said there were hundreds.

thanks,
Paul A Christner

[Original Looper 1]

Last of the Inverness 2008 photos. Same disclaimer about copying or posting elsewhere still applies.

This last group of photos are about David Augustine's trailer & what I found on the back door. David has a large grouping of pictures there. I have a few that I took photos of to share here with you.

Thanks David!

Paul A Christner

[Tim Weber]

The Q-24 is Dominic Defebo. He's sporting a brand new Austin, yes of Bobby Austin fame. Some of the stock guys are trying to see how well a stock type boat, in this case basically a CSR works with a 125 on it. This is what Jerry Davids is doing too.

Tim

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Great pictures Paul. I was sure glad to see those pics of Paul Simison and Phil Wagner. I know one tall Texas that is drooling at the mouth waiting for you to post those pics from Paul Simison. (Me too):cool: You can expect to see some fantastic shots of both his brother Jerry and also Jerry Waldman. These pics should be from a very historic time in racing is my guess.

[Tim Chance]

Good job Paul, next best thing to being there.

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

Ain't "The Web" and BRF great, and you also Paul. Hope you can make the one next week also, and help us all that can't be there enjoy it.

Bill Van

[F-12]

I spent all day on Friday there working with David Hooten and visiting all my old friends.............WITH MY BLACK QUINCY SHIRT ON............and I never found Paul. I didn't see anybody else showing the Quincy pride. Just kidding............I was too busy looking at the new Konneys and VRPs. Tim Chance.........you were missed even if you just came down to spectate. (and Ann too). Things are looking very fast for this coming season....................

[Amateur Photog]

More from Lake Hernando:

Bruce Nicholson & driver Buddy Tennell
KPRO driver Zach McGuire stays dry getting to his boat
Amy & Kurt Nydahl
Joey Waterson & family wait for the next heat in KPRO
Mike Schmidt ready to go
David Mitchell gets a tow back to the pits after breaking his boat
KPRO podium winner Amy Nydahl, Wendy Eldredge (2nd) & Kurt Nydahl (3rd)

[Amateur Photog]

a few more.....


Chris Hellsten's new ride
A great crowd looks on
500cc runabouts prepare for their heat
David Jones gets wet before the start of 125 hydro
Shawn Cavannaugh rides the roostertail of David Augustine
David Hooten
Dom DiFebo and Brian Payn in 125 runabout

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Incredibly great photos Jean.

[Gene East]

How great is this?

Paul Christner, Jean Tennell and others keeping us posted with top notch photos of current events.

We have the historical archives of Wayne Baldwin and soon Paul Simison (two of the best boat racing photographers of all times).

What more could you ask for???

[aojesus]

AmaturePhotog AKA Photogirl,......
I was supposed to see you at Ocoee about some Jesup pictures but I couldn't figure out which lady with the camera was you. Are you going to Lake Wales? Great pictures!!

[Amateur Photog]

Hi Russ-
We'll be at Lake Wales sometime on Friday. I'll be the one with a camera in one hand, chasing after this little guy.........or just look for the "Hydroplaning When Wet" trailer.

[aojesus]

You're Sam's Mom? Heck, everybody knows Sam! If I would have known that I would have found you! We will look you up at Lake Wales and say hello!

[dlmurray]

a few more.....


Chris Hellsten's new ride
A great crowd looks on
500cc runabouts prepare for their heat
David Jones gets wet before the start of 125 hydro
Shawn Cavannaugh rides the roostertail of David Augustine
David Hooten
Dom DiFebo and Brian Payn in 125 runabout


It was 350cc Runabout, not 500 runabout.