Qualifying

Go Probe!

September 22nd.  The first official day of Fall.  But you'd think that it was really Halloween.  Boats often ran 10 times faster than normal...for two laps.  Sheets of paper would drop from the sky and stand perfectly and vertically on the bench.  Traditionally fast boats either didn't run fast or didn't finish.  Propeller blades and entire propellers just fell off.  Maybe it was an omen.  TWO hulls nearly caught fire as they were being prepared for the 2012 Gold Cup.

The Hollywood garage, home to Lake Kosciusko, was...indeed...possessed.

And... the PROBE won it's second race in a row and is the 2012 Gold Cup Champion.  It will now be known as "The Devil's Boat."

Well...maybe not.  That award has to go to both THUNDERBOLT and the brand new GALE V.  

At the start of Heat 1, THUNDERBOAT ran so fast that it jumped the gun...twice.  It blazed around the course for over two full laps, running over anything in its path...then flipped...twice.  After all that, it settled in for a third place finish behind a stunned PROBE and TIMEX.  Jeff Dunn's brand new GALE V showed similar bursts of speed.

Hank Kosciusko's BEAUTIFUL new WILDROOT CHARLIE looked great through the whole day, qualifying for the final heat in its first race.   The new GALE V also made the finals.  The other suprose of the day was Mark Weber's BLUE CHIP - who was leading Heat 3C before the hull stopped.  That allowed the cabover Miss Bardahl to grab its first heat win of the year.  

Dave Crockenberg's MISS EXIDE finally seemed to wake up and ran really strong in Heat 3E, but was penalized for barely jumping the gun.  

Both the consolation and final heats were real barn burners.  The PROBE caught the GALE V after lap 3 and the two ran deck to deck until the PROBE broke away on lap 7 and went on to win the Gold Cup.   Congratulations to Mark Weber! 

Mark Miller continues to lead the High Point standings with 1 or two races left in the season - depending on which official was bribed.

 Thank you (again) to Hank Kosciuszko for hosting!

Gold Cup Final Point Standings

2012 Highpoint Standings after 4 Races

2012 Owner Highpoint Standings after 4 Races
(no awards or even honor...just interesting)