Hours after his throttleman and team chief, Grant Bruggeman, had actually left the Thunder on Cocoa Beach offshore powerboat race a number of weeks back, Wayne Valder, the owner of the 42-foot MTI catamaran, Valder Yachts/Pro Floors Racing, called out the race winners, Tyler Miller and Myrick Coil of the Monster Energy/M CON group. At the awards event in Cocoa Beach, Fla., Valder said that he was pertaining to the next race, the LOTO Powerfest on their home waters of Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri, to beat them.
Valder Yachts/Pro Floors Racing owner and drive Wayne Valder was enjoyed fly the checkered flag following Saturday’s Super Cat race at the relabelled LOTO Powerboat at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Photos by Jeff Helmkamp/Helmkamp Photos
“I found out a little bit later that week that he said that,” Bruggemann chuckled after taking the wire-to-wire win in the Super Cat race today outrunning owner/throttleman Miller and driver Coil in their 38-foot Skater Powerboats cat. When the green flag flew, the 2 boats retreated from the eight-boat Super Cat fleet and waged a torrid fight on the five-mile course.
“When I open my mouth, I have to stand on what I say,” said Valder, who flies to the U.S. from New Zealand for each race. “I needed to make sure I followed through on it.”
For the majority of the 31 groups that participated in LOTO Powerfest, the race in the nation’s heartland was the 2nd one they completed in and the 3rd they participated in since weather condition canceled racing for lots of groups at the season opener in Marathon, Fla. It was the very first race arranged and run by New Jersey’s Offshore Powerboat Association this season and the occasion went off without a drawback. It consisted of Formula 1 tunnel boat and Texas Tri Hull races in between the overseas competitors that kept fans on the coast captivated. Results are informal since this writing.
“The race went off with no problems at all,” said veteran throttleman Jay Muller. “It was a solid weekend.”
The Super Cat groups placed on a terrific program for the overseas racing fans in the area to take a look at the OPA-produced occasion.
A main factor for that was the involvement of 8 groups in the Super Cat class, 4 of which call Lake of the Ozarks their home waters. Lanes were drawn after the driver’s conference and the 40-foot Skater, WHM Motorsports, with owner/driver Billy Mauff and throttleman Muller had the lead with Valder Yachts/Pro Floors Racing in lane 2, the 38-foot Skater, Graydel, with owner/driver Chris Grant and throttleman Billy Moore in lane 3 with
M CON in lane 4. The 39-foot Outerlimits, SV Offshore, with throttleman Vinnie Diorio and driver Matt Jamniczky, remained in lane 5 and simply beyond them were regional boaters, owner/driver Randy Keys and throttleman Billy Allen, in the 40-foot Skater, KLOVAR Motorsports. Driver Jason Ventura and throttleman Bill Pyburn had lane 7 in their 38-foot Skater, Dirty Money, and the regional group of Casey Boaz and Rub Unnerstal who had actually whipped through the day on Friday switching engines remained in the outdoors lane in their 38-foot Skater, CR Racing.
At the start, M CON, Valder Yachts and WHM apart themselves from the fleet.
“That’s the best start we’d had in a long time,” Muller said. “It was definitely good to be back up front with the lead group.”
The Super Cats ran 10 laps on the tight five-mile course near Camden on the Lake. The southern end of the course had more of a sweeping turn that groups might take at speed, however the larger difficulty came at the other end of the liquid racetrack. The winds were burning out of the north into the tunnels of the catamarans and despite the fact that there were 3 buoys marking the turn, the drivers needed to take it more like a tight two-pin turn.
As Valder Yachts and M CON distanced themselves from the pack, the commentators on the livestream commented that the previous was pressing the latter large in the northern turn.
Added Valder, “We had to make sure we consistently held our lines in the turns and in the straightaways. We have rearview mirrors and a rearview camera and we could see them there the whole time.”
As the throttleman, Bruggemann entered into the race positive that he might run the boat’s twin Kasse Racing engines at the class’ max rpm of 7,000. The boats struck leading speeds approaching 130 miles per hour and Bruggemann had the true blessing of the engine home builder to remain on the throttles. “I have no worries running them hard when Logan Smolik from Kasse said ‘Grant just run them,’” Bruggemann said.
Through the last half of the race, Coil and Miller attempted various lines, however the closest they got to Valder Yachts was 2 seconds. Bruggemann and Valder took the checkered flag followed by M CON, WHM Motorsports and Graydel. Moore said that he and Grant might run hard into the turns however they didn’t have the speed coming out of the corners.
After the race, Miller praised his competitors.
“Those guys raced a helluva race today,” Miller said. “It’s so much fun when you get out of these things and you battled the entire 10 laps. They had the perfect lines. They were just better than us today.”
Looking at the Super Cat class, Bruggemann said that despite the fact that they all talk smack to each other, the owners in the group all regard each other.
“When Wayne arrived up here, he was still laying down the smack talk with all the guys,” Bruggemann said. “Between him, Billy Mauff, Chris Grant, they’re all characters. It makes the whole Super Cat class very colorful.”
One of the biggest American flags in Missouri was on complete display screen throughout the LOTO Powerfest races.
Dropping The Hammer
The second-most inhabited class was Super Stock with 6 boats, despite the fact that the boat owners in the class voted not to make LOTO Powerfest a points race for the championship games. Four of the boats gone into in the race call Lake of the Ozarks home.
The start of the 10-lap race saw the 32-foot Victory, Jackhammer, with owner/driver Reese Langheim and throttleman Julian Maldonado, get where it ended in Cocoa Beach, leading wire to wire for the win at LOTO Powerfest.
“It was a great start,” said Langheim, who drove the boat from lane 2. The 32-foot Doug Wright, Team Allen Lawn Care and Landscaping, with owner/throttleman Bill Allen and driver John Strama had lane one.
Reese Langheim and Julian Maldonado won their 2nd successive Super Stock-class race on Saturday in their 32-foot Victory cat.
Fellow Ozarks boaters throttleman Rusty Williams and driver Coil in the 32-foot Doug Wright, Performance Boat Center/FASS Diesel Fuel Systems, offered chase to the leader from lane 3. Owner/throttleman Loren Peters and driver Mike Wright, another regional group in the 32-foot Doug Wright, LPC, remained in lane 4. Throttleman Shaun Torrente and owner/driver Sean Conner in the 32-foot MTI, CMR Roofing, didn’t get the start they desired. Neither did Pete and AJ Bogino in their 32-foot Doug Wright, Coco’s Monkey.
Before the race, Langheim and his Manatee Marine Unlimited team ensured the Jackhammer boat’s setup was what they desired. The course looked calm, however still provided difficulties, particularly in the northern turn.
“The wind is coming from the north and blowing into turn 5 or 6,” Maldonado said. “We said, ‘It won’t turn, won’t turn and then it’s boom. We’d go from 108 mph to 75 in a matter of seconds. I figured out that everybody was doing the same thing because we were maintaining the same distance.”
After getting a start that was not up to CMR Roofing group requirements, Torrente said, “We didn’t do a good job the first lap and a half. Once we got that cleaned up, we moved forward. It’s not a points race and we came here to learn. We know the boat’s not where it needs to be and we’ll keep moving toward where it needs to be.”
Second location went to Coil and Williams, who were pleased to be on the podium, however said the north turn was the most tough. “The wind picked up a little bit before the race and you’d be going into the wind, you’d get it to set and it was hard to make that turn,” Williams said.
Perhaps the most significant efficiency gains were made by the Boginos in their 32-foot Doug Wright, Coco’s Monkey, that had actually been re-rigged with Mercury Racing 300R outboards at the last minute prior to the boat made its journey from upstate New York to Missouri. The father-son group made its method through the fleet and end up ending up 3rd.
“We tested 10 minutes yesterday,” Pete Bogino explained. “I don’t think I’m any faster, but there’s a little more punch,” he said of the torque boost with the 300Rs.
Six Super Stock-class boats lined up to start the race in front of countless viewers on Lake of the Ozarks.
Keeping Them Covered
With Marine Technology Inc., being based in Wentzville, Mo., it would have been simple to anticipate more boats in the 450R Factory Stock class. It was 2 39-foot MTI cats versus 2 38-foot Doug Wright catamarans on the entry list, however at the last minute, Edwin Scheer’s 38-foot Doug Wright, Hank’s Saloon, needed to scratch after surging to set up brand-new engines in the wake of turning in Marathon.
After revealing a lot of speed in Marathon, throttleman Ricky Maldonado and driver Logan Aidan leapt to the lead in their 38-foot Doug Wright, Doug Wright Powerboats/Waves and Wheels. As the 10 laps clicked off, it was clear the duo had actually nailed the setup since the boat extended its lead over the protecting world and nationwide champs, throttleman John Tomlinson and driver Taylor Scism, in the 39-foot MTI, TS Motorsports. Throttleman Gary Ballough and driver Willy Cabeza ran 3rd in their MTI sistership, GC Racing.
Doug Wright Powerboats/Waves and Wheels took the checkered flag running away with TS Motorsports in 2nd and GC Racing in 3rd.
“We’re just here to race,” said Adan, who included that he utilized an aerial picture of the course to find out how to take the northern turn. “I drew it out on my phone and try to figure out the best possible lines.”
The Doug Wright Powerboats/Waves and Wheels group of Logan Adan and Ricky Maldonado travelled to the 450R Factory Stock-class triumph.
Maldonado said the group extended its lead since it kissed a turn buoy when preventing another boat in a turn so he considered the possibility of a time charge.
“We wanted to put a minute on the other boats,” Maldonado said. “We had a really good setup. I went really small with the propellers and we got really good numbers out of the boat.”
Keeping things easy, Tomlinson said, “They had us covered today. Our boat had good speed, but we just got there too late.”
Also on the course for the last race of the day were Miller and Coil in their brand-new Class 1 Skater, Monster Energy/M CON. After running a couple of laps, they managed course with a mechanical concern. In Bracket 300 class, the 35-foot Fountain, Team Woody, with driver Billy Shipley and owner/throttleman Chad Woody ran unopposed to the checkers.
Getting It Started
In the very first overseas race of the day, 11 boats required to the course in 7 various classes. Steve and Stephen Kildahl ran uncontested in their 30-foot Extreme, Boatflater.com, in the Mod-V class. The only Stock V entry, the 30-foot Phantom, Cigar Monster, had driver Jimmy Wessel and throttleman Robby Goodwin on board. The 39-foot Velocity, GNS Racing, with Grant Greytok and throttleman Bill Reeves made the journey from Texas to take part—and win—in Bracket 200.
In Bracket 400, regional favorites owner/throttleman Jim Simmons and driver Jason Zolecki in the 34-foot Phantom, Simmons Marine, had a respectable fight with the 28-foot Challenger, Crazy Rhythm, with driver Ken Holden and throttleman Chuck Schell, however in the end Simmons Marine notched yet another win.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” Zolecki said. “But it was nice to have a boat to race against.”
Gerald Hayden of Michigan owns Crazy Rhythm and the unique boat powered by twin 630-hp little blocks developed by Tyler Crockett will be campaigning the complete OPA circuit this year.
“We did the parade lap and two swimmers jumped in the water,” Hayden said. “When we went to take off, one motor stalled. We’re friends living on our dream.”
Check out the slideshow above for more images from Saturday’s action.
In Bracket 600, the 1970 Magnum, Logan’s Heroes, with driver Chuck Martin and throttleman Steve LaPinta lasted longer than the 26-foot Scarab, ST Racing, with Sam Thompson and Travis Blackmore.
Doug Wright Powerboats used a $5,000 handbag to the rivals in Bracket 700 to honor the memory of Bracket 700 world champ James Jaronczyk, who died after a boating mishap previously in the spring.
Two Bracket 700 boats completed at the LOTO Powerfest and in the end, the 21-foot Superboat, Jackhammer with owner/driver Brian Guy and throttleman Julian Maldonado took the checkers followed by LOTO regional Derek Dawson and throttleman Beau Purtle in the boat Dawson created, The Punisher.
“After traveling for almost 22 hours, I was hoping for more boats,” said the triumphant Guy.
For Dawson whose Mercury Racing 300R almost fell off his boat throughout a leisurely cruise the week prior to the race, missing out on the home town occasion was not a choice. After understanding replacement parts for his engine were not going to get here on Wednesday prior to LOTO Powerfest, he put together a Mercury Racing 300XS powerhead with a belly and lower system he had in his shop in Lake of the Ozarks.
“It was 5 p.m. Wednesday and I was able to scrap it together and get it back to the pits Thursday morning,” Dawson said.
While Dawson had those issues, Bruggemann was already anticipating the pressure that Valder was going to place on the Valder Yachts/Pro Floors Racing group throughout the LOTO Powerfest awards event.
“I guarantee he’ll go to the awards and he’ll egg them on and he’ll keep it going on,” Bruggemann said. Offshore racing fans can just hope so.
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