July
20, 2010
By
PWCOFFSHORE
The
July 18, 2010 APBA Offshore National Championship by Hot Products and
SeaDoo in Long Beach Ca., USA. aka
“The LB2CAT”
The
biggest names in racing gathered for the 2010 APBA Offshore National
Championship sponsored by Hot Products and Sea Doo. This is the second
of three races for the Triple Crown of Offshore Racing Championship
Series (TCO).
The
Long Beach to Catalina and Back Race Offshore Race is a 58 mile round
trip race across the channel and back from the Queen Mary to a turn
boat off the coast of Avalon and back to the Queen Mary.
Professional Racers are doing the roundtrip in an hour’s
time. Navigation, a fast
craft and physical fitness all play a role in a successful race.
Pre-race:
The
sound of various race craft at the Queensway launch ramp peaked
as the PRO Open boats started up. The sound was pure glory.
It was clear that many showed up with their craft “set on
kill” for this highly anticipated Offshore National Championship
Race. There was much on
the line this year for the race teams. TAD Racing traveled from
Texas with team rider Tyler White seeking another podium finish on his
RXTX with Andy Wise representing the team on a heavily modified
Kawasaki. Incumbent
Offshore National Champion Craig Warner was going for his third
consecutive win and a 'three-peat'. This would be the
only time in the LB2CAT history since Billy Womack that a racer could
potentially win three Championships in a row.
Chris MacClugage aka “Macc” of www.maccracing.com
was back to protect his lead in the 2010 Triple Crown of Offshore
racing his Yamaha. 2009
second place LB2CAT finisher and 2009 Incumbent 'Triple Crown of
Offshore' Champion Mark Gerner of www.pwcoffshore.com
race team executed a 'gloves off build' with Technician Aaron
Cress on his Kawasaki ULTRA. This PWCOFFSHORE race boat was reportedly
producing 400 horsepower of ocean racing fury.
Robert Carreon of PWCOFFSHORE was racing his Piston Ultra with
his sights on a podium high points finish as a contention for TCO
points. Lee Phan had a
quiet build going on with an ULTRA that was rumored to be ready to be
in the mix. Many
speculated that it was a Turbo Ultra (the first of its kind in a
LB2CAT) but this could not be confirmed.
Sean Conner had an extremely fast SeaDoo built by master
technician Steve Friebe. Conner
had engaged in an aggressive off water training regime. Chris
Lawrence was said to have a craft that was going to blow the doors off
of many on the course.
The
intensity in the air on race morning was palatable.
World class Racer Macc stretching was off in the grass by
himself. One could see his racing mindset coming to the surface
as Macc prepped himself and his craft.
Craig Warner had his entourage from Kawasaki staging gear next
to the Kawasaki Monster Energy Drink Van.
World famous racer and safety instructor Ms. Shawn Alladio and
the crew from www.K38WaterSafety.com
were doing final gear reviews with www.liquidmilitia.com
Clothing close by filming the events and supporting the offshore
racers. KMG Racing was in
force with Looter and Dave and Dawn Fekete leading the charge.
Other classes had close to stock craft that were also highly
tuned and racers that had been training for nearly a year in
preparation fiord the race. Legendary
offshore racer and PWCOFFSHORE Hall of Famer Billy Womack was in the
parking lot shaking hands and encouraging racers.
Yes,
that Billy
Womack, the man who played a huge role in taking our sport to the next
level, and a pure class act to boot.
Former LB2CAT Champion John Anick was there to support the
scene. There was history,
legacy racers and talent everywhere.
The
Line:
Ross
Wallach of RPM Racing Enterprises announced at 8 am “we have a green
light, we are good to go.” The smell of race gas permeated the ocean
air as over 40 craft with racers in full performance and safety gear
made their way to the line for a 9 am start time.
The vibe in the air was just plain intense.
Many had their eye on Craig Warner and Chris MacClugage as they
made their way to the line; this would be the first time in history
that the two would battle for a prestigious Long Beach to Catalina and
Back Championship. Many
had anticipated flat water; however this would not be the case.
There was discussion around 'five footers' outside the
break-wall, and so it would be. Yes,
there appeared to be a glow on the face of many of PWCOFFSHORE.com
Racing’s Sponsored Racers, this is the sea state they seek out and
train in. They
appeared to be beaming in recognition of the possibilities.
Notably Robert Carreon and Mark Gerner almost simultaneously
making the sign of the cross and pointed looking up in the sky as they
approached the line. So
much had gone into preparing for this race; time, training, injuries,
healing, countless hours by technicians working on the craft,
mechanicals, decisions regarding setup, rebuilds – the sea state was
up and it was time to
produce results!. Hard
Core Offshore was the theme of the morning, it could not be denied,
and apprehension was in the air. Anticipation and soon, disappointment
and rewards awaited those who stayed the course.
The
Start:
The
PWCOFFSHORE.com film helicopter appeared. The orange flag went
up and was quickly followed by a green flag. Over 10,000
horsepower roared to life as these craft rocketed across the water
behind the Long Beach harbor break-wall.
Those who have done this race before will tell you that the
true race doesn’t start until you exit the harbor gate and encounter
the Pacific and her potentially unforgiving channel between Long Beach
and Catalina Island. Heartbreak:
Many noticed that Macc was not there; after all of Macc’s
preparation, he had an unfortunate mechanical that kept him from
starting. Soon, others
would follow and become part of the chain reaction that led to the
victory of the second wave.
The
Race:
Instantly
there were two distinct race packs. The high horsepower modified
PRO OPEN craft in front walking away and the stock (or close to stock)
craft in a separate following pack.
This year was unique; none of the racers could remember having
this much capable talent and impeccably tuned powerful craft on the
line. As the first pack
of PRO racers exited the break-wall the racers encounter big ocean
swells and sweeping fog. Nobody
backed down or backed off the throttle.
It was quite a sight to see. The higher horsepower craft
launched through the air at 70 mph plus with skilled offshore racers
putting on an incredible demonstration of riding prowess, skill and
raw power. This race hasn’t seen this potential in years,
if ever. Many of
the craft were getting enormous air as the large swells outside the
gate met the racers head-on; it was captured by the www.pwcoffshore.com
helicopter tracking overhead. The
first few miles looked like a war on the water.
But, there would be a price to pay for this, by some of the
competitors.
Out
of the Queen’s gate Craig Warner took the lead by a small margin,
followed closely by Sean Conner, Pat Roque, Lee Phan, Mark Gerner,
Chris Lawrence, and Robert Carreon, Andy Wise and Tyler White all
mixing it up close behind. Robert
Carreon of PWCOFFSHORE broke a belt on his Kawasaki ULTRA 250X just
outside the break wall and was out. Lee Phan fell back a bit, leaving
Craig Warner, Pat Roque, Mark Gerner, Tyler White and then Sean Conner
battling for holding positions to take the lead.
Tyler
White’s RXTX would break a few miles outside the break wall,
followed by race leader and 'Back to Back' Champion Craig Warner about
two miles out. Mark
Gerner then took over the lead as the race headed into unexpected
heavy fog conditions. Pat Roque de-laminated his hull about this same
time and fell back a bit. Andy Wise of TAD Racing fell victim to
a mechanical on his Kawasaki ULTRA 260X, followed by another breakdown
by Chris Lawrence on his Yamaha.
The PRO boats were taking a beating.
With
the fog growing thicker, Mark Gerner stayed on the throttle racing his
heavily modified Kawasaki ULTRA250X and built a two-mile lead of the
field and was first across the channel to the turn boat off Catalina
Island. His turn boat time was 35 minutes, ahead loomed a faster
return pace running with the swell. Unfortunately for Gerner, about a
mile into the return leg back to Long Beach and with an impressive 2.5
mile lead, Gerner too would fall victim to a supercharger belt.
His craft broke and he was out of the race.
That
left a former LB2CAT Overall winner Pat Roque of the Catalina Crew
second position to the turn boat and assumed the lead. Roque was
followed by Sean Conner of PWCOFFSHORE Racing on his RXT who was
trailing Pat Roque by 60 yards. Kim Bushong of PWCOFFSHORE Racing a
tracked a distant third but still in an impressive position
considering he was on an almost stock craft.
More than halfway back to Long Beach Pat Roque, too, would
suffer a mechanical and was out of the race. While Kim Bushong, a
formidable rough water rider would pass Conner to take over first
place and begin to build a sizable lead in the fog and outside the
Queens Gate entrance into the harbor.
Conner would ultimately fall back, losing his position to Paul
Pham, and Vet/Master Class Kim Bushong of PWCOFFSHORE Racing would
hold on for the overall win! Paul
Pham finished second and newcomer Brian Steeves placed third overall
in his first offshore race on a stock Yamaha SHO!
The top three finishers battled 58 miles of changing course
conditions and elements to take the podium. Navigation was also an
extremely important element in this race. Many lost positions due to a
navigational error or nursing a mechanical to the finish line.
Of
note, first, second and third place finishers were all on nearly stock
boats. The incredible
carnage in the PRO OPEN class was so pervasive that Shawn Alladio of
K38 Water Safety / Liquid Militia / PWCOFFSHORE Racing unselfishly
stopped her own race and just resorted to tow and rescue for broken
down racers scattered across the course.
Alladio traveled across the channel all the way to Catalina
Island to tow in the broken craft of teammate Mark Gerner who was
waiting at Avalon.
It
was utter destruction for many in the PRO Class.
The PROS were holding heavily modified race rockets wide open
in big water and it took a toll.
The entire class minus two racers had issues.
This is a testament to a number of things 1) The power these
modified craft are now producing
2) The degree of intensity the PRO Pilots were pushing their
craft in heavy water 3) How some of these racers were pushing the
envelope with both the throttle and their modifications.
Kim
Bushong has been racing watercraft for well over a decade.
A world class athlete, Kim is a former top ten finisher in the
Kona, Hawaii 'Iron Man'. It
should be noted that he led his Iron Man race for the swim through the
bike ride, after the marathon he still finished top ten.
Kim started off on an old Tigershark Jet Ski and laughs about
bouncing across the channel to Catalina Island back in the 90’s.
He has well over 100 cross channel transits and is known to
have a great deal of stamina, tolerance for pain and rough water
riding capability. Bushong
was in the top three at the LB2CAT a few years ago and blew a belt on
his ULTRA and was out of the race, last year he finished 4th
overall and now has taken the Championship!!
There have been many hours of training and sweat equity from
Kim over the years. What
is unique about this year’s race is that Kim was on hiatus to pursue
his latest venture which is international paddling competitions.
Bushong has been traveling the globe for the last six months in
pursuit of championships. Add
the LB2CAT to the List Kim, you did it and you deserve it.
After the race Kim said “You cannot control what others do,
or how they are doing, no matter how bad you are doing, or perceive
you are doing, or how bad you feel, never give up, fight to the end,
If you put all you have into it, good things will happen, never, ever,
give up. “ Amen to that
Kim.
Tommy
Kolleck of Southern California took the Amateur Open Class on his
Kawasaki ULTRA 250X with an injured wrist.
“Dynamic conditions” said Tommy.
Brian Largarticha took the Superstock Limited, a new class that
Brian himself initiated. He
won racing his SeaDoo IS. Warren
Frank won the Challenged Athlete Class on his Kawasaki ULTRA260X.
Warren is an amputee that did this race on a prosthetic, quite
impressive. Warren would
also go on to win the PWCOFFSHORE.com Award for Excellence later in
the day. Sean Conner took
the PRO OPEN Class with one of the last remaining PRO boats running.
Of course Kim Bushong won the Vet/Master Class.
And the standout of the day was Brian Steeves, brand new racer,
brand new to offshore, first race and he takes the podium and wins the
Sportsman Class!
The
field was also honored to see legendary Water Skier Mike Murphy on the
course racing in the Vet Master Class.
Mike Murphy is an inventor and groundbreaker in water sports.
Anyone that knows waterskiing knows Murphy from winning the
Catalina Water Ski Race to setting world speed records to his Fosters
Beer Commercial to his world travels.
This man has done it all.
For
the new racers out there or the racers that don't want to invest the
time and money in a full on race craft, you too can win this race and
or be in the top three on the podium!
We believe that two of the three podium boats were essentially
100% bone stock! Never
again should it be spoken that “your craft is not fast enough” to
win this race or participate in the LB2CAT Race!
There are many dimensions of this race that make it possible
for anyone to win on any give day.
The
race footage helicopters were all forced to turn back due to the
increasing fog layer only a few miles into the race but were still
able to get some fantastic pictures.
.
The
little video we did get from the helicopter was hardcore!”
Kawasaki
now has the greatest number of LB2CAT Offshore National Championship
Titles, taking that away from Polaris.
Racer
Quotes / Interviews Following the Race:
Ms.
Shawn Alladio:
'The LB2CAT was everything that a hardened offshore racer could
ask for. Except for the
fog conditions. It is a shame all the top fueled race boats fell
away in the race. There is no honor in a race that takes out the
best, I know folks say 'that's racing' and to some degree it is.
For me to see or hear about a real race challenge being earned across
the line is my personal dream of this event. That
challenged was handed down to the next tier level of racers who did
just that. They stepped it up and stayed the course. Kim
Bushong is not a surprise for the win, he's a focused and driven
competitor. Anyone could have won this race in those conditions with
the navigational and mechanical issues, on July 18th, it was
Kim's race.'
Mark
Gerner: “That was a race!
I was so pleased about the sea state; this is water that I
thrive in. I love the
intensity of the rough and was eager to get the race started and not
miss what appeared to be tough water outside the gate, that was a true
offshore race and what we wish for!
I felt the zone in this race, pushed the envelope, put the
mouthpiece to good use, lost a GPS while hammering through five footer
at 65 mph, and have a few bumps and bruises, perfect.
Just the way we like it. To
be candid, it’s difficult to have a mechanical when you have that
far of a lead and at that stage of the race.
But that is racing, you have to finish to win it and this was
not an uncommon story today. I would have loved to see Shawn Alladio
on a Kawasaki ULTRA260 out there battling in that sea state, this is
her kind of water also.
I feel bad for Warner, Macc, Tyler White, Andy Wise, Carreon
and all of the others that also worked so hard and had mechanicals,
some barely got the opportunity to compete.
That is racing and on any given day anything can happen.
I would have enjoyed seeing everyone keep their craft rolling
and truly battle it out in that sea sate for the entire race, epic.
There was so much talent out there.
I will go home tonight, have a glass of Merlot, wake up Monday
morning and start the process of preparation for 2011. I will be even
more motivated to win, I will be ready again.
I will also continue to do all I can to support this truly
fantastic event and wonderful community of offshore
racers. All of
which are like extended family to me.
He / she who cross the line first is the
Champion that is the bottom line.
I am happy for my good friend Kim Bushong,
Kim has worked so hard for over
a decade in pursuit of a win here, it was his day and on an
almost stock boat to boot! LB2CAT
Platinum Club for the year 2010, Kim Bushong.
You have to love it. Given
that Kim is a world class athlete, he is incredibly humble down to
earth and just a great guy - he
deserves this. I
am so very proud and happy for Kim.
I am also very happy to see the number of new racers we have on
the course! See you next” year!”
Warren
Frank:
“Well I just think as a team that trains in fog and rough
water, the conditions were absolutely ideal for us. To me the
conditions defined "offshore racing" compared to the three
other races I did which had flat water and clear visibility.
Even for the top racers in the sport other than our team or riders
that train in those conditions, I’m certain it messes up their
game to navigate with a GPS while their hull is slamming up and down
thousands of times in the race compared the going WOT on flat water with
the ability to see Catalina very clearly as they exit Long Beach
Harbor. Just the fact that I’ve trained in the past with Mark Gerner
and Shawn Alladio in very thick fog going WOT made me feel
comfortable. Even with 2 dead GPS's I didn’t panic
and did what I thought would be best to finish the race as fast as
possible even though I did mess up a little. But without my
training in those conditions, things could have got a lot worse.
Also in the past three races I totally over-trained on the
water. I beat my body up to where I was aching in every joint
non stop. I think for me personally its better to train on the
water once a week and cross train with other activities like weights,
stair climbs, swimming, mountain and spin bike. In previous
races I kept my whole body weight back with my arms extended
and if I hit a big bump Id hit the face portion of my helmet on
the bars and my shoulders, elbows, forearms and hands would
fatigue within 15 mins. This last race I positioned my
upper body over and in front of the bars and taking much less strain
and not getting nearly as fatigued as before. A few times when I
took a big hit, I slammed my chest into the bars. I'm not sure
if this position works for everyone or even if it’s good for the
pump to hookup best but it worked for me. Endurance racing is
not always about top speed WOT, it’s about keeping a good fast
pace while riding as efficient as possible going in the straightest
line possible.”
John
“The Master of the Channel” Belton
who has over 600 cross channel transits on a PWC:
"This was probably the most difficult race I have ever
done. Visibility was horrible along with an inconsistent swell
pattern which made for a difficult ride".
Legendary
Water Skier Mike Murphy:
“It was a great race, I need to learn how to more effectively
utilize my GPS System, I need to be able to better navigate in this
kind of fog. This year
there was nobody to follow really in the fog due to limited visibility
on parts of the course. It
was so fun! Shawn Alladio
sacrificed her race to tow other racers and to just help other people,
she knew there was a more important role for her and she made a
sacrifice and I think that is just great.
I thought that was really cool.
Robert
Carreon:
“This was the offshore race that would prove Man &
machine would need to be as one. For some it was all that, For Kim
Bushong, he proved that sometimes it's not a horsepower race, but
steady wins the race. The water was big, the fog was thick, in the
end, The Iron Man from www.Pwcoffshore.com
came out on top. I was
hoping for rough water, as the Ultra does well in that type of water.
The winds were up in the morning. My ski had been running good. It
felt strong, and was running as quick as ever.
I told the scoring boat, just before they pulled out from the
dock, Look for #21, I'll be the first guy to cross the line...And I
was.But I was the first guy to break and cross the line. I'll be more
specific next year. (true story, ask Arnold's wife).”
Pictures:
PWCOFFSHORE.com
Racing is sponsored by R&D, Hydro-Turf and Fly Racing
Thank
you Brian Bowen, Adrianna Carreon, Russell Libby and Dave Pirate Tew -
and all other supporters, you know who you are and you know why.
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