March
1, 2010
From:
PWCOFFSHORE.com
The
February 27, 2010 Hot Products APBA Mark Hahn Memorial Havasu 300 Team
Endurance Championship.
The
best PWC / Jet Ski Endurance Racers in the world gathered once again
in Lake Havasu City, Arizona to take on the 6th Annual Mark Hahn
Memorial 300 Mile race. Defending champions Mark Gerner and
Robert Carreon of PWCOFFSHORE.com Racing were there in force to defend
their 2009 title on their Kawasaki ULTRA 250X but would be outmatched
by Factory Monster Kawasaki’s World Champion Craig Warner and Victor
Sheldon who took the win and 2010 Mark Hahn Memorial National
Championship in a new record setting time of 4 hours and 42 minutes.
The
Mark Hahn Memorial 300 Mile Race is run every year in honor of fallen
racer Mark Hahn and is produced by DSM Events with support of promoter
Ross Wallach of RPM Racing Enterprises and Mike Follmer of Yamaha
Factory Racing. The race can be participated in by a
single racer (Iron Man) or in two man/woman teams. Strategy, Pit
Crew process, fuel consumption, a racer's endurance training and a
fast and extremely reliable craft all play a role in competing in and
successful completion of this 300 mile endurance race. What
makes this race unique is that the fastest craft does not always win.
This race is about finding that point of diminishing return between
speed and reliability to complete six hours of full throttle
competition. The first racer to complete 30, 10-mile laps wins.
The 2010 Mark Hahn Race did not disappoint, the promoters put on yet
another great event with an epic banquet.
The
weather conditions were forecasted to be rainy, windy and cold; racers
were bracing for yet another epic rough water battle that would push
racers to the limit as the brutal conditions did at the 2009 Mark Hahn
Race. When racers awoke on race day, the conditions were mild
and would stay that way throughout the day.
The
Grand Prix Start was triggered by a shot gun blast that sent over
forty race teams sprinting to their craft to start and throttle up for
the 300 mile race. Nicolas Ruis took an early lead in an
exciting start, literally walking away from the pack on the fastest
Yamaha most including myself have ever seen. Ruis built an
enormous lead and a blistering pace on the first lap followed by
Kawasaki’s Craig Warner, PWCOFFSHORE’s Sean Conner and Rick
Trevezio. Ruis would experience a mechanical issue with only
five laps completed taking him out of the competition.
Factory Monster Kawasaki Racer Craig Warner took an early lead and
would maintain it throughout the entire race on his Kawasaki ULTRA
260X. The Kawasaki would perform flawlessly throughout the
entire race putting in one of the fastest lap times of the day of
8:14.539 for the 10 mile loop. Craig Warner is also the two-time
Offshore National Champion, winning both the 2008 and 2009 APBA Long
Beach to Catalina and Back Offshore National Championship Race and a
closed course World Champion. Warner would not disappoint his
fans by putting in yet another spectacular performance on his 260X and
a new record time for the event. Craig Warner said “The
fastest boat doesn’t always win. In endurance racing, being
consistent is the best way to go into a race. I have learned over the
past few years, sometimes the less you push it on the race course the
faster you go!”
Second
place overall finisher Mike Follmer and Tony Beck put in an impressive
performance on his R&D Yamaha with an emotional finish. Mike
Follmer aka "The Chief" is the man behind this race,
without him this race would never have happened. Mike would
receive a standing ovation at the banquet for his hard work and
dedication to the sport. "It has been a year in the making
for me" said Mike, "I think we have pushed this event to
another level now. This was a great day for our R&D Yamaha
team Follmer. Our pit crew teamwork was what made our day so
special with 30 second fuel stops all day and a great team mate Tony
Beck. 30 laps and 300 miles with a record time for this year’s
event and so many great stories by all the racers, what more can you
ask for."
Defending
Mark Hahn champions Mark Gerner and Robert Carreon showed up with
their heavily modified Kawasaki ULTRA250X but would experience a minor
hick-up with the Kawasaki prior to the practice lap forcing them to
quickly move their transponder over to their backup SeaDoo RXT race
craft. PWCOFFSHORE Founder Mark Gerner said “We are pleased to
have been able to finish. Our SeaDoo burned through an
additional two gallons of oil throughout the race, a reflection of the
toll this race takes on race craft and the absolutely magnificent job
our Pit Crew did just keeping us running in this race.
Robert Carreon said “Gerner and I are honored to have shared the
course with so many talented racers and congratulate Craig Warner and
Victor Sheldon for their great win and record time on their Kawasaki
ULTRA260X.” Pat Roque and Paul Pham of Catalina Crew would put
in an impressive performance on their 2010 SeaDoo RXTX passing Gerner
and Carreon on their ailing SeaDoo to take 3 rd place
overall. At the end of the day, Gerner and Carreon would take 4th
place overall.
Ironman
winners for the most solo laps were Steven Leprhon racing 26 laps on
his Kawasaki with the Standup Iron man going to racer Peter Yauri
putting in an impressive 18 laps on his Yamaha Standup. The
Ironman is a special award as most teams race with a partner giving
each racer a 35 minute break, these racers have no rest and go it
alone. Congratulations are in order for these two racers.
Mike Hackler would win the standup class putting in an impressive 19
laps on a standup watercraft.
KMG
Racing was there in numbers to take on the challenge and put in an
impressive performance with a team of talented racers and aggressive
KMG Racing Pit Crew Team. Dave Hardenburger would receive
The Mark Hahn Memorial Cup for his support of racing. “Out of
my 24 years of racing, receiving the Mark Hahn Memorial Cup means more
than any other award I have received.” KMG Racing Team member
Dave Fekete raised big money for every lap completed in support of The
Challenged Athlete Foundation which is an organization that supports
athletes who have endured serious injury but continue to compete in
various forms of sporting events. Dave Fekete and his team
represented the sport with great class at the 2010 Mark Hahn Memorial.
Ross
Wallach of RPM Racing Enterprises, the promoter of the Triple Crown of
Offshore Racing said "The 2010 Mark Hahn Havasu Memorial 300 was
by far the best one of the 6 events. I am so pleased to be affiliated
with this great event and to see the best endurance racers in the
Country competing at this prestigious event as well as the camaraderie
I witnessed throughout the race."
The
event’s first Best SeaDoo Pit Crew Award was given to the
PWCOFFSHORE.com Racing Pit Crew led by Aaron Cress and Russell Libby
with additional team members Mike Arnold, Tommy Kolleck, John Feeney
and Dave “Pirate” Tew. The team would immediately donate
their award money to the Challenged Athlete Foundation.
The
banquet and awards were over the top as usual, testament to
Follmer’s commitment to this race. The highlight of the banquet was
the attendance of Mrs. Sandy Hahn, Mark Hahn’s wife who gave a brave
and emotional speech to the racers.
Another
fantastic event put on by the promoters! See everyone next year
for the 7th Annual 2011 Mark Hahn Memorial Race! Mr.
Mark Hahn, your legacy lives on Sir.
Congratulations
Kawasaki for their second consecutive win!
The Triple Crown of Offshore Starts
on March 28, 2010 at Dana Point, Ca. The series includes the
epic Long Beach to Catalina APBA Offshore National Championship Race
on July 18, 2010. Go to www.pwcoffshore.com
www.lb2cat.com
or www.jetskioffshore.com
for more information.
2010 Hot Products APBA Mark Hahn Memorial Havasu 3002010 APBA Mark Hahn 300 Overall Results 2010 APBA Mark Hahn 300 Class Results
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