PORT ANGELES — There’s a reason these boats have roll bars.
Sprint boat teams will attempt to stay upright and on-course Saturday while competing for a $10,000 prize purse in time trial action at Extreme Sports Park, 2917 W. Edgewood Drive.
Gates open at 8:30 a.m. Saturday with races starting at 10 a.m. in the second of two American Sprint Boat (ASB) Racing events in Port Angeles.
Three classes will compete: modified, which have engines of 350 cubic inches; 400s and unlimited.
The Badfish Racing No. 8 team of Scott Jensen and navigator Brittan Jensen won the modfied class, Bandit Racing No. 47 (Darrin Swindahl and his daughter Ashley) claimed the 400 and Port Angeles-based Wicked Racing No. 10 (Dan Morrison and his stepdaughter Cara McGuire) was the class of the unlimited boats in races held in late July in Port Angeles.
All winning teams hold a six-point lead over the second-place race team in their classes entering Saturday’s sprint to $10,000.
Elimination rounds and final laps for each class will be held in the afternoon and the racing usually wraps before 5 p.m.
There will be food vendors, race team merchandise for sale and a beer garden on site as well.
Drivers and navigators travel through a “rotation,” or series of around 30 twists and turns around the track’s maze of island, reaching speeds well in excess of 90 mph.
What makes sprint boat racing unique is drivers and navigators have just hours to memorize Saturday’s rotation and never get a chance to practice on the course. The pressure is on sprint boat teams, to qualify, and to win, from the opening second of Saturday’s races.
Saturday’s rotation will be released at the free Sprint Boat Show and Shine today from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Lower Elwha Food and Fuel, along U.S. Highway 101 at 4773 S. Dry Creek Road.
Sprint boat teams will have their boats checked out to ensure they meet technical and safety requirements and fans are welcome to take pictures and talk racing with drivers and navigators.
A turnout of around 20 boats are expected to compete across the three classes at Extreme Sports Park on Saturday.
The boats never race together, as the course is too narrow for multiple boats.
Miss a turn and boats earn a Do Not Finish, placing each sprint boat team’s emphasis on first memorizing, and then communicating the track layout via a series of hand signals.
Crashes are common, some of them roll-over spectacles, but drivers and navigators typically walk away unharmed thanks to strong roll-bars and other safety features.
Tickets are $25 for those age 16 years and older, $20 for seniors older than 55 and military members with ID, $15 for children ages 6-15, while children younger than 5 are free.
Tickets will be discounted $5 if purchased at the Show and Shine today.
Camping also is available for $30 today through Sunday.
The ticket price includes parking.
Pit passes are now $5 and available only at the event.
Tickets can be bought at online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3453926, at the gate on race day or in Port Angeles at Sunset Hardware, Mobile Music, Lower Elwha Food and Fuel; in Beaver at the Lake Pleasant Grocery and in Sequim at Dog House Powder Coating.
For those who can’t attend the event, a live stream of racing action will be available at www.facebook.com/EspPortAngeles.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Sprint boat “island hoppers” help to push the (ADD INFO HERE) boat back into the water after running aground during racing last July at the Extreme Sports Park in Port Angeles.
