Tri-Cities H1 Water Follies Updates: Tate, Shane dominating race for points
The final set of Saturday’s heat races have wrapped, as has Day 2 of the Water Follies and the Columbia Cup.
J. Michael Kelly in the U-12 won Heat 2A, while Jimmy Shane in the U-1 held off Andrew Tate in the U-9 by half a length in Heat 2B.
Shane and Tate have been running best over the first two days of the event.
So here’s how things are stacking up heading into Saturday’s second set of heat races.
Brian Perkins in the U-21 was pushing Jimmy Shane U-1 from Lane 2 for a lap and a half, but lost steering and his rudder in Lap 2 Turn 3, causing him to skip sideways but remain upright.
J. Michael Kelly in the U-12 had to turn right — never good when everyone else turns left — to avoid a wreck with him, causing him to lose all momentum. But with Perkins upright and far enough to the outside, race officials kept the race going and Shane cruised to a 1st place finish, with Kelly about a half lap down.
Here’s Herald writer Dustin Brennan’s recap of Heat 1B:
U-11 Tom Thompson nailed the start, got inside positioning and the lead at the beginning, U-9 Andrew Tate was second in Lane 2.
Ran deck-to-deck first lap, Thompson lost speed in that nasty Turn 1 on Lap 2, and by the time they came out of Lap 2, Tate had a half rooster tail lead.
Tate — top qualifier yesterday — went on to win heat by two rooster tails with Thompson in tow.
No surprise that Andrew Tate and the U-9 boat, Friday’s top qualifier, took the flag with room to spare in Heat 1B.
The big unlimited boats won’t just be running against the clock Saturday, but against each other in a series of heat races, building up to Sunday’s big Columbia Cup finale.
Make sure to check out all the videos and stories from this weekend’s action. And also a slew of photos. Also, check us out on Facebook and Twitter using #tchydros.
The first set of unlimited heat races starts at 2:30 p.m., with the the second set at 4:20. Throughout the day, the Grand Prix and 5 Liter boats will be racing and qualifying.
Read more, and view pictures with descriptions here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/sports...#storylink=cpy
