Louisville to host boat race

Boat racing is returning to the Derby City for the first time in nearly 25 years when the International Outboard Grand Prix will be held in Louisville Aug. 18-20.

The race, which will be held on the Ohio River adjacent to Louisville’s Waterfront Park, will feature two classes of outboard boats, the 17-foot Formula One Champ Boat series and the larger 30-foot X-Boat Off-Shore Series.

Unlike Unlimited hydroplanes and other inboards, which run on oval courses, the Formula One and X-Boat series run varied courses which put an emphasis on turning both left and right. The Rising Sun Regatta typically features the smaller Formula One boats.

“We knew there’s a lot of powerboat fans in this area,” Mike Schriefer, president and CEO of the IOGP, told the Louisville Courier-Journal. “We’re not only bringing in first-class powerboat racing, we’re bringing in the boating industry and the marine industry (with exhibits).”

General admission to the event will be $10.

http://www.madisoncourier.com/Conten.../18/289/104197

New Louisville Regatta Grand Prix set for August
Kenzie Winstead

For the first time in about 25 years, powerboat racing will return to downtown Louisville.

The International Outboard Grand Prix Thursday afternoon announced details of a three-year agreement to initiate the Louisville Regatta Grand Prix, starting Aug. 18-20.

“This is an event that’s been 10 years in the making,” said Louisville Sports Commission President and CEO Karl Schmitt Jr.

The event will include two types of boats: The 17-foot Formula 1 ChampBoat series and the larger 30-foot X-Boat Off-Shore series. The ChampBoats will run a one-mile rectangular course, adjacent to Waterfront Park. The X-Boats will run a more triangular two-mile course.

Mike Schriefer, president and CEO of the IOGP, said he has had his eye on Louisville and all the logistics finally fell into place.

“We knew there’s a lot of powerboat fans in this area,” Schriefer said. “We’re not only bringing in first-class powerboat racing, we’re bringing in the boating industry and the marine industry (with exhibits).”

Schriefer said there will be exhibits at Waterfront Park, along with vendors.

General admission will be $10.

Schriefer said he’s not necessarily expecting a profit in the first year.

“We have a*three- to five-year growth plan," he said. "If we get 5,000 people here, we’ll be very happy.”

Schriefer said he has lofty hopes for the Louisville Regatta. In three to four years, he said he expects it to be the “biggest boat race in the country.”

“It’s great coming back to Louisville,” said driver Chris Fairchild, who has won multiple championships in various series. “It’s been a 25- or 30-year hiatus since we’ve been here.”

Fairchild said he’s hoping for rough and choppy water on the Ohio River.

“When it gets rough, it gets really exciting,” he said. “We’ve races on inland seaports, rivers that are only 800 feet wide, big water lakes. We’re not afraid to race in big waters. Big water is challenging for drivers. This is a beautiful area.”

For those who have watched H1 Unlimited hydroplanes, Fairchild said it’s a much more of an aggressive style of racing.

“It’s more like NASCAR (on water),” he said. “This is rough and tumble.”

Fairchild said the ChampBoat races could include as many as 20 boats — racing at the same time.

The ChampBoats will begin from a standing start.

“They’ll drag race to the first corner,” Schriefer said.

http://www.courier-journal.com/story...ust/456791001/

New boat-racing series could bring thousands of people, big money to Louisville
Marty Finley

Mike Schriefer said Thursday that he will be disappointed if the Louisville Regatta Grand Prix, a new powerboat race competition, attracts fewer than 5,000 fans to Waterfront Park when the inaugural powerboat racing competition debuts Aug. 18-20.

Schriefer is president and CEO of the International Outboard Grand Prix, a promoter of offshore professional powerboat races in North and South America. The IOGP announced yesterday its intentions to host the Grand Prix in Louisville, which will feature the F1 ChampBoat Series and the X-Boat Racing Series.

David Karem, president of the Louisville Waterfront Development Corp., assured Schriefer his attendance concerns are unfounded, projecting several thousand more will show up for the event.

The IOGP has signed a three-year commitment at Waterfront Park that could be extended if the racing series proves popular.

F1 ChampBoats are 16 to 17 feet long, and the X-Boats are large, usually 30 to 32 feet. Both have top speeds of 130 mph or more, according to Schriefer.

The smaller boats will race a one-mile course, and the X-Boats will have a two-mile course. The routes are still being finalized.

The racing competitions held by IOGP are sometimes compared with the Madison Regatta, an H1 Unlimited hydroplane boat race held annually on Independence Day weekend along the Ohio River in Madison, Ind.

But IOGP officials said Thursday that there are several key differences. For starters, the Madison Regatta hosts five-boat races, but the F1 and X Boat races average about 15 boats per class and can accommodate 20 to 25 boats per race.

It also is a more rough-and-tumble affair than the Madison Regatta, likened to a NASCAR race because drivers jockey and battle one another for key positions while streaking across the water at high speeds.

If things go right, the races can be poetry in motion, IOGP officials said. But if things head south, it can lead to crashes, which also are welcomed by diehard fans.

Schriefer told me most of the race events average 5,000 to 10,000 people, but more established races typically attract tens of thousands of people.

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IOGP Bay City

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1st ANNUAL LOUISVILLE GRAND PRIX REGATTA FESTIVAL

August 18-20, 2017
Friday Aug 18 12:00 am -1:00 pm Officials/USCG/Marine Patrol Meeting
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Media Conference/Interviews *
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm F1 ChampBoat Testing
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm X-Boat Off-ShoreTesting
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm Beach Party, Featuring TBA DJ/Band

Saturday Aug 19
8:00 am - 11:00 am Registration / Tech Inspection
*9:00 am - 9:40 am IJSBA Watercross - Practice
*9:45 am - 10:45 am X-Boat Off-Shore Practice
*11:00 am - 12:30 pm F1 ChampBoat Testing
1:00 pm - 1:30 pm Driver/Officials Meeting (closed meeting)
*1:30 pm - 2:30 pm IJSBA Watercross - Heat Races
*2:30 pm - 3:50 pm F1 ChampBoat Time Trials (single lap qualifier)
*3:30 pm - 4:15 pm X-Boat Off-Shore Heat Race (10 Laps)
*4:30 pm - 5:15 pm F1 Heat Race 1 (15 laps)
*5:15 pm - 6:00 pm F1 Heat Race 2 (15 laps)
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm Beach Party, Featuring TBA DJ/Band

Sunday Aug 20
9:00 am - 10:00 am Tech Inspection
*10:00 am - 10:30 am IJSBA Watercross Final Practice
*10:30 am - 11:30 am X-Boat Off-Shore Final Practice
*11:45 am - 12:30 pm F1 ChampBoat Final Practice
12:30 pm – 3:00 pm Beach Party Music / Boat & Car Show
1:00 pm - 1:30 pm Driver/Officials Meeting (closed meeting)
*1:30 pm - 2:30 pm IJSBA Watercross - Final Races
3:00 pm - 3:15 pm TV Intro / National Anthem
*3:15 pm - 4:00 pm X-Boat Off-Shore Final (25 Laps)
*4:15 pm - 5:00 pm IOGP F1 ChampBoat Grand Prix America - Final (40 Laps)
5:10 pm - 5:30 pm TV Post Race Interviews
5:30 pm - 6:00 pm Awards Ceremony

Schedule subject to change.

Boating Traffic Notice *Partial River Closure: No boat traffic allowed to move during race events.

Contact: Info@OutboardGrandPrix.com

1910 Louisville Motor Boat Club Regatta
Louisville, Kentucky, July 16, 1910

Regatta of the Louisville Motor Boat Club

The first annual regatta of the Louisville Motor Boat Club, which had been postponed from July 4th, was held July 16th. The most spectacular event was the fifteen mile race. The time made by the Laura Jean in this event was the fastest ever made here, and the boat covered the course in 52 minutes 25 seconds. Although the Little Captain, the former won the time prize, the Jefferson cup and the Lorch prize, as well as the Michigan speed wheel offered as second prize in the fourth race. In view of the fact that because of the high water the river was considered by experts as being fully five minutes slower on a fifteen mile run than it was last year, the time made by the Laura Jean is considered exceptional.

Although the events were the first held since the organization of the club, there was not a hitch to mar the sport and everything moved off smoothly.

The summary:
First Race—Once around course, about two miles, for boats making 8 miles an hour or less: First, Adeline, 14:50, Julius Kemp; second, Lexington, 15:45, Lexington Motorboat Company; third, Scioto, H. C. Korfhage; fourth, Emelia M., Chester Gall; fifth, Oriole, J. H. Benner; sixth, Drop, George Droppelman; seventh, Moose, C. M. Raphun; eighth, Cotytto, A. G. Unglaub.

The Oriole and Adeline finished faster than the Emeline M., but the latter won the time prize, the barret cup, which can only be won by a member of the club.
Second Race—Only one entry, the cruiser Marjorie, owned by Lee Bernheim. She had a sailover.

Third Race—Twice around course, 10 miles; boats making eight to twelve miles an hour: First, Dr. B., 52:48, Dr. Butler; second, Esther, James E. Howard; third, Idler, Dr. Allen Voiers; fourth, Jimmie, H. J. Waner; fifth, Lillian R., Meehan and Greiner; sixth, Billy, John H. Dawson; seventh, Itasa, C. G. Niman; eighth, Soubrette, Hughes Moore.

Dr. B., the winner, wins the prize cup. Esther won a storage battery, and Idler took a whistle for third prize. The latter boat also won the Barret cup as the time prize.
Fourth Race—15 miles; three times around the course; boats making over twelve miles an hour.

First, Little Captain, 57:32, James E. Howard; second, Laura Jean, 52:25, Phelps and Knight; third, Marse Henry, 59:07, Wright Bros.; fourth, Flo, 1:02:27. Thurman and Schilling; fifth, Hobo, 57:44, Mr. Schoofield.
Another regatta has been planned by the Louisville Motor Boat Club for August 20th. Since the handicap events on July 21st a great deal of interest has developed in racing boats and a number of challenges have been passed between owners. At a recent meeting of the club preliminary arrangements for the coming meet were perfected. Already two races have been decided upon, and one or two others may be arranged before the date set for the regatta. The first race will be between Flo, owned by Thurman & Schilling, and Mick, owned by Alvin Nicholson. Both boats are capable of making 15 miles an hour. The second contest will have five entries, as follows: Vivace, owned by E. M. Hughes; Laura Jean, owned by Phelps & Knight; Eclipse, owned by Whallen Bros., and Little Captain, owned by James E. Howard. There will be no handicaps or time allowance in either of the races. The boats entered in the second races all belong to the 20-mile-an-hour class.

The third regatta to be conducted under the auspices of the club will be run on Labor Day, and several speed boats that will compete in the Cincinnati meet are expected to enter; among them Hoosier Boy. A number of Louisville boats will enter the big regatta at Cincinnati on August 27th.

(Transcribed from MotorBoat, Aug. 10, 1910, p. 54)

http://www.lesliefield.com/races/191...ub_regatta.htm

Inaugural Louisville Regatta GP This Weekend

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150 MPH racing comes to the Waterfront with the Louisville Regatta Grand Prix

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- The Grand Prix of Louisville and Regatta Festival is taking place this weekend on the Ohio River.

This is the inaugural Louisville Regatta Grand Prix and it's an event that has been 10 years in the making. Organizers say the race is something to be seen.

“These things will scream. And I’ll tell you what, if people miss it this weekend they are really going to miss out on a show,” said Jeff Doan, play-by-play announcer for the event.

The Grand Prix and Regatta continues through Sunday.

In addition to the racing there will also be a boat show, music and food.

Daily admission is $15 you can buy a weekend pass for $25.

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