The green flag start. Could have been a bit tighter it appears from our vantage point.
One of the issues occurring during the race was the issue of holding your lane all the way through the first corner as announced in the driver's meetings. As can be seen in the following video beginning at the 40 second mark, (thanks to Lamorte Video's for the editing and posting of the vid), the staying in your lane requirement left a bit to be desired.
APBA 2024 Rulebook: 2.3.1 Failure to maintain slots or lanes for the distance announced by the referee at the Driver’s meeting will result in penalties at a minimum of one yellow card, up to a maximum of disqualification and a red card.
The nine boats running all made it through the first corner and passed the yellow finish buoy in a fairly close pack regardless of any issues in the first corner.
Passing the start buoy at the end of the first, 3/4, lap
The current RWO final posted finishing order is:
1st #1 S2 Power Boats 38:43.5, 2nd #25 Team Bermuda 39:02.2, 3rd #43 CELSIUS 39:07.1, 4th #8 CR Racing 41:39.3, 5th #14 Florida Keys Electric 41:54.7, 6th #3 Steele Industries Inc * 41:44.8 *, 7th #42 Jackhammer *** 38:37.0 ***, 8th #89 Big East Construction -2 laps, 9th #39 Cocos Monkey **** -4 laps ****, 10th #7 JS Racing DNS
The starred teams above were due to issues during and after the race:
Steele* was assessed a 30 second penalty: Missed turn buoy. (In the video above they appear to miss 2 turn buoys).
Cocos**** was accessed a 1 Lap penalty: Hit a buoy
Jackhammer *** was accessed a 10 min penalty: Exceeded 1 hour for getting to tech inspection
Steele
Coco's
Jackhammer
APBA 2024 Rulebook:
3.1 Post-Race Technical Inspections
3.1.1. All boats are subject to a post-race technical inspection conducted by an approved Inspector. Unless otherwise announced at either of the drivers’ meetings, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place boats must report to inspection. Failure to drive directly to the designated crane or ramp or to report to inspection within 1 (one) hour after the finish of the contestant’s race, (or a reasonable time allowed by the referee depending upon conditions, logistics, and hindrances on the course or returning to the pits,) shall result in a fine, time penalty or disqualification or any combination of the three penalties and a yellow or red card at the discretion of the Referee. A list of approved inspectors shall be issued annually by APBA.
SUPER STOCK,
All Super Stock Class boats must adhere strictly to the following specifications.
6. Propellers: 5.1 - All propellers must be approved by APBA prior to and after the use during an approved official race.
The reason we say the "Current" posted finishing order, Jackhammer has filed an appeal of the penalty per the APBA rulebook. According to the rules, following this paragraph, it will be decided within 30 days after the ORC hearing.
RULE 8 - APPEALS
8.1 Filing and Timing Requirements - An appeal of a penalty imposed under these rules must be filed in writing with the Chair of the ORC and accompanied by a $1,000.00 appeal fee, within 10 days of the offending party’s receiving notice of the penalty. Failure to appeal within this time will constitute a waiver of all appellate rights.
8.2. Hearings - The Committee shall afford the accused a hearing on all charges. At the discretion of the Offshore Chairman the Chairman may appoint a committee to investigate the facts surrounding the alleged rules violations and report their findings and/or recommendations back to the Committee prior to any hearing on the matter.
8.3 Appeal Fees - will be returned to the member only if the appeal is upheld. After the stipulations above have been met, the Committee shall have the power to take such action as it deems appropriate under the circumstances.
8.4 Decisions - The decision of the ORC shall be final and subject only to review by the APBA National Committee and the APBA Board of Directors. Decisions shall be rendered no later than 30 days after the hearing.
The 13 current ORC Committee members are:
2024 ORC Board Chairman: Rich Luhrs, Vice-Chair: Mark Austin, Administrator: Michelle Petro, Board Members: Azam Rangoonwala, Larry Bleil, Tyler Miller, Jim Simmons, Taylor Scism, Wayne Valder, Ryan Beckley, Steve Kildahl, Gene Stephens, Rich Dancisin.
We will have to wait to see the final outcome of the appeal, hopefully it will not take anywhere close to 30 days. Per the video, and the Chief Inspector's report, there appeared to be more than one violation of APBA rules for an event. A multi-lane lane change violation in the first corner, not going directly to the inspection area (boat witnessed in the pits), missing the hour timeline given to go directly to the inspection area (race ended at 2:18 - boat arrived in the pits at 3:45), and no props on the boat when it arrived in the inspection area for approval.
The Inside Articles
vBulletin Message