Does anybody remember the races that were in Wyandotte, MI in the 80s? I want to say 1981 and 82, but I'm not 100% sure. The first was called the Michelob Light Classic and the second was, IINM, the Stroh Light Invitational. Of the Superboats, Popeyes took the win, though it was on 3 engines and the one that was out controlled his power steering, so Copeland had a hell of a time in the turns. Sal Magluta with Seahawk took second. I also remember a boat called Maxon taking the win for it's class. Most of this info was from the paper that printed the results and from memory. Problem is, I can't seem to find any information about either race, though I believe the above comments reflect the Stroh Light Invitational. I took my Dad to the race; he was a long time fan of boat racing of any kind, I was sans camera, and he took the grainy photos below with a Nikon EM with no telephoto, of course. The first is Magluta in the (38ft Cougar?-paper identified it as 40ft) Seahawk, the second is Copeland in the 50 ft Cougar, Popeyes. The rest of the pics I have are too small to be identified, actually Popeyes is the only boat big enough to readily identify at the distance involved with standard lens. Any info you gents might have would be much appreciated.
Thread: Wyandotte Offshore Races
Results 1 to 17 of 17
-
07-03-2012 09:49 PM
-
- Join Date
- Nov 2008
- Posts
- 340
-
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Location
- West Michigan
- Posts
- 37,874
- Blog Entries
- 45
11-16-2012 10:30 AMThere has too be some stories and pics out there on the races there......
Anybody????Getting bad advice is unfortunate, taking bad advice is a Serious matter!!
-
- Join Date
- Nov 2008
- Posts
- 340
10-11-2013 10:29 AMThe Kilo runs were a great part of that event. Triple Merc outboard Maelstrom cat versus Butch Ryan's Express cat with twin/turbo destroked bigblocks. They went back and forth trying to better each others times. All the big dollar guys were there, in those days. Very competitive ego's, and boats. It was a blast.
-
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Location
- West Michigan
- Posts
- 37,874
- Blog Entries
- 45
10-12-2013 08:30 AMThe Kilos were APBA sanctioned I assume back then. I'll see what I can dig up through them.
Getting bad advice is unfortunate, taking bad advice is a Serious matter!!
-
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Location
- West Michigan
- Posts
- 37,874
- Blog Entries
- 45
10-13-2013 12:13 AMWell, does this sound accurate?
Winners of the four classes of powerboat races in the Stroh Light Challenge in Detroit June 22, 1982
Offshore I: Al Copeland in Popeye, average speed 87.665 miles per hour.
Offshore II: Willy Diaz in El Boss, 83.147 m.p.h.
Offshore III: John Scopetta in Four Runner, 71.757 m.p.h.
Offshore IV: Pete Aitkin in Black Buck, 76.152 m.p.h.Last edited by Ratickle; 10-13-2013 at 12:21 AM.
Getting bad advice is unfortunate, taking bad advice is a Serious matter!!
-
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Location
- West Michigan
- Posts
- 37,874
- Blog Entries
- 45
10-13-2013 12:22 AMCouple links from our friends....
http://www.powerboatarchive.co.uk/Ma...%20DETROIT.pdf
http://www.powerboatarchive.co.uk/Ma...s%20(U.S.).pdfGetting bad advice is unfortunate, taking bad advice is a Serious matter!!
-
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Location
- West Michigan
- Posts
- 37,874
- Blog Entries
- 45
-
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Location
- West Michigan
- Posts
- 37,874
- Blog Entries
- 45
10-13-2013 08:59 AMWhen you start digging into this old race history, it's surprising how many races there were in the Detroit area over a three year period of 1980, 1981, 1982. Like the above Downriver Challenge Cup in August of 82.
Getting bad advice is unfortunate, taking bad advice is a Serious matter!!
-
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Location
- West Michigan
- Posts
- 37,874
- Blog Entries
- 45
10-14-2013 08:48 AMDigging and searching found that T2x's son Darren, at Big Seas Productions, may have the videos of exactly what you are looking for. These are one's on their list of video's at their site in the link below.
1980 Detroit Detroit, MI
1981 Stroh’s Detroit, MI
1982 Stroh’s Detroit, MI
1983 Spirit of Detroit Detroit, Ml
http://big-seas.com/footage.htmGetting bad advice is unfortunate, taking bad advice is a Serious matter!!
-
10-14-2013 04:58 PM
Very cool, Paul! I'll be perusing this new info with renewed interest. Thanx!
-
-
- Join Date
- Nov 2008
- Posts
- 340
10-15-2013 09:28 AMStevie-Ray, where did/do you live downriver? That particular race was a very good "spectator" race for the locals.
-
10-15-2013 03:39 PM
We lived in Lincoln Park at the time. Bishop Park in Wyandotte, was a great place to go for no reason at all-it was a MUST for a superb event like this. I remember the vendors making a small fortune, man, EVERYBODY was happy. I'll bet I still have the t-shirt from this event, though I'm quite sure it doesn't fit anymore.
-
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Location
- West Michigan
- Posts
- 37,874
- Blog Entries
- 45
10-16-2013 04:04 PMToo big?
Getting bad advice is unfortunate, taking bad advice is a Serious matter!!
-
-
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Location
- West Michigan
- Posts
- 37,874
- Blog Entries
- 45
10-30-2013 06:27 PMHave you been able to dig up any more info?
Getting bad advice is unfortunate, taking bad advice is a Serious matter!!