It's The Pits
Think Racing PWC is Tough? Try Tossing in a Little NASCAR and a Whole Lot of Extra Money
Text by Kevin Shaw
Photography by Heather Archer
Thankfully, the ability to walk up and down stairs has finally returned to my legs. That's a good thing because the editorial department of Personal Watercraft Illustrated is tucked deep in the furthermost corner of the second story of CN Publishing's Costa Mesa, California, offices. Just going to and from the downstairs garage or employee kitchen for a snack was an arduous, drawn-out experience.
So why all the complaining when I should still have plenty of spry, ache-free years ahead of me? Easy: I competed in this year's Mark Hahn Memorial 300.
For those who've been regularly updating themselves with the online forums, you've already learned that the calm, glassy conditions of the day before (and after) were given up for 35 mph winds and 3-to-4 foot chop. Basically, Lake Havasu took a break from being a lake and pretended to be the Bermuda Triangle.
What this spelled for most competitors was a complete rearrangement in their fuel consumption calculations. Skipping over chop devours a lot more gas than glass. This is because props are allowed to "free wheel" out of the water, rocketing up the rpms, and rightly consuming more fuel than a loaded, churning prop. What distinguishes the Hahn from any other long-distance endurance race is its distance.
Covering the 300 miles in one bite requires regular pit stops, pit stops that must follow certain regulations:
1) All runabout PWC must be towed no less than 20 feet from the shoreline either by UTV, MUV, ATV, or Quad.
2) No fuel can be spilled on the beach.
3) Fueling cannot begin until the PWC is 20 feet from shore.
4) Participants cannot modify the stock fuel cell/tank
Celebrating its fifth year, the Hahn has seen - for the most part - really ideal conditions: smooth, glassy water with still or gentle breezes, something completely absent this year. People half expecting the same blessed weather came prepared for a drag race, and were totally caught off-guard. Of course, I say this as a 80-plus-mph Sea-Doo RXP came in second place overall, so maybe I'm just talking out of my arse.
As I stood at the shoreline, waiting for the gun to fire I was humbled by who I would be sharing the water with. The skis and competitors with whom I shared the field were intimidating to say the very least. In all honesty, when I heard the staccato howl of MacClugage's FZR or the throaty growl of TBM's Ultra, I started to look at my emaciated Honda F-15X and it's paltry 198 hp a little disdainfully.
But that's not really fair. Last year was my first time around, and everything that could go wrong did (broken ski, broken UTV, truck stuck in the sand, assembled our tow-dolly wrong, didn't rent a campsite, etc.). This year, I would not repeat the same offenses. Heeding a little advice from Steve Friebe, I chose a stock Honda as our ski (primarily because of the promise of superior fuel mileage) and the security of Honda's longevity.
Honda also hooked us up with Side X Side Action Magazine who not only volunteered to be our pit crew but also supplied a Big Red MUV side-by-side. Additionally, with a strong nudge from wiser forces, I coughed up the $35 for a RV parking spot right on the beach. This allowed the Side X Side crew to run back and forth from the "Hot Pits" to my truck to refill the gas cans from my 100-gallon reservoir.
Now, like all types of racing, people are always looking for a "leg up." This sometimes is called cheating, other times its called innovation. I supposed it all depends on how the rest of the competitors and the public view it. I'm usually of the school of thought, "If it's not outlawed in the rulebook, it's OK." And often, that school of thought irritates a lot of folks.
One of these "legs up" that people have developed over the last five years of competing in the Hahn is a "Quick Fill" system. Special gravity-fill cans that hold anywhere from four to 11 gallons and lock into specialized "dry brakes," spring-actuated valves that permit fuel to pour freely into a fuel tank as the top of the can evacuates the trapped air in the gas can instantaneously.
But of course, there's more to it. While the dry brakes prevent any large quantities of fuel spillage, there still is the matter of evacuating any air in the fuel tank itself. Because, if that air remains trapped, fuel flow will be blocked and keep gas from entering. Allowing air to escape is done via a second fuel can (or overflow can) that is plugged into a second dry brake.
As a ski comes in, the pit crew plugs in two fuel cans; one empty, one full. As fuel freely pours from one, the escaping air - and any excess fuel - burps back up into the second can, guaranteeing zero spillage and maximum fuel ingestion. When the calculated quantity of fuel is poured into the tank, both cans are pulled and the ski is free to return to the field.
Sounds perfect, right? Actually, it pretty much is. And what was impressive was that a good percentage of racers this last weekend were using them, including people competing in the same stock class as me and my bone-stock Honda (well, I did have an intake grate and sponsons, so I wasn't 100% stock).
But what was most impressive - if not totally infuriating - was that these Quick Fill systems weren't regulated to Open Runabout classes but were allowed in all classes. Reports came in all day of sub-minute, 50-second, and 40-second pit stops, incredible times compared to the likes of us using a trio of six-gallon Hunsaker gas jugs (retail $69.95), where we averaged minute-and-a-half to two-minute times.
There have already been grumblings of people voicing, "The race should be won on the water, not in the pits." While a fair and true statement, I believe that the Open classes should remain open to Quick Fill modifications; other classes such as Stock, Limited, etc. should retain their stock filling systems.
Ideally, I would voice that all competitors be allotted a free twenty minutes worth of pit time at the beginning of the event. At the end of the race, whether you used it all or not, the twenty minutes will be equated into your time and placement. But, for those requiring more time in the pits, that's precious time misspent not in the water but on the sand. But, this is all but impossible to regulate, so such enforcement would be unlikely.
So, logically, restricting the use of Quick Fill systems to just the Open R/A class seems the most logical. Afterall, Open skis are the most modified and the likeliest (based on percentages) to break down due to mechanical failure. Moreover, Quick Fill systems are exorbitantly expensive. Here's a quick and dirty breakdown:
(2) 11-gallon Dry Brake Dump Cans (w/ male probes) $900 (est.)
(1) 4-gallon Dry Brake Dump Can (w/ male probe) $360
(2) Dump Can stands $180 (est.)
(2) Female Dry Brake Conversion Kits $600 (est.)
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Total $2040 (est.)
That's a whole lot of money just to save a minute or two in the pits, don't you think? More importantly, it sure seems that if the Mark Hahn Memorial 300 is supposed to be the "every man's event," how much money is the every man expected to shell out just to feel like they have a chance at competing?
Am I dogging on the Mark Hahn Memorial? Not at all. But I am saying there's a couple things that need to be reviewed to keep it appealing to normal Joes. As of right now, it's pretty expensive to compete (I arbitrarily chose Yamaha Motor Co. as a product example):
Race Team (2 racers for a runabout) Entry fee: $275
Yamaha Rhino Side-by-Side 4x4 (new): $10,999 (MSRP)
Yamaha FX SHO (new): $12,599 (MSRP)
Big Foot Jumbo PWC Dolly: $730 (est.)
Estimated 90 gallons of 87-octane fuel (est. $2.21-gal): $170
Three Nights of Lodgings for crew of four (est. at $60 a night): $720
Food for crew of four for three days ($10 per meal): $360
Parking at Crazy Horse Resort: $10
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Total: $25,863
Pretty crazy, huh? Of course, this doesn't even begin to factor in the cost of getting to Lake Havasu for the event. So what I'm saying is, yes, the event is pretty dang expensive on its own. Complicating it by raising the bar far out of the reach of regular tax-paying Americans (and don't forget the large international presence the Hahn is beginning to draw in) only hurts the event's longevity. If you want to keep Average Joes racing in the Mark Hahn, outlaw these $2000 fuel systems from all but the Open class. Help keep it competitive and keep it fair. Speak up for this, you know I will.
Go Get Wet,
Kevin
Special thanks go out to:
American Honda Motor Company, Side X Side Action Magazine, Mike Follmer Specialties, DSM Events, RPM Enterprises, Slippery, and Troy Lee Designs.
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