Greenhulk.net US HydroDrag Nationals Opens In Tavares FL!
The inaugural race of the 2013 HydroDrag season opened up in America's Sea Plane City, Tavares, Florida on June 1st and 2nd. By Mikey YoungThe race was Presented by RIVA Racing, the City of Tavares, Lake County, HydroTurf, Yamaha, and Blowsion Although there were less than perfect conditions on Saturday, the racers and their teams made the best of it. With an oncoming wind facing the riders as they came off the HydroTurf Launch Pad! Qualifying would continue none the less and go off without a hitch as all classes, but the Hydro Unlimited Class qualified down to the semi-finals. The weather would cooperate on Sunday with little wind for most of the day which made for some VERY high speed passes and provided plenty of excitement to the Motorsport's crowd! Saturday began with the Waterfrontoo Slalom Competition and Eric Lagopoulos, of Sarasota, FL, would negotiate his way into 1st place in the 800 Runabout Class on the IJSBA approved AccuFloat Slalom system. The conditions were rough and their would not be new world record set on this particular day, but former IJSBA World Record holder, Troy Snyder, sponsored by RIVA and Neptune Racing, posted just on the North side of 20 seconds, which was good enough to give him his 3rd Slalom win in as many years!. Lagopoulos would also compete in this class as well, however would come in a half a second slower than the Slugger! Stan Hightower, of Rome, Georgia would fill the podium in this class. The HydroDrag finals on Sunday would have several thousand spectators throughout the day as every HydroDrag motor head, south of I-4 would attend! The Hydro Pro Stock Class seen a lot of great action, with some drama as reigning Champ, Troy Snyder would suffer mechanical problems on Saturday that would send him to the loser bracket, but he would come back on Sunday and go undefeated to keep his win streak for the 4th consecutive year.Stan Hightower would lose to him in the finals, but the big news in this class is Bianca Conde who would ride her Kawsaki into the 3rd spot! Bradenton, Florida's Steve Oosterink earned the accolades in the Hydro N/A 2-Stroke Class.The Hibdon duo, Kerry and April, of Tennessee, raced their way into the top two spots in front of Gus Hatzistefanou in the new Hydro Spec class! Kerry Hibdon aka the TV Dr, continued his winning ways in the Hydro SuperStock race, but not before making his good friend, Stan Hightower settle for 3rd place.He would face newcomer, and Closed Course standout, Abdullah Alfudhel, of Kuwait, sponsored by Dean's Team for the finals. Alfudhel would be very close, but the Veteran HydroDrag racer Hibdon would prevail. Alfudhel, however would blaze his way into the Finals of the "main event" in the Hydro Unlimited Class, not to bad for a rookie, but it was funny when I asked him his opinion on HydroDrag racing, he replied, "this is an old mans sport"! The nonsense would not last long as he would have to face CRT's Carlos DeValle, who has won the HydroDrag Nationals before. DCC Motorsports' Duke Zorn had to settle for a 3rd on this particular day, with the wind and lighter hull being his biggest foes. On to the main...Alfudhel would get the jump out of the gate, but DeValle's Sea Doo hooked up in the mid to top and came from behind to take the title in round #1!The Yamaha Speed Alley competition had two classes compete, the Hydro SuperStock and the Hydro Unlimited. Ross Nemo Niomoeller posted an 89.4 in the adverse conditions to beat Abdullah Alfudhel in the SuperStock Class. Greenhulk.net put a $500 Bounty on the first Unlimited rider to beat Joseph Mastrapa"s world record speed of 101.7 mph at the 2012 RIVA Racing World Championships. It would not happen on this particular occasion, the top speed of the weekend would come from CRT Racing's Mikael Gonzales, who had the two fastest times on separate boats, 100.6 and a 95.9! A big shout out to the Destroyer, Jason Stoyer, who won the Blowsion Flatwater Freestyle Competition!The 1st recognized US HydroDrag event went off without a hitch and received excellent press locally, courtesy of the City of Tavares! A special thanks to all of the Tour supporting sponsors as well, they include Jet Pilot, Exotic Signs, Lakeview Inn, Sea Doo, Al's Landing, Almost Golf, Dish Network, Urban Golf, Torx Racing, Eurosport, and most definitely....Pro Rider Magazine!We would also like to recognize the awesome HydroDrag staff...Randy Scott, Shane Hawkins, Amanda Sowyer, Cliff Roy, Mike Rodgers, Mike Piantieri, Keenan Boyles, Matt Price, Jason Stoyer, Skip Fredricks, Kevin Scott, and Clay Barbee. Also, thanks to Bill Neron and Lauren Farrell with the city and Roger Kooser for the gracious hospitality. The next 2 HydroDrag events are scheduled for West Palm County and Tampa, Florida. Stay tuned at Greenhulk.net, rivaracing.com, or the HydroDrag Facebook page or you may contact Mike Young at mpyoungjr@aol.com.See you in the pits! Mikey
Results
Open Runabout Slalom
1st. Troy Snyder. Bradenton, FL
2nd. Eric Lagopoulos. Bradenton, FL
3rd. Stan Hightower. Lindale, GASpeed Alley Superstock
1st Ross "Nemo" Niemoeller. St. Pete, FL
2nd. Abdullah Alfudhel. Kuwait City, KuwaitSpeed Alley Hydro Unlimited
1st. Mikeal Gonzales. 100.6. Miami, FL
2nd. Mikeal Gonzales. 95.9. Miami, FL
3rd Carlos Conde. 93.2. Valrico, FLHydro N/A 2-Stroke
1st. Steven Oosterink. Sarasota, FLHydro Pro Stock
1st. Troy Snyder. Bradenton, FL
2nd. Stan Hightower. Lindale, GA
3rd Bianca Conde. Valrico, FLHydro Spec
1st. Kerry Hibdon. McMinnville, TN
2nd. April Hibdon. McMinnville, TN
3rd. Gus Hatzistefanou Trinity, FLHydro Super Stock
1st. Kerry Hibdon. McMinnville, TN
2nd. Abdullah Alfudhel Kuwait City, Kuwait
3rd. Stan Hightower. Lindale, GAHydro Unlimited
1st. Carlos Del Valle. Miami, FL
2nd. Abdullah Alfudhel Kuwait City, Kuwait
3rd. Duke Zorn. Titusville, FLFlatwater Freestyle
1st Jason Stoyer. Hollywood, FL[fblike]
The race was Presented by RIVA Racing, the City of Tavares,
Lake County, HydroTurf, Yamaha, and Blowsion Although there were less than perfect conditions on Saturday, the racers and their teams made the best of it. With an oncoming wind facing the riders as they came off the HydroTurf Launch Pad! Qualifying would continue none the less and go off without a hitch as all classes, but the Hydro Unlimited Class qualified down to the semi-finals. The weather would cooperate on Sunday with little wind for most of the day which made for some VERY high speed passes and provided plenty of excitement to the Motorsport's crowd!
Saturday began with the Waterfrontoo Slalom Competition and Eric Lagopoulos, of Sarasota, FL, would negotiate his way into 1st place in the 800 Runabout Class on the IJSBA approved AccuFloat Slalom system. The conditions were rough and their would not be new world record set on this particular day, but former IJSBA World Record holder, Troy Snyder, sponsored by RIVA and Neptune Racing, posted just on the North side of 20 seconds, which was good enough to give him his 3rd Slalom win in as many years!. Lagopoulos would also compete in this class as well, however would come in a half a second slower than the Slugger! Stan Hightower, of Rome, Georgia would fill the podium in this class. 
The HydroDrag finals on Sunday would have several thousand spectators throughout the day as every HydroDrag motor head, south of I-4 would attend! The Hydro Pro Stock Class seen a lot of great action, with some drama as reigning Champ, Troy Snyder would suffer mechanical problems on Saturday that would send him to the loser bracket, but he would come back on Sunday and go undefeated to keep his win streak for the 4th consecutive year.Stan Hightower would lose to him in the finals, but the big news in this class is Bianca Conde who would ride her Kawsaki into the 3rd spot! Bradenton, Florida's Steve Oosterink earned the accolades in the Hydro N/A 2-Stroke Class.The Hibdon duo, Kerry and April, of Tennessee, raced their way into the top two spots in front of Gus Hatzistefanou in the new Hydro Spec class! Kerry Hibdon aka the TV Dr, continued his winning ways in the Hydro SuperStock race, but not before making his good friend, Stan Hightower settle for 3rd place.He would face newcomer, and Closed Course standout, Abdullah Alfudhel, of Kuwait, sponsored by Dean's Team for the finals. Alfudhel would be very close, but the Veteran HydroDrag racer Hibdon would prevail. Alfudhel, however would blaze his way into the Finals of the "main event" in the Hydro Unlimited Class, not to bad for a rookie, but it was funny when I asked him his opinion on HydroDrag racing, he replied, "this is an old mans sport"! The nonsense would not last long as he would have to face CRT's Carlos DeValle, who has won the HydroDrag Nationals before. DCC Motorsports' Duke Zorn had to settle for a 3rd on this particular day, with the wind and lighter hull being his biggest foes. On to the main...Alfudhel would get the jump out of the gate, but DeValle's Sea Doo hooked up in the mid to top and came from behind to take the title in round #1!The Yamaha Speed Alley competition had two classes compete, the Hydro SuperStock and the Hydro Unlimited. Ross Nemo Niomoeller posted an 89.4 in the adverse conditions to beat Abdullah Alfudhel in the SuperStock Class. Greenhulk.net put a $500 Bounty on the first Unlimited rider to beat Joseph Mastrapa"s world record speed of 101.7 mph at the 2012 RIVA Racing World Championships. It would not happen on this particular occasion, the top speed of the weekend would come from CRT Racing's Mikael Gonzales, who had the two fastest times on separate boats, 100.6 and a 95.9! A big shout out to the Destroyer, Jason Stoyer, who won the Blowsion Flatwater Freestyle Competition!The 1st recognized US HydroDrag event went off without a hitch and received excellent press locally, courtesy of the City of Tavares! A special thanks to all of the Tour supporting sponsors as well, they include Jet Pilot, Exotic Signs, Lakeview Inn, Sea Doo, Al's Landing, Almost Golf, Dish Network, Urban Golf, Torx Racing, Eurosport, and most definitely....Pro Rider Magazine!
We would also like to recognize the awesome HydroDrag staff...Randy Scott, Shane Hawkins, Amanda Sowyer, Cliff Roy, Mike Rodgers, Mike Piantieri, Keenan Boyles, Matt Price, Jason Stoyer, Skip Fredricks, Kevin Scott, and Clay Barbee. Also, thanks to Bill Neron and Lauren Farrell with the city and Roger Kooser for the gracious hospitality. The next 2 HydroDrag events are scheduled for West Palm County and Tampa, Florida. Stay tuned at Greenhulk.net, rivaracing.com, or the HydroDrag Facebook page or you may contact Mike Young at mpyoungjr@aol.com.See you in the pits! Mikey