Episode 181: Jonathan Abbott, Part 1

We sit down with Jonathan Abbott to trace his journey from a Valleyfield kid “born in the pits” to becoming Chief Referee of H1 Unlimited. Along the way, we dig into why the 2026 rule changes around starts and lane selection aim to improve safety, clarity, and the on water show. This is part 1 of my interview with Jonathan, make sure to return next week to hear part 2 and the conclusion! 

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_01 0:54

Today is Tuesday, May 19th, 2026. And this is episode 181. For this episode, we're going back to the interview format, and I'm actually talking with Jonathan Abbott. Now, for those who don't know the name of Jonathan Abbott, uh, he's an old racer out from the eastern side of Canada, the Quebec area. Raced for many years in the HRL League, but he's now the chief referee for H1 Unlimited. Now, this isn't his first year, he's actually had several seasons with H1 and has worked to improve the product on the water with H1 Unlimited. Um, but it's just been uh a great outstanding person to be the chief referee at a really thankless position. That's probably the the least thinked position, I think, out there when everyone thinks about i just wanna great stuff. No one thinks about the the chief referees. So really I was excited to talk to Jonathan to get to know him a little bit better and to get to know to know more about the rule book and some of the changes that have been happening with each one of them in this past offseason. Now we're gonna talk about some of those changes today, but we're gonna talk more about Jonathan, his racing background, and uh what hydroplane racing meant to him coming out of Quebec. Uh it's always intriguing to me to hear from people outside of the Seattle region because uh I've talked to so many people around Seattle that love hydroplanes growing up and towed boats behind their bikes and uh yada yada yada for that. It's always the same stories here, but love hearing from other people with other experiences around hydroplane racing. So let's jump into my interview with Jonathan, get to know him a little bit better, and talk more about his time as chief referee of H1 Unlimited and some upcoming changes for the 2026 racing season. Well, thanks for joining me today. I'm sitting down on Zoom talking coast to coast, uh USA to Canada talking with H1 chief referee Jonathan Abbott. Jonathan, how are you doing today?

SPEAKER_00 3:01

I'm doing great. How about yourself?

SPEAKER_01 3:04

Doing well, doing well. Just uh it's been a busy day at work, so just rushed home, but I'm glad to be home and be talking hydros with uh another hydraulic.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

Oh, for sure. It's it's nice always to talk about uh about hydroplane racing and especially with the season coming on uh coming so close.

SPEAKER_01 3:19

Yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely. And I'm excited to hopefully learn a little bit more about um about racing over there and Valley Field and HRL series. Um so it's been been very impressive the last few years, seeing more more things pop out of there. And yeah, so hopefully, hopefully you can teach me a thing or two as we go through this. For sure. For sure. Excellent. Well, before I want to talk, you're chief referee for H1. Uh I believe you're chief referee for HRL as well. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_00 3:47

Yes, correct.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Yeah. And I want to talk talk more about that. But before we do, I want to get into a little bit more about your history and uh a little bit more about yourself. So what I'm and I'm always fascinated from people growing up in different regions because I'm in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle, so we claim to be the unlimited hydroplane capital of the world right now. But seafare was always huge growing up for me, and that was you know my big big thing with my family. But what about for yourself? You're in eastern Canada, and what was how how did you get involved with hydroplane racing? What was the big event um that led led to you being working with H1 at HRL right now?

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Um, well, my passion comes from my dad. Uh he used to race hydroplanes, he used to race in the seven-leader class. Uh so I was at my very first boat race. I was three weeks old. So uh I was born in the pits, uh, as you can say.

SPEAKER_02 4:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:44

Um, and then just grew up uh my whole life into it. Um, you know, you like you said, you had uh Seattle. Uh us was Valleyfield. Valleyfield was was my event, you know. Uh growing up as a kid. I never I've never missed a year in Valleyfield my whole life. I've I've been there every year. And um growing up as a kid, Valleyfield was the the the the moment I was waiting for all summer, getting to spend the weekend there. You know, even though it was a 30-minute drive from my house, we still would camp in the in the Valleyfield camping, and it was just that whole experience of spending the you know the four days there and and getting to enjoy that whole event.

SPEAKER_01 5:21

Yes, I mean it sounds like such a great event. I haven't been there yet, and I'm I'm hoping one year I'll I'll make it there, but that's just it's a different feel when you're able to go to an event, stay there, and camp out, and just be a part of that event in that way.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

Ah, exactly, right. And there's so much, it's a valley field. I mean, every night they've got concerts. Um, you know, from the Thursday to Friday to Saturday night, they got fireworks. So it's just it's not just the hydroplane event. I mean, they've got concerts, there's a whole lot going on. So it's just a giant event. So it was, you know, after the racing, we'll head back to the camper, have some supper, and then it was head out to the shows at night and enjoy those. It was just a it was a giant event that's it. Like I said, I think for a lot of racers, um Valleyfield is kind of like the Daytona 500 is the equivalent, right? I mean it's just that big of an event. Everybody w dreams of Valleyfield and everyone wants to win Valleyfield. I mean, we've got the Luftons who are coming down, you know, from New Zealand because they want to win Valleyfield, so um it's just it's an amazing event.

SPEAKER_01 6:23

Yeah. And growing up and watching that, being a fan of that, well, who are the big names, uh drivers that you rooted for?

The Drivers He Idolized

SPEAKER_00 6:30

Growing up, my you know, biggest names would have been Jean Thierrette. Um, you know, we would have seen uh uh Jim King was another big name. Uh growing up, especially in the Grand Prix class. Um you know, a little side note, uh, you know, Jean Thierret is a good family friend. He was uh the best man at my dad's wedding. Uh oh wow. Uh yeah, yeah. So we're close friends there. Uh known them for for a long time. And so I'd say those were your two big names. I mean, you can probably say, you know, Brian O'Connor and the Gator, that was another one. Um, but those are those were the I would say your three though Jimmy King and Jon The Arrett are obviously the two biggest ones that for sure uh I'll remember in in terms of the biggest names in sport then.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

Yeah, yeah. Fun to hear that. It's it's interesting to hear some of those names that I I'm familiar with because they made it to unlimited ranks and uh made really big names themselves in that right. But it's I feel like now we're more connected to to see more HRL over here in the west side of the the US, but before in like the 90s, I didn't really know much about it. The world was a small a bigger place, I guess, back then. We didn't have the internet and and what we have now. So fortunately, we can yeah, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

That the you know, uh Facebook there and all the internet, all these social medias and YouTube and all that has really been able to help the whole sport kind of become one big community, right? You've always had you know the east coast, the west coast. Um, even me as a kid, um you know, I had Valleyfield, I knew about Valleyfield. The other races we didn't really attend to until I started racing. Um, and then even for Unlimited, I knew a little bit about it, but it's whatever when it was on TV, right? My dad would call me over, and you had you know, Seattle would be on TV and we'd sit down and watch that. That was the only um way we knew or had any information about the other races.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

Yeah, yeah. Pretty wild. I'm just just always fascinated to hear like different backgrounds getting into the valve of the sport. So it's it's fun to hear that that different backgrounds with that. So when did when did you make the leap from being a fan, falling racing, to actually being a racer and driver yourself?

SPEAKER_00 8:43

Um, I started racing when I was nine in stock outboards. So I think it was I was about eight years old, and my dad brought me uh with one of his best friends to a stock outboard race. And uh we were walking around the pits, and all of a sudden I saw some kids in some driving suits, and I looked at my dad and I said, And I told my dad I said, I don't want to race, I want to race. And then you know, that kind of my dad at the time was retired. Okay, and he goes, Well, really, great. He says, Well, guess what? I guess I looked at his best friend, he goes, I guess we're getting back into racing. So started at nine years old, um, and then raced uh stock outboards right up until I was 16. At 16 I made the transition into the T class, 1.5 liter class. Uh raced that for about four years, and then uh I did uh one season in the five-liter class and then uh two seasons into the H350 uh before retiring from competition.

SPEAKER_03 9:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

Was that a hard transition to go from outboards to inboard racing? And to like to be Were you in closed canopy at that time? When you went to the T-boat class?

SPEAKER_00 9:54

Yeah, I've always in the T-boat, I was in enclosed canopy. So um yeah, for me it was it was a big adjustment. Um I was so used to always being in the upboards, being able to move around, and you you were in control of the of the boat, and I remember my very first race in the T class, you know, my dad kind of strapped me in and pulled it down the seat belts down tight, and I kind of remember like freaking out a bit and going to my dad going, what am I doing? Like this, no, no, no, no, you gotta get me out of here. Like I wasn't comfortable, right? I'd done the capsule test and then all of a sudden it was like a whole different series, but once got out there, you know, got the feel for it. But yeah, it was definitely uh a big transition when you're used to a stock outboard, and then all of a sudden you're strapped in and you know you're using your foot to uh control the wing, and instead of your and you know, gas pedal too, that was different, right? The stock outboard, you're using a hand on a throttle. So it was definitely an adjustment period for sure.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

Yeah. I I've only gotten to test drive some outboards um when I was in high school, but I mean the visibility is so great in an outboard. I mean, you can just look anywhere, but I just imagine going from that to being strapped into an enclosed canopy. Your vision is so limited in comparison. I just I'm sure that was a big steep learning curve.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

Oh, for sure. Like you said, and even I didn't touch on that, the vision, it's a whole different thing. Like you said, you're strapped in, you got a canopy around you with little mirrors, and honestly, those mirrors you're not seeing much. So, I mean, it's really what you can see in your peripherals and what you're seeing up front, and that's that was pretty much it.

Starting Racing At Nine

SPEAKER_01 11:26

Yeah, yeah. Well, in your time racing those different inboard classes and outboards as well. Uh, I'm sure you have some moments you look back on uh very fondly and some big achievements. What would you say racing wise was your biggest achievement?

SPEAKER_00 11:43

Um, you know, I've won a few Canadian high point championships. I think uh the highlight for me would have been in 2010. Um was my last year in the T class. And uh just before the race season had started, uh my grandfather passed away, who I was very close with. He too was very big into uh uh into boat racing too. Um was there I almost any weekend he could make it there. Um so losing him a couple weeks before the race season, I decided to dedicate that season to him. Um and even had a little insignia on my boat that said this one's for you, Papa. And uh so that year, I'll probably say it was probably my best year in racing. Uh we won the high points, and uh my worst finish all season long was second place in any final. Oh wow. So it was a it was a true dream season for me. That we uh you know finished uh second in Valleyfield that year uh after leading for two laps. And uh even then racing games Brandon Kennedy, he was he was the man to beat then in the T class. So um, and then world championship we had that year was the triple crown in Cambridge, Maryland. So it was the Canadian Nationals, the American Nationals, and the World Championships. It was the hundredth running, so it was a triple crown that year, finished second there. Um, and then like I said, just bringing home the championship. It was uh it was just a huge accomplishment for me to to be able to achieve such things and be able to do it in my grandfather's memory.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's it's always hard when when you lose someone so close to you and they're a part of racing like that, but uh it's fun to look back on and to hear you're able to do that in his honor.

SPEAKER_00 14:21

Yeah, exactly. And that's even where this this painting came from. That was my second place finish in Valleyfield that year. So Okay. Um yeah, that was even uh in this once that year, once I had won it, I actually gave it to my grandmother so she could hang it up in uh at her house for a while. So you know she had the painting until she passed, and then I I inherited it back. But this was that I was the memory I and decided to give that to her in my grandfather's memories that she could hang it up in uh at her place at the time.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

That's special. That's special. And for our listeners out there, that they can't see it. Can you describe it to them for the for the audio?

SPEAKER_00 14:55

Yeah, so uh it was a it was a painting that was made. They had an original and they made copies of it. So basically they had done it for uh the 75th, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, I believe it was the 75th, and it's it's three Grand Prix on there. You got two at the time would have been the Dynamite Special, and I believe the GP Valleyfield, and then we had a in the background there's a uh Lauder back um Grand Prix, and then in the background it's the it's the front stretcher Valleyfield with the start with the start line tower and everything in there. So yeah, it's a real it's a real neat piece.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

That's cool, that's cool. It makes me think back like I've watched some videos of Valleyfield on YouTube now, like the late 80s, early 90s, and there's Piccoloforks competing against uh Brownos laughterbacks, it's pretty wild.

SPEAKER_00 15:39

Oh yeah, yeah, they definitely was. Those were uh the wild days, and you know, if we look at it today, we were max GPs were going six on a on a start, and back then they were almost going eight to ten boats wide, and it's almost the same width, right? So uh it was a it was a wild time back then.

Adjusting To Enclosed Canopies

SPEAKER_01 15:56

I'm sure that was fun to watch. For sure. Well, uh what when did you retire from racing? Like what what led up to that decision to to make a transition there?

SPEAKER_00 16:08

Um so it would have been 2013 was my last year in H350. Um got into got into a good wreck. It had been my second wreck. I had a wreck the year before in the 350. It was right before Valleyfield, ripped the whole side of the boat off. We thrashed for two weeks, took my vacation time, just to be ready for Valleyfield, and then got into another accident. Uh just an accident, you know, racing asset with another driver. I drove over top of him, he spun out in front of me, went over top of him. And um at the time I was starting to also look, priorities were changing. I was 24 years old, I was looking starting to buy a house. Yeah, the sponsor decided that he was pulling out. I had a major sponsor then was deciding to pull out, and then that last accident just for me was the carry on the Sunday, and I looked at my dad, I said, Dad, I'm not having any more fun. You know, it just gotten out of hand. Then the 350 class was was wild, you know, the a lot more a lot worse than it is today. You know, people running into each other. It was a really aggressive class then, and the two accidents and like I said, priority started to change. I was looking to buy a house. And um, so that that was it for me, and I looked at my dad and I said, I'm not having fun, and that's when you know he suddenly says, Well then it's time to it's time to to call it quits. So we got the boat repaired, we finished the season, and then uh that was it. I just decided that uh it was time to to move on to other things. And then as that happened, um the chief referee then of HRL was decided he was stepping away. And then I guess everything kind of just aligned from there. Um they kind of approached us about it because I have a hockey background too in in referee. I had a ref uh for 15 years on ice, so I've I've got a background in referee. So I guess everything just sort of aligned from there from when I decided to retire. And then when I got offered, I was started off refereeing with my dad too, then um I figured why not try it? I was gonna be at the races anyways. I kind of figured even though I wasn't racing anymore, I was gonna probably end up on a crew, I was gonna be there anyways, right? It was a huge passion of mine.

SPEAKER_03 18:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

So then yeah, decided to go for it, and so that would have been the season 2014. Yeah. So we'll see since 2014 is when I started okay uh officiating hydroplane racing.

SPEAKER_01 18:33

So you didn't take much time off then of being around boats.

SPEAKER_00 18:37

No, no, yeah, thought I would. Um, but it just never stopped, you know. The only time off I got was during the pandemic when we had uh that one or two years, two summers off. That was that's the only break I've actually ever had since uh we can say since I started racing when I was nine.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

Okay. Well, well, I mean it's smart of you to like to realize that and to retire at that at that moment because I've heard and talked to a lot of drivers over the years that knew they should have stopped before they did, or you know, so um it it's that's smart of you. Um, but it's it's I feel like it's kind of a glutton of punishment though for yourself. I mean I've been around different, many different sports where the refs they take a lot of punishment from competitors and and fans and whatnot. And I mean, as a racer, you're you're taking a lot of punishment on your body and and whatnot from racing, but you go from that type of punishment to um I'm not I'm not saying HRL or H1 drivers are doing that to you, but I'm sure I'm sure behind closed doors you you get earphills of of of things as a referee.

SPEAKER_00 19:41

I'm sure in any any sport fishing has never been easy. Yeah, and actually when I started refereing hockey, I was 18 years old, and my parents uh never believed it when I said I wanted to try refereeing hockey. I'd played my whole life. I was a scorekeeper from the age of 13. That was my winter job, right? I couldn't do summer jobs because of boat racing, right? So I was a scorekeeper in hockey rings from 13 right up until I was 18. Uh that was kind of my my sideline job. And then when I started rapping, I was my my parents never believed it because I was just such a a timid person, right? And they were like, Oh my god, this you know. And honestly, that's what helped develop character. Um through the years of of hockey, and it's helped a lot on my self-esteem, you know, learning to be able to get screened at from coaches from parents, you know, minor hockey uh parents and coaches are is is is pretty intense. And you know, it just helped build who I am today, you know. And I in the end, I remember when I first started rapping, I'd get yelled at and I'd be uh getting into a panic mode, and then you know, today I was still rapping, I'd or at my end of my year, I was still rep in ice hockey. You know, I'd start getting yelled at by some parent and I'd start laughing almost, you know. I just kind of learned to deal with it, and it's part of the the sport and part of our job, and you just move on.

A Championship Season For Grandpa

SPEAKER_01 21:00

Yeah. Well, you have you have to do that in that sort of position. I coached for a few years in in middle school basketball and flag football, and I always told myself I'm not gonna be like that coach, you know, towards the ref, but I would see other teams do that, and I would see parents do that on both sides, and man, it's just not need not needed, but I I know people get passionate about their their son or daughter playing, and it's it gets pretty wild.

SPEAKER_00 21:29

Yep, oh it definitely does. And I find it's only getting worse now. I'm I haven't repped in a while, but yeah, unless stories are going on, it just seems like it's getting worse these days. Uh parents, especially the parents' coaches are one thing, but I find it's the parents nowadays that are yeah, yeah. They're really getting out of hand.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

Yeah, yeah. It's uh too bad. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:47

Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_01 21:48

Yeah, but we're talking about hydroplanes though. So when you when you have that transition, you they just kind of say like, you know, I I might have this background, I think I could I could do that. I've done another referring, and then they just kind of took took it from there.

SPEAKER_00 22:04

Yeah, like I said, it it was an off-season decision that I honestly never contemplated. Never in my racing career was I ever thinking I'd end up as a as a referee, right? And you know, when when the opportunity came, like I said at the time, the the the referee for for HRL was stepping away, and then they approached me and my dad. Like I said, it was just kind of like, all right, hey, why not? Let's go for it. And I won't see how it goes. And like I said, to never expected that I'd end up where I'm at today when when all of this uh when all of this started.

SPEAKER_01 22:39

I'm sure you've had to make some tough calls over the years and and you expanded to not just referee uh be chief referee or HRL, you're also working with H1. How did that collaboration take place?

SPEAKER_00 22:54

Um honestly, it uh what is it? This will be my third summer now. So so if I'm backing up about four years, uh Uh I was at uh a race in Lake Paton. And I was there, I decided I was going to the race in New Jersey. I was going to be a spectator. You know, I wasn't there to race. I said I haven't been in the spectators. I went with some of my uh some of my friends who were racing there. I said, you know what? I'm gonna be a crew. We're just gonna take it easy and enjoy it. And Bobby and Jimmy King were there at the time. Uh went racing, and you know, we just started talking during the pits one day and gone to the conversation because uh Bobby was getting in, had just been or started running with uh Grim Trucking at the time, and we were just started this discussion, and then Jimmy goes, John says, You should you should be the next H1 chief referee. And you know, I just kind of laughing, you know blew it off. You know, I was like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Um, and then in that offseason, um, I got a call from Corey, T Body. Um, that's when I think that whole transition was happening with Hydro Town and and whatnot, and he wanted some questions about uh starting procedure because that's what was the hot topic.

SPEAKER_03 24:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:10

Um then. So when I first came on board of what they wanted to do, they were really looking to find a new solution for the starting procedure. So, you know, we started back and forth, and and as we were talking about this, I kind of you know, I I said, why not? I threw through the line to Corey and said, Yeah, I said, you know, I spoke with Jimmy and said, Oh no, I said, if ever you guys are looking for somebody, I said I might be interested. So I left it at that, and it wasn't long after that that you know everything just sort of unraveled. I got a call, you know, Corey called me back, he put my name in, and then the whole process went through. I you know, had interviews with uh with Mike Denzlow and uh Brad Luce, they were on the board at the time. I had an interview with them, I had spoken with uh Kelly also, and then you know, one thing led to another, and you know, I ended up getting hired. Uh like I said, it would be three years ago now.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

Well, uh and I feel like Hyder Town and the and the Tron Group has done a lot to tighten things down on rules and be um more transparent with the fans and whatnot. And I feel like that you've been a great addition to that because I feel like things have been improving um in many aspects with with fish meeting, which as a fan, it's always nice to see things get a little bit tightened tightened up there. And I I feel like there's been uh a lot of discussion over this past off season with H1, particularly, uh, changing some rules and trying to make it a better experience for the for the fans, but also make it more straightforward for the drivers and crews, whatnot. Uh, and can we talk a little about that? What's been going on behind closed doors with H1 this past season?

SPEAKER_00 25:54

Yeah, and then I can get into it. I mean, honestly, the the hot topic ever since I came on board, right, has been the starting procedure.

SPEAKER_03 26:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:02

Um, you know, and it's always been a hot topic um from day one, even when in my interview process when people like folk with, oh well, you know, we have fight for lanes and your HRL pre-assigned lanes. And and I always told them, I said, look, I said, not because we what we do in HRL means that that's what I'm buying into, right? I'm an official, you give me a rule book, and I'm there to apply the rule. You know, so that was that. And then so I always said, I don't it doesn't bother me for the the the starting procedure, right? Whatever we put into place, I'm gonna be there to apply the rules and we'll go with it. Um so we had gone with the the starting procedure uh when I first started the fight for lanes with the score at the starting line. That was the was the new one that they wanted to try. You know, I I think it it did work, but I think honestly, you know, when we're talking about fight for lanes, and uh, and you know, I can get more into detail about the transition we're going into this year. And so my point was as I understand it and I enjoyed it, you know. Well, enjoyed it from in terms of an official, the warm-up is is absolute chaos.

SPEAKER_01 27:09

Yeah, it is, yeah, yeah.

Crashes, Sponsors, And Calling It Quits

SPEAKER_00 27:10

Uh, because you you're trying to look at to the left, you're trying to look to the right, there's boats everywhere, right? During the race, everyone's grouped together, so it's a little easier. But during the warm-up, I mean they're all over the place, they're cutting, of course, and you got to be on on your toes making sure nothing happens. But to my point was is no matter the starting procedure for fight for lanes, whether this the score is at the starting line, whether it's mid-back stretch, whether it's entrance of turn one, guys are always gonna push for that that edge to get the inside, and that's what they want to do, right? It's like in any sport you're doing, you're always pushing the edge of the limits to be competitive. So I always felt that you know, we've gone with this, this will work. And then you know, there's always the conversations of oh, you know, a lot of boats are getting taken out before the race, and but that's gonna happen. That's just that's part of the sport. Guys are not purposely cutting each other off, they're just trying to get lane one, and sometimes they're gonna make an aggressive move and then it doesn't pay off, and then someone gets washed out, and then you know, all the chaos ensues and so forth, right? So that's where I always stood, but I've always you know, but I've always said I will apply whatever we decide to uh to go with. So um this year we had an annual meeting, which we hadn't had the year before, and we got together with all the crew chiefs and the drivers, and you know, we had a good sit-down and had a good discussion on what do we need to do to move forward uh with this sport. And you know, that was the hot topic is the starting procedure, right? I I'd say that was probably about the only major rule that was in discussion. Yeah, yeah, and you know, you I'll say it was probably near still 50-50 on teams that wanted to try the pre-assigned lanes to the teams that still wanted to stay with fight for lanes.

SPEAKER_02 29:03

Right.

SPEAKER_00 29:04

So and you will never uh you know, you'll never get 100 pieces people on board with either one, right? People like the predetermined, some people like the fight for lanes, right? It's always gonna be that argument of what's the better um starting procedure, right?

SPEAKER_01 29:20

Oh, for sure. Yeah, you can't make everyone happy.

SPEAKER_00 29:23

No, that's exactly it, right? And you got your die hard old, you know, die hard unlimited fans that love that fight filling tactics and all the tactics. And me personally, too, I enjoy it, right? You getting to see all these teams trying different strategies, oh, yeah, it's always fun, right? But then when you get some of the boats get taken out for sure, then for the show it hurts. Um, so through all these conversations, and you know, we were getting pushed to try the predetermined lanes, you know. My kind of point of view for all of this was you know, because of this year, because we lost Gunnersville, unfortunately, we only have a four-race season. I said, guys, if there's a season that we want to try something, I say is now, right? We got four year races, it's a shortened season. Yeah, if we want to attempt something, try a predetermined lane, I'd say let's do it now and not wait till next year, saying hopefully we get six or five or six more race, and then we're into a full season. At least with a four-race season, if we realize it's not working, well, at least you know we can change back.

SPEAKER_01 30:26

And yeah, it's not like a 10-race season where you want halfway through, you're like, Oh, it's not working, let's let's switch gears here. Exactly, right?

SPEAKER_00 30:34

For me, this was the ideal time if we wanted to try something. So, uh, board of directors from all these conversations had, they've decided that okay, we're gonna try something. So now it was time to develop. What do we want to do? Right. Uh, so with the competition committee, um, which you know has just about every crew chief on board. It was myself, uh, I got John Walters from Inspector, um, you know, and the different crew chiefs got together and we started discussing on how we were gonna put this into place. Um, so now this is where we were the board and you know went back and forth with different options with the board, um, you know, different scenarios, and then finally we got to we're able to all agree with the competition committee and the board of directors to what we're gonna be presenting. And like I said, I'll go I can discuss now, but we saw the post about it. Um, we decided to go with uh predetermined lanes, but it's not so basically we're gonna go off of qualifying to start off, but your line will not be assigned, the driver will decide any lane. So with this instead is we're gonna go through qualifying and then we're gonna say we have eight votes, so one through eight. Eighth and seventh place are gonna get first pick for the qualifying heat, and then so on and so forth.

SPEAKER_01 31:57

So for the for the first round, right?

SPEAKER_00 32:00

For a first round, right? For first qualifying heat, we're gonna base it off of uh the off of qualifying on who had the fastest times. So the two fastest votes are gonna have the last pick for heat A and B in their respective heats, right? So we're gonna divide the heat a and b, you know, uh one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Seven and eight are gonna get first picks from their respective heats. Okay, and then you know, uh seven and eight, uh six and five, and four and three, and two and one, and so forth.

SPEAKER_01 32:28

So just inverted for the first round.

SPEAKER_00 32:30

Inverted, inverted, exactly. And the just the thought process is is we're trying to put on a better show.

SPEAKER_03 32:35

Yeah.

Learning To Ref Under Pressure

SPEAKER_00 32:36

And we want to not have the top boats always on the inside and then just running away with it, right? Right, right. Um, the other thought process is if your faster boats are on the outside, normally it's gonna put on a better show, right? And we had kind of had that mentality too with HRL with our heats on the Sunday, is your top boats are always starting on the outside. That's what's putting on a better show. If you're putting your faster boats on the inside, nine times out of ten, they're walking away with that, right? Right, right. So as we transition to heat two, well, now what we're gonna do is we're gonna take qualifying points along with heat one points, add those up, and then we're gonna do the same thing. We're gonna have a one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and we're gonna go into it again. Your eighth and seventh are gonna get first pick, and so on and so forth, right? So then as we transition to heat uh three, well, same thing. Now we're gonna be adding up every heat, and then same thing as always is your lowest votes are always gonna get first pick. Okay. Exception is when we get to the final. Getting to the final now, your top points getters of the weekend are gonna get the first pick, second pick, third pick. We want to reward teams now. Once you've gotten to the final, you've earned those points. Now you've earned your your pick.

SPEAKER_02 33:50

Right.

SPEAKER_00 33:51

Um, so that was that on on for the how we're gonna go about the the predetermined lanes. Um, you know, and then we didn't want to do random draw either. I think we wanted to know. I was never a fan of the random draws myself, you know, because you just you know never knew what could come out of it. You know, yes, we got some great heat draws, they say Tri-Cities last year. I mean, you know, we had uh the top four boats in one heat, so it was a great show. You know, we had uh both uh you know BWR boats and we had both uh strong boats in there, and it was a great race for sure. Um, but then you get some heat for you got you know one top boat and some lower boats, you know, just to make it easier. Heat so by doing this, you know, you're always getting a mix of the top to your your lower boats for the weekend. Um and then a little tap or little rule that we've added in is um a team can only choose lane one and lane two once in a season for the final.

SPEAKER_03 34:56

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:58

So kind of add in a bit of strategy into the team. So again, you know, the board not wanting to always have if it's the same guy, always um is having the great success, is not always gonna get lane one for the final, right? We wanted to add in so you can now you have to strategically choose when you want lane one or if you want them to. Um, so that's something that's gonna be interesting.

SPEAKER_01 35:21

Yeah, I think that's that's kind of fun to think about too, because there's different race courses with that different boats work better on. And exactly drivers know, you know, maybe in Tri-Cities I want to be lane one, but in Seattle I want to be in lane two, or you know, so that's that's that's pretty interesting to think about.

SPEAKER_00 35:40

Interesting. And I'll be honest to you, I doubt that anyone's gonna want to take lane one for Madison. I seem to nobody wants to put themselves in that position, right? Uh no. I I doubt that you will see that our top points get her in in in Madison this year is gonna opt to take lane one or two. Or maybe mistaken, but you know, we never know. But I I don't think uh lane one will be the first uh choice. No. Um and so yeah, so it's just gonna add more strategy to it. I like the idea of it. We're gonna give it a go. Um, yeah. I like the idea of drivers getting to choose their lane, then you're not being forced into a lane. I think that was one of the things that the crew chiefs wanted to. Like if a certain driver doesn't want to be in lane one, doesn't feel comfortable in lane one, or doesn't feel comfortable in well, he gets to choose ultimately his own destiny for the Heats.

SPEAKER_03 36:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:30

So that was that's yep.

The Path To H1 Unlimited

SPEAKER_01 36:33

Well, I would say I'm I'm a diehard fan. Uh I'm sure you noticed, but um, I and that race before the race has always been so much fun to watch. Uh the strategy, I mean, there's been some great stuff over the years, like J. Mocatelli um always to have to trick up a sleeve to get Lane One to be on the inside. But you know, lately we went to different parking starts and then like the last year in Seattle. It's been interesting to be on the beach and have the casual fans show up because like with the score up last year in Seattle, boats were parking right before the score-up. And then they've raced, like, you know, raced up to the score-up start line, and the casual fans had no idea what was going on. They thought that it was stopped because the boats were down the water. And they're like, okay, this is the start, and like, no, this isn't the start, it's it's the the setup before the start of the score-up. And so I think for the casual fan, it's gonna be a home run because it's uh it'll be much more under relatable and understandable what's happening on the water. Um they don't necessarily need to know who's in what lane, but it'll be much easier for them to know when the race is gonna start. So simpler for those for those people to understand.

SPEAKER_00 37:48

And that was that was the market we're we that you know we're aiming for. Um, unfortunately, those diehard fans, there's less and less of, right?

SPEAKER_03 37:56

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:57

And if we're trying to attract a newer, um a newer audience, I guess this is a you know an easier start to understand. Um, also with this, there's boats in essence what we're taking each other out before the start.

SPEAKER_01 38:11

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 38:12

And then you're just gonna have everybody coming down at the start at full speed, right? Because now, you know, we have the best drivers out there. Now all their sole focus is is hitting a start, be it that start line is zero. You know what lane you're gonna be in. Now it's they all they gotta know is their time marks, and um, you know, we're gonna see some wild starts, and it's gonna be uh absolutely wild watching these guys go barreling into turn one for sure.

SPEAKER_01 38:36

Yeah, yeah. So it'll be a fast first lap.

SPEAKER_00 38:41

Oh, for sure. You know, that's where I think is gonna is gonna be in hydro plane racing often, that's where all that action is, right? Most of the time is that um is that first lap, but now having you know, possibly your faster boat starting on the outside is just gonna have them push even harder to get around. And that's where I think we're gonna have a lot of close close races here. And even this year, I mean, the field is absolutely gonna be absolutely competitive. You know, uh, I think in my since my three years, this for sure probably gonna be the most competitive year we've had, uh, without a doubt. If you're looking at the quality of boats we have, um I think it's gonna be an amazing season.

SPEAKER_01 39:22

That's that's great to hear. Yeah. It sounds like there might be some more boats out there this year, um, especially with addition. You know, Stockland had the year out last year, they're they're back this year, and Madison has had much more team time to work on that old T3 haul um over there in Madison, Indiana. So they've been you know working all off season to make a better product on the water and hoping that they can make some more races as well.

Predetermined Lanes And New Strategy

SPEAKER_00 39:48

And then, you know, hoping that uh Jeff can make it out. I don't, you know, we're not sure what the frame trucking team's plans are, but you know, I think he proved it in Seattle can be extremely competitive, right? And he won, I believe, with the two or three qualifiers. So, I mean, he proved that you know he can put that boat up front. Yeah. So, you know, and then you know, just your others, Jamie Nielsen also, you know, he's proven that he, you know, I know they had their struggles last year, but you know, he's had proven speed also. Um, you know, and then you bring him back Jimmy Shane, who uh wants to or not, you know, the experiences there with a great team behind him, you know, it's just gonna be it's just gonna be an extremely competitive season for sure.

SPEAKER_01 40:31

Good. Yeah, well, I'm looking forward to that. But with that starting procedure, how close or how different is that from the HRL starting procedure? Because I know there's the sign lanes there, but there's some nuances there. Is that a similar structure for HRL or is that different?

SPEAKER_00 40:47

Um similar in essence. Um, us, you don't get to choose your lane with HRL. Okay. HRL. Um, so the first weekend, um, and this is Grand Prix side because Grand Prix has their own uh sort of uh rules, but everyone else, uh first race of the year, it's a random draw to see who's getting lane one through six, we'll say. Uh, and he's qualifying heat uh for the first heat, and then after that, it's reverse order for heat two, but it's always predetermined, like there's no choice of lanes. And then on the Sunday morning, well, the boats with the most points are starting on the outside versus the boats with the fewer points are starting on the inside, and then come the final, um it's the top boats are on the inside, and then how we proceed after that for the rest of the year. Um the qualifying groups one and two are based off of high points. So the second race of the year, if you're first place in high points, well, you're getting lane one, heat one, and then second place you're getting heat, you're getting lane one and heat two, and depending how many groups. So that's where the differences is drivers are are assigned the lane as more now H1, like I said. Drivers are getting the opportunity to choose their lane. And we're also basing it off every weekend off of we're starting it off with qualifying, you know, it's not based off of high points. So you truly got to earn your way through the whole weekend. You can't base it off of success from another weekend.

SPEAKER_01 42:14

Okay, okay. Well, it's interesting to see like the different nuances between the two series. Um, and I'm excited to see where this will go for each each one. It sounds like it's uh kind of a no-brainer because there's a lot of lot of pluses, you know, for the sign lanes with this. And uh, I'm hoping that it'll save some equipment as well. I mean, I want to see the drivers to be aggressive, but hopefully there's less pre-race incidents and hopefully, you know, not stop going from stopping to to full throttle so quickly. Hopefully, I'll save some equipment as well.

SPEAKER_00 42:47

Yeah, I believe so. I mean, like I said, there's no reason for it now for guys to be, you know, cutting each other off, right? They know it. And even like the race off the dock, you know, that's gonna be a lot easier. Um, you know, the amount of you know, making sure we had to have a drone there or to make sure that you know no one's cutting each other off coming off the dock because that was strategy too, right? You know, dock position became an issue. People, you know, um trying to get in the water first and try scooting over on the docks. I know you know that caused some some stir in years past of you know, teams wanting that dock position. And so now we're reliminating all that, right? There's no more race off the dock, teams can take their times, and you know, there's no holding on to the boat, you know, holding on by your pinky finger just to make sure you know you're within the rule of you know, someone has to be touching the boat. So it's gonna make things a lot easier, especially from my aspect. The warm-up period, you know, I is gonna be is awfully quiet now, right? Yeah, warm-up period, and normally the the the five-minute gun was you know was absolute chaos. And yeah, you know, like I said mentioned before, is you you're watching this, you're watching the guys coming off the docks, and then you're you know, your eyes are everywhere. Um, you know, I have my two TV drones screens and looking left and right and up front and trying to see where everybody is. So yeah, it's gonna it's gonna make my life a whole lot simpler during the the warm-up period for sure.

SPEAKER_01 44:14

Well, good. I'm glad to hear that. But you might not be glad to hear that this is the end of the episode for today. Because that's all the time we have for today, knuckleheads. So tune in next week. We're gonna continue my talk with Jonathan. We're gonna talk more about the rules for H1 Limited, we're gonna talk more about what to expect for this upcoming season, maybe um confirm or deny some news and rumors and just have some more fun talking about hyperclans. Until then, make sure you check us out online. Our website, rich and health talk.com, check us out on social media or on Facebook and Instagram. And until next time,