The first weekend of H1 Unlimited Hydroplane racing is in the books.

High water levels made the Fourth of July weekend tough on the Madison Regatta, its fans and our race teams. The pit area was less than half the size needed to put on an H1 high points race. There was no possible way we could even have the GPWs and the Unlimiteds in the pit area at the same time.

On Sunday, after an emergency owners meeting at 10:30 a.m., we knew we could not put on a full race. Still, we wanted to put on a show.

One of the biggest crowds in recent memory turned out for the two-day event, and with the memory of the 2013 Madison Regatta cancellation, we were concerned about losing this site. We wanted to give the fans a show and that we did.

Not only was the water level high, early in the day the debris near alongside the Kentucky shoreline was an issue. We designed a tighter race course.

Two-boats would race in the preliminary heats, and then a four-boat, front row final would be the grand finale.

The owners were given an opportunity to have their teams check out the Ohio River after the meeting, and then decide if they wanted to race. Five boats answered the call.

A non-point shootout format was designed. Trophies were going to be awarded as it was a competitive event. The five teams that answered the call raced hard. There was no testing or qualifying prior to the racing and teams were adjusting their set ups as a result of the findings in the two preliminary heats.

For the final, we drew for lanes instead of battling for starting positions. J. Michael Kelly in the U-5 drew lane one and Jimmy Shane in the U-1 drew lane two. It was a big advantage for J. Michael if he could hold the lane after the first turn on this tight course. He did just that winning the final heat.

After the conclusion of the Madison Indiana Governors Cup Trophy presentation, H-1 learned of a technical violation against the U-5 in the final. Had this been a “race” per the rule book, the U-5 would have been DSQ’d for a flagrant N2 violation. But this was an alternative, non-championship point, shootout event. There is no specific rule for a shootout or an alternative format.

Chief referee Brian Hajny and I reviewed the timeline, the videos available to us, and the technical violations. It’s clear the fuel and N2 weren’t turned up for the final, as the occurrence was six seconds, not the entire race. Also, at the time of the occurrence, the U-5 had a two roostertail lead over the U-1.

What we do know is that the N2 violation took place. In our evaluation, we did not see any intent to ignore the N2 policies.

What we now need to do is ensure transparency in the sport. This week, we’ll have a Board of Directors teleconference and address rules specific to shootouts and “alternative” race formats.

Additionally, we will ask the Board to pass a rule for H1 Championship point races that have been discussed in the last six months.

To wit:

Unless a violation is found within 30 minutes of the end of a final heat, the awards shall be given by the host committee based on the “on water results”. If, after the 30-minute period, technical violations or other infractions are found, H1 shall either fine, reduce points or both as to the offending team the week following the event. The awards that were given shall remain as given. This mirrors the intent of NASCAR and INDYCAR post-race penalties.

If passed, H-1 will be implementing the rule to deal with such matters commencing with the APBA HAPO Gold Cup in Tri-Cities later this month.

And to help with the technical aspects of this sport, H1 will have John Walters as the Chief Inspector at the Gold Cup. Not only is John the first driver to win an unlimited race in a turbine powered hydroplane, he is a preeminent hull designer and crew chief who can best understand the technical nuances of our sport. Late last week, John agreed to work the Gold Cup for us and hopefully, we can convince him to stay with us for the remainder of the season.

More importantly, I want everyone who loves this sport to understand, we are going to be transparent. If something goes wrong, we will admit our mistakes. We will dissect the problem and make changes.

The Madison Regatta Indiana Governors Cup non-point shootout was won by J. Michael. The trophies were awarded for a competitive event, but it is not an H1 championship, high point race win. The driver and team will not be awarded points nor credited as a race win for H1 historical purposes.

We gave the City of Madison the best show we could offer on such a difficult weekend. We have to thank the GPWs for providing the racing on Saturday and thank all our teams for helping us figure out a plan to race on Sunday.

If this weekend proved one thing, it shows how we are going to do our best to give the fans of our sport the best and safest racing possible.

I can’t wait for Tri-Cities and the Gold Cup.

Thank you.