Race Day: Jettribe Lake Elsinore Open Round 4 with Tanaka Racing

Just a quick recap of our last race event (for points) at the Jettribe Lake Elsinore Open for Round 4 of the CA series.

We arrived early again to set up our pit area at Lake Elsinore in sunny California. It's was looking to be another hot day for race day at this closed course race.

Certainly not the biggest, but Tanaka Racing's Tundra is well suited to pull a full trailer with two runabouts and a full-size quad/ATV

 Maneuvering full size trucks and trailers in the makeshift pits can be tricky, but it seems riders/teams stake out the same spots every season, which makes things a little easier if you know your way around. We positioned the truck at a location similar to last season and began unloading our gear/watercraft. Did I mention it was really hot?

Typical of the usual pit setup - large area to work, and canopy to cover all tools, equipment, gear, etc.

This was the temperature just as it was coming down from peak, a canopy/tent is a must here at the lake races

We made a quick tour of the pits and made our way to the front to check the course layout and race schedule. PWC racing is definitely no joke, as some teams bring 4-5 skis per trailer, with full pit crew personnel in tow. Everything from converted panel trucks, vans, commercial trucks, and tricked out personal rides fill the pits and parking area. Many teams arrive early to pick out the best launch area pit spots, as the rest of the shore is dotted with branches and debris, making it difficult to launch and retrieve watercraft.

The Xterra behind this custom GMC dually looks very small in comparison...

Many crews show their support in numbers, as in the case with the KMG racing crew

A shot of the pits on the shore side, these guys come early to set up their tents and launch areas right by the shore

The course layout has a split section similar to the last Lake Perris open layout, and just about as small/technical as the last race. Although max speed won't be realized in this race, previous testing with our DigSpice Data Logger has shown that we have improved acceleration compared to previous data.

Here's the course layout for the day's race

Data from practice sessions and straight line testing showed approximately 3.1-3.5 sec for 0-40mph sprints for Tanaka Racing's stock-engine Ultra 260X

Not sure how clean the waters are but luckily there are showers for those who get into the water

All day, there are skis lined up and ready to go

In all, there were about 50-odd participants spread across 18 races

The line of jet-ski's keeps going and going...

Just before the second set of races, riders in the free style event compete during a timed session. People gathered to watch two riders show their best moves.

Ok... Getting back to the race! Due to the smaller groupings in the Amateur and Novice classes, the runabout stock class was entered in with the N/A Runabout and Expert Runabout (Open class) groups to make for an exciting race.

Akira Tanaka staying close to Evelyn's 300X running in the Women's Runabout class

...however Akira's older 260X could not match the 300X's straight line speed with a close finish

Race #8 proved to be exciting as expected with 3 different classes running head to head with Novice class starting last with a "dead start" (no key in ignition)

The Expert Open class riders come up to the Stock class runabouts at about half way through the race... very fast skis

Anthony's lighter Novice/Stock class RXP-X 260 proved to be a tough competitor

N/A Runabout class skis, such as Brian and Brandon's Sea-Doos also proved to be very quick around the track

Another race finished and some points! Congrats to Akira and Tanaka Racing for their finish!

Viewing the data, we can see that his fastest times were realized taking the smoothest turns with wider radius (red line) through the turns. Despite the short course and stock engine, the ski still managed to hit 50mph in the short straight which is quite something considering the weight of these large runabouts.

The red triangle on the Y-axis of the G map shows the radius of the turn at that moment on the track

At the end of the day, Akira Tanaka managed 1st in Amateur/Stock, and 2nd in Novice/Stock classes for runabouts. With nothing but a 2 man team getting this 1000+lb behemoth watercraft to and from the start line throughout the busy day, it was a long day, but a great finish!