 The seventh race of the 2024 ERCU Pentair Championship Series is the Roger Newton Memorial, set for Saturday, June 29, at Long’s Pond (Woodland Creek Park) in Lacey. Here is all you need to know to be prepared for the seventh event of the year.
Location 6729 Pacific Ave SE Lacey, WA 98503 Contest Director David Newton Context This will mark the 16th running of the Roger Newton Memorial. Roger Newton, club founder and hall of fame RC scale racer, passed away in the summer of 2008. Since then the club has been dedicated to racing in his honor. Roger spent his lifetime promoting and racing scale RC hydroplanes of all sizes. In the early 1970’s he created Newton Marine, a side business that sells 1/8-scale hydroplane plans. He then created R/C Unlimiteds in 1976, the first club dedicated to racing nothing but scale hydroplane models. He helped to form Classic Thunder in 1994 and then created ERCU in 2003. He was influential with scale RC racing around the world and spent his life fulfilling that dream. David Newton will again direct the race. This year he plans to make the race bigger and better than previous years with more raffle prizes, awards, lunch and other surprises along the way. This will be a race you won’t want to miss! What to Expect (All times approximate, and subject to change)
Pre-Registration Pre-Registration for the Roger Newton Memorial is now open. To find the pre-registration form, navigate your web browser to www.ercu-hydros.com/roger-newton-memorial.html, where you will find the pre-registration link in a gray box just under the photo of Hawaii Kai on the event page of the website. Pre-registration will close at 6 p.m., Friday, June 28. After that deadline, please register in person on site before 8:30 a.m. You can also find pre-registration by going to www.ercu-hydros.com, then selecting “Schedule” from the main menu, and “Roger Newton Memorial” from the schedule itself. Drivers Meeting The drivers meeting is mandatory for ALL divisions and all classes and will begin at the scorer’s table within five minutes of the closing of the testing period. Drivers who do not attend the drivers meeting will be scratched from the first heat regardless of whether they are pre-registered and pre-paid. Drivers arriving after the drivers meeting will not be added to the event until the draw for the second flight of heats. Race Officials
Jack Regas Memorial Defending Champions
Race Format
Post-Race Cleanup and Awards Presentation Members will help clean up and pack up the trailer after the last Final heat. Once the trailer is packed, awards and the 50/50 raffle will be presented. All members are encouraged to show sportsmanship and help to clean up after the race and stay for the awards ceremony. Restrooms Public restrooms are available on site. Electricity There is no access to electricity in the pits. It would be wise to bring a generator or other power source to charge your batteries if you need to charge during the day.  The weather gods sure weren’t smiling on the 2024 Jack Regas Memorial at Waughop Lake.
But ERCU kept at it and two racers will never forget the day. It was a horribly windy, rainy day that included a torrential hailstorm along the way. But the club persevered and every heat was eventually completed. Tom Markos and Dennis Caines stole the show with each posting his first-ever ERCU race wins. Their momentous occasion wasn’t christened with the traditional post award dip in the lake due the unusual day all had endured. Markos won the 1/10 scale modern final with his 2015 Graham Trucking (U-7), followed by Nelson Holmberg’s 2023 Bucket List Racing. Caines posted victory in the 1/7 scale vintage class with his 1968 Eagle Electric. Caines was the only finisher, but you can’t win a race without finishing. Rick Evans didn’t have a bad day, either. Evans logged a nearly perfect day turning in 1,500 points with his just-delivered 1960 Thriftway Too making its first race entry. Evans finished second in the boats first-ever heat, made some quick adjustments and came back to win each of the next three rounds including the winner-take-all final heat. Evans also won the 1/10 scale classic final heat with his 1972 Notre Dame. The heat started out as perhaps the most competitive and most entertaining heat of the day. Evans and Holmberg – driving Markos’ 1976 Atlas Van Lines – dueled through the first two laps before the Atlas hit a hole in the wind-powered rough water entering turn one and rolled upside down. Chuck Murray ended up second with his 1983 Miss Houston. Craig Mullen posted victory in the 1/7-scale classic/modern class, running the field’s only classic boat – Denise Sjostrom’s 1975 Miss U.S. – to a win in the final heat. Second place went to Denise, driving the 1990 Oh Boy! Oberto. It was perhaps the first time in ERCU history that there were no third or lower place finishers in any of the final heats. It was a nice surprise to see Classic Thunder members Mitch Dillard, Ron Forister and Matthew Sanders hang out with us for most of the day in Lakewood. PSFE member Jim Hagen also hung out with us all day and even helped set the race course and pilot the rescue boat a couple of times. We appreciate the fellow racers from other clubs who visited us and stuck around despite the nasty weather. Next up is the Roger Newton Memorial on Saturday, June 29 in Lacey. It’s always one that’s not to be missed. Presented by Roostertail Talk and Newton Marine, there are always giveaways, drawings, raffles and food provided by the club. It’s truly one of the premier races of every ERCU season.  The sixth race of the 2024 ERCU Pentair Championship Series is the Jack Regas Memorial, set for Saturday, June 15, at Waughop Lake in Lakewood. Here is all you need to know to be prepared for the sixth event of the year.
Location Waughop Lake/Fort Steilacoom Park 8714 87th Ave SW Lakewood, WA 98498 Contest Directors Rick Evans Context This race had been known as the ERCU Apple Cup since its inception in 2010, when Ben Keller created the event, complete with an exhibition race drawing as many boats as possible that ran in the 1957 Apple Cup in Chelan, Wash., to recreate that final heat. After Jack Regas passed away in early 2014, Keller requested permission from the ERCU Contest Board to change the name of the event to the Jack Regas Memorial, in honor of the onetime Hawaii Kai III driver, who had not only met with Keller to see his models of the “Pink Lady”, but also followed the boat’s seasons in ERCU and ESU. After ERCU high points championships in 2011 and 2012, Keller presented Regas with plaques commemorating the wins. Jack Regas meant a lot to not only the Hawaii Kai history, Keller, and Choral Enterprises, but also to unlimited hydroplane racing in general. ERCU is proud to have an event named for his memory. What to Expect (All times approximate, and subject to change)
Pre-Registration Pre-Registration for the Jack Regas Memorial is now open. To find the pre-registration form, navigate your web browser to https://www.ercu-hydros.com/jack-regas-memorial.html, where you will find the pre-registration link in a gray box just under the photo of Hawaii Kai on the event page of the website. Pre-registration will close at 6 p.m., Friday, June 14. After that deadline, please register in person on site before 8:30 a.m. You can also find pre-registration by going to www.ercu-hydros.com, then selecting “Schedule” from the main menu, and “Jack Regas Memorial” from the schedule itself. Drivers Meeting The drivers meeting is mandatory for ALL divisions and all classes and will begin at the scorer’s table within five minutes of the closing of the testing period. Drivers who do not attend the drivers meeting will be scratched from the first heat regardless of whether they are pre-registered and pre-paid. Drivers arriving after the drivers meeting will not be added to the event until the draw for the second flight of heats. Race Officials
Jack Regas Memorial Defending Champions
Race Format
Post-Race Cleanup and Awards Presentation Awards will be given to the first, second and third place finishers immediately upon the completion of the day’s last race. Club equipment cleanup and re-packing the trailer will take priority once the awarded ceremony is over. All members have a responsibility to help with set up and breakdown of club equipment. As a courtesy to your fellow racers. Restrooms Public restrooms are available on site. Electricity There is no access to electricity in the pits. It would be wise to bring a generator or other power source to charge your batteries if you need to charge during the day. Pre-Registration Pre-Registration for the Jack Regas Memorial is now open. To find the pre-registration form, navigate your web browser to https://www.ercu-hydros.com/jack-regas-memorial.html, where you will find the pre-registration link in a blue box just under the race site map. Pre-registration will close at 6 p.m., Friday, June 14. After that deadline, please register in person on site before 8:30 a.m.  Paul Dunlap, Paxton Reunanen and Jim McKeon earned top honors atop the podiums for the ERCU Pentair Championship Series, Stan Sayers memorial, presented by American SaniCan. The fifth race of the 12-race ERCU season was completed yesterday with 28 boats vying for the four top spots.
Paul Dunlap improved upon his already stellar success this season by nabbing the top spot in both 1/10 Classic and 1/10 vintage divisions. Dunlap posted a perfect 1600 points driving Rick Evans 1972 Notre Dame in classic and nearly perfect 1,500 points with his Exide in 1/10 vintage. Jerry Dunlap and his newly built 1985 Coors Light turned in a respectable 1,125 points and finished second to his son Paul in 1/10 classic. This is ERCU history as the first time a father has finished as race runner up with his son standing next to and just above him on the podium. Congratulations Jerry and Paul for achieving such a wonderful accomplishment. This was an impressive moment, and we all salute you. Honorable mention goes out to John Earnest who quietly piloted his Gale V to a second-place finish in the 1/10 vintage class. Earnest finished all four heats on the day with three seconds, a third and 1125 points. This was just John’s first race this season and was another incredibly solid veteran performance. Honorable mention also goes to Nelson Holmberg who won all three preliminary 1/10 modern heats and took his Bucket List Racing boat into the winner take all final with a perfect 1,200 points on the day. Paxton Reunanen had picked up DNF’s in round one and two. Reunanen then finished last in round three but that last place finish was good enough to punch his ticket into the 1/10 modern final. The final saw Holmberg’s Bucket List blow over on the first lap, David Heilbrunn’s Goodman Real Estate nearly crushed the disabled Bucket List on lap number three but narrowly avoided the mishap albeit flipping the Goodman in the process. That left just Tom Markos and Reunanen and Markos' Graham Trucking lost power before finishing the final lap leaving Reunanen all alone to take the 1/10 modern trophy for the fourth time (out of five races) this season. Reunanen and his 2010 Graham Trucking have won all four of the four races he has attended this season. The big boats came next with 1/7 scale vintage providing entertainment throughout. The first round saw every boat lose power or otherwise become disabled leaving each of them with a DNF. Round two saw just two boats make the start with John Sjostrom’s 1960 Miss Thriftway topping Dennis Caines' 1968 Eagle Electric. Round three included Jim McKeon’s 1957 Maverick return to finish second to the Eagle Electric. For the final heat every boat made the start and three of them finished. Winning his first Heat on the day but the all-important winner takes all final was McKeon who remained steady as the others each picked up driving infractions. This was Big Jim’s second 1/7 scale vintage class race win on the season. Chuck Murray made his season debut with a successful third place podium finish in 1/10 classic and fourth place in 1/10 vintage, although third in points with 1,050. Welcome back to Chuck and to Brad Lewis who made his return to the club and was embraced by all for his humble words early and exuberant competitive spirit throughout the day. The Pentair ERCU Championship Series continues with a return to Lake Waughop in Lakewood for the season halfway race number six on Saturday June 15. Registration is open and everyone is encouraged to preregister by clicking here. |
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