Great Lakes Grand Prix!

The 3 boats were throwing up WALLS of water, so it was difficult to tell exactly where every one of the bouys were.

But from my vantage point, it sure looked like they heading inside. Then just spray everywhere. Water, and people trying to walk on water.

In any case, it scared the $hit out of me and everyone around me on the pier.

I was positive they were coming inside too, but then the team must have seen the people in front of them because they practically took it completely off plane and turned sharp behing the others. I didn't think they were inside the buoy, but as I said, I was watching the people, not the buoy, saying Oh Schit.....
 
Saturday when they were out testing, I couldn't believe how many of them ran through the spectator fleet. I was idling along and Straight Jacket says "You might wanna watch out behind you..." Turned around and saw Miss Geico at about 100 mph...kinda scared me. Saw the Sutphen come off plane rapidly and start chining like mad...thought they were gonna dump it. Don't know why they didn't just set up the course and marshal it like on race day...either that or the race teams could've gone offshore about 2 miles and had the whole lake to themselves.
 
We had an awesome time at the event...Michigan City has an awesome facility for certain. The crowd was pretty big...spectator fleet was huge...

I can see how people may have been disappointed in the size of the fleet...plus, it's not easy to just watch boats run in a circle without knowing what's going on...once the initial shock and amazement wear off and the racers space out...it's not exactly like watching NASCAR or a drag race. IMO...that's other people's problem...I LOVED it!

We had a big bunch of bad influence peeps onhand, and made a bunch of new friends as well.

Even got to meet the great Sunkin and Stecz...and STILL had a good time!

I really hope they come back again.

Well said. It was good meeting you guys this weekend as well as everybody else that I may or may not remember. I had a blast. With so much going on, meeting new people, dry pits, wet pits, coolers etc, I was like a kid in a candy store. I hope as well they come back. MC did a great job with it. Oh and I have to give a shout out to Bad Influence Offshore
 
What a great weekend....I have to give it up to the teams that showed up for this event!!! The local organization that put on the event said this morning that they had over 90,000 spectators between Friday and Sunday which does not include all of the people that were spectating from stop 2 - 20. There were also roughly 200 or so boats spectating yesterday. This is the first year for this so of course they will learn how to improve on some aspects of the weekend. They should setup the course for practice on Saturday....besides that I felt that everything went very well. For anyone that thinks 90,000 + people and 200 + boats is a flop let me know what type of turnout you get at your other venues. BTW it was great to meet Chris on Saturday....he introduced me to the legend Bobby Saccenti. Thanks Chris!
 
Well...I think we put a few dollars in Matey's pockets again this weekend!

Good to meet you Jason...we'll have to hook up when the water gets hard and white this winter and dual our SRX700s!
 
I caught up with Paul Kemiel the sports photographer the CVB locally was utilizing for the weekend... http://www.paulkemielphotographics.com

Paul is my cousin's husband and has covered racing events for decades!

His comment that is pounding in my mind is " most of the spectators at the race were new race fans, having never seen an offshore event before" he said it was an incredible spectacle! A whole fleet of powerboat enthusiasts from Chicago area came over in mass! Hundreds of pleasure craft and hot boats!

I think the event was a smash hit! Home-run out of the ballpark!

Great Job SBI, and all the teams who made the race a reality...

Coach
 
MICHIGAN CITY - While thousands of spectators enjoyed the Great Lakes Grand Prix super boat race Sunday, others were making sure the crowds were safe, orderly and refreshed with food and drink.

Jason Miller, sports development manager for the La Porte County Conventional and Visitors Bureau, credited the area police, fire and emergency management departments as well as the Michigan City Park & Recreation Department for their contributions to the event's success.

"When you put on an event like this, you really learn who understands the economic importance to the city," Miller said. "Everybody understands the impact on the city."

Miller said the CVB will come up with a rough estimate of the race's financial contribution to local businesses in a few weeks. He coordinated the event with the Super Boat International organization, and said the attendance Sunday far exceeded expectations.

"I've never seen this many people in Michigan City in my life," he said. "I think 20,000 were here yesterday and there are four times that many here today. This was beyond our expectations."

Race day turned out to be a sunny, scorchingly hot August day, tempered by a steady breeze off Lake Michigan. After it rained on the opening day parade, Miller was pleased with the weather during the remainder of the weekend.

"It's perfect," he said. "You couldn't ask for better."

Parks superintendent Jan Orlich said the crowd size was similar to the estimated 40,000 people who attended this year's fireworks show, but there were fewer problems Sunday.

"It's a nice crowd," she said Sunday. "We've had a few parking problems with people upset because they couldn't get in and gave our parking staff a hard time."

The number of drivers trying to get into Washington Park was so large, the line reached from the entrance booth over the bridge and back to U.S. 12. Police shut off vehicle traffic about 12:30 p.m., according to Brandi Graves, assistant parking supervisor for Washington Park.

"It's amazing to see how many people are coming down here for this event," she said. "We sold a lot of daily park passes (for $6 apiece)."

Michigan City police officer Greg Radiger patrolled on a four-wheeler and thought visitors were well-behaved.

"The crowds were very cooperative today and there were no major problems," he said. "Traffic flowed smoothly."

Bob Greaney, with St. Anthony Memorial, was posted at the emergency preparedness incident command center in the parking lot next to the marina boat launches. He thought the crowd was bigger than what he was told to expect - 7,000 to 10,000. He was keeping people out of the parking lot to allow movement of emergency vehicles. At the same location, volunteers Scott Foster and Willie Moore, with the Emergency Management Association, were helping boat trailers get in and out of the water and were ready to assist anyone suffering from heat stroke or other health conditions. When the race was over, they would control the crowd and make sure people got out of the area safely.

Refreshments were readily available, with local companies doing a steady business on Sunday. Stephanie Balch, with McGinnis Pub, had a constant flow of customers at the beer tent. Similarly, Emily Blitstein said business was good at the Lakeshore Coffee booth. Popular items were turkey avocado wraps, smoothies and all the iced drinks, she said.

"It's been really busy," she said. "They're keeping us on our toes."

Moe Mroueh, owner of Sahara Restaurant, said business on Sunday was much better than the two preceding days. His best seller was kefta, a mixture of ground beef and lamb grilled and served on a pita with cucumbers, lettuce and a tahini sauce.

Mroueh said his restaurant was really busy over the weekend as well.

"Any activity like this that brings people here is welcome," he said. "They should advertise the heck out of it."

Zach Martin, of Bubbles Ice Cream Parlor, said they scooped a lot of ice cream over the three days. He talked to a number of visitors from out of state - Florida, Texas, New York - who are super boat fans and travel the race circuit.

"I think if Michigan City can get more things like this, it will put such a positive spin on the city," Martin said. "We need a million things like this in the summer."

Contact Laurie Wink at lwink@thenewsdispatch.com.
 
Here's one I found. Simmons moving in on a tight corner......:sifone:


MICitySimmonsCCCrop.jpg
 
Just got home and i have to say it was an awsome place race. I have never seen fans come out like they did day after day.The beach and Lake are beautiful , and the park was packed . The town was behind it 100% and what a great group to work with, they are so helpful. I see this race getting bigger and better evey yr!!!!
 
it makes a big difference when the town is 100% behind it. Biloxi, Cumberland, Sarasota, St Clair, Mich City, Ocean City, Patchogue all great venues. Its nice when everyone looks forward to the race coming to town and coming out to support it 100%.
 
Well...I think we put a few dollars in Matey's pockets again this weekend!

Good to meet you Jason...we'll have to hook up when the water gets hard and white this winter and dual our SRX700s!

Anytime bro anytime, you are always welcome on the Magic Medicine! I told you our crew partied hard:sifone:

Good Stuff Mike. I will represent BIO best I can, thanks for letting me be a part of the crew:cool:. I'm representing today. I think the truck has a vacant window:) Sleddin sounds good to me.(after some more boating though, we finally got summer, no pun intended)

Thanks Andy as was talked about, I was a bit off Sat due to, well me. I didn't feel like myself that night.I was :willy_nilly: Had a good time hanging out with all.
Jason
 
RATICKLE You started out as a nice guy ,but lately you have really changed . i hope you dont get too caught up in this never ending rivalry.You wont be proud of youreself when you look back and see what mimicking a few bad guys has done to you .

youre a moderator so i know YOU can read this .
 
As I was Leaving the Race an Ambulance was Coming in, guess Someone had a Heart Attack. People were all Saying The Boats Hit Someone in the Water on the First Lap, that kind of BS will Ruin it for next Year.
 
As I was Leaving the Race an Ambulance was Coming in, guess Someone had a Heart Attack. People were all Saying The Boats Hit Someone in the Water on the First Lap, that kind of BS will Ruin it for next Year.

The race would have been flagged until proper medical attention had been put into place. With all the choppers and safety rescue boats, a person in the water hurt would be treated the same as if there were an injured racer in the water. No difference, that's why the communications and pace boats are there.
 
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