Whether they were one of the many sponsored competitors hailing from 16 countries from across the globe, or just a racer riding a stock Kawasaki Ultra 310X or Yamaha FX SVHO, Hydro-Turf was found on personal watercraft at this year’s Mark Hahn Memorial 300. Standups with custom-covered trays or supercharged sitdowns with trick two-tone mats and seats, the legendary traction provided by the HT brand kept riders planted as they lapped the 10-mile course again and again and again…
For the 11th annual Mark Hahn, Mother Nature kicked up her fury a few hours into the competition, with winds coming from the south churning up the lake into 4-to-4-and-a-half foot chop peaking in 8-foot intervals. Already well into the race, riders’ fatigue began to set in with many simply “checking out,” tensely gripping their handlebars with all the strength they could muster. The mind is willing, but the flesh is weak, as they say. Other racers pushed their craft to their breaking points.
While The Watercraft Journal will be bringing you our excellent coverage from this past Saturday’s race, we wanted to bring you an awesome perspective of the exciting shotgun start of this year’s Hahn. This start differed from previous years, as runabouts were densely packed together (causing some very near misses and collisions), with the standups starting a delayed 30 seconds behind the melee of the larger PWC. The breakup was praised by racers after the event as a smart amendment to the start.
Below is a video from Jettribe’s FB page showing the start:
