Victory! In Heat 1A At San Diego Bayfair.

Congratulations Kip Brown, Mike Hanson and the Ellstrom Racing Team on a decisive win in Heat 1A on Saturday at Bayfair.

The first attempt to run Heat 1A at San Diego’s Bayfair on Saturday afternoon lasted only a quarter of a lap.

Jon Zimmerman secured lane one in the battle for the inside and led the field into turn one. But at the apex of the turn, the rudder bracket on Zimmerman’s 9 RedDOT/Les Schwab Tires failed, causing the boat to spin violently and forcing stoppage of the heat. Damage to the boat put Zimmerman on the beach for the rest of the weekend.

When the heat was rerun, Kip Brown took the inside and took control in the 96 Spirit of Qatar. The second fastest qualifier had Cal Phipps on his hip for the first lap in the 7 Graham Trucking but pulled away to take the win with Phipps second. Third place went to Scott Liddycoat in his first heat as driver of Schumacher Racing’s 21 Miss Beacon Plumbing. Dave Warren was fourth in the 100 Tony Roma’s.

Brown’s said, “We made a fairly easy start, didn’t want to get over the line too soon. But by the time we left turn one we were clear of the field and just went for a boat ride.

Brown added, “We continue to get better and it’s a great boat. We still have room for improvement but its coming along and we’ll get there. I love driving this boat!”