Capsules Are Not REQUIRED
When I was OPC Chairman, we had a 16 year old girl killed in Sport C at Kankakee, Illinois at the Nationals, 1999.
My Commission under the guidance of Mike Wienandt, wrote new safety rules for SPORT C, the new rules required side protection to be even with the ear. Thankfully we have not had an injury since.
When I WROTE the Sport C rules, I wrote them to favor the Tohatsu, as they paid for our racing insurance and I didn't want a 31 cubic inch Tohatsu 40 competing with Merc 44's so I wrote the run that 32 cubic inches, as I didn't want Mercury winning with their 402 or 44 cubic inchers.
I also didn't want guys building "BACK YARD" Custom boats, so I wrote the rules to say "FIBERGLASS BOATS ONLY."
The trouble with my fiberglass boats only rule was that the cost of building a "PLUG", then a mold then a boat was expensive. And if you build a "DOG". You had to start over.
Bob Carlson and Gary Ferguson always had an eye for beauty, but their designs were not always FAST.
The early Bob Cats needed help and Blake provided this help.
I doubt anyone is running a Bob Cat in Sport C, as few were really built and few ran fast. The Gran Prix of Bruce Borquin was just head and shoulders above the others.
Seems the Gran Prix or those like it are boat to beat today!
Region 11 has about 15 Sport C's and no Bob Cats.
Sport C's development stopped when they didn't allow the three cyclinder 40's.....a STUPID RULE if you asked me!