Clock vs LaMans start

[racingfan1]

When did the UIM go to the Le Mans style start , this video is 1982 and it was a clock start ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tqwhLyfjmo

[Master Oil Racing Team]

All my European UIM races were clock start. The last race of my career was in Berlin in 1981, and it was a clock start. I didn't attend another UIM race until Florida in 1993, and I am trying to think back. Seems like the World Champioship classes were Le Mans and the APBA races were clock start. I remember the clock start because Steve Litzell got his hind end chewed up by a propeller at the start when a boat launched over him. And I seem to remember Kay Harrison coming off a Le Mans start in a capsule hydro, then getting close to the first turn, blowing over. Also Jerry Drake made a great Le Mans start and won one heat. So sometime in between 1982 and 1993.

[Steve Litzell]

Back in the eighties they did both. The Oc race in Austria it was a clock start, but the next week in Berlin it was Lemans start. At theOc in 93 when I got cut, it was a Lamans start but I got run over several laps in the race as I guy Ihad just passed, came off the water and caught up to me. Weird accident for sure and my butt scares show it. I think by that time most UIM championships were Lamans start. So yea I agree by 93 and up. In the mid eighties the Ob race in Milano was Lamans and also a couple years later in England for the OD and OB race where Ralph got injured.

[Donald]

I was hoping Steve would comment on this, I could not remember the dates. My first race in Europe was at Oberhavel in 1980, it was a clock start and we started 30 C hydros at one time.
Dieter was my pit crew and he told me he would crank the engine and put me in the water with ten seconds on the clock and I should head for the first turn with full throttle. I was not first to the turn, but I was ahead of most. We did this for three heats and I finished seventh overall. I was really amazed how this Dannish hydro flew over the rough water. The next week I went to Linz, Austria with Hans Krage which was also a clock start.
My next race in Europe was in 1984 in Nottingham, UK for the 350 which was a jetty start, the next year 1985 was in Grein, Austria with Steve on the Danube river was a clock start. But the next weekend back at Oberhavel was a jetty start. My next race was in Ternopil, USSR in 1987 with a clock start, so I guess you can conclude that they were using both starts until then. After that time I believe they were all jetty starts. I must tell sometime about going to Grein and Berlin with Steve and Douglas Willey, it was a comical.

[Steve Litzell]

Careful Ralph, the Statute of limitations may not be lapsed on that one:rolleyes:

[jrome]

Ralph if you one of those three you are going to have a good time

[Donald]

Joe, It was one of the best trips I have made to Europe, It was more fun, along with the trip with the senior Levendusky and Litzell.
I should tell both someday.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I got to be there to hear it.

[racingfan1]

Perhaps Ralph should be the featured speaker at the next DePue reunion in 2019!!!!

[smittythewelder]

When the Unlimiteds were experimenting with alternatives to the traditional clock start to help out untalented drivers who couldn't make decent clock starts with any regularity (like me in outboards, alas), they randomly assigned starting lanes to drivers, who were supposed to line up on the boat that got the inside lane (IIRC). Some TV interviewer stuck a mike in front of Chip Hanauer and asked what he thought of this development, and Chip responded sourly with something like, "Well, it doesn't seem like real boatracing to me."

As for the UIM start system, Bill van Steenwyk once delivered the opinion that the reason the Europeans have been insisting on jetty or beach starts at UIM/Worlds races in the USA is that (IIRC), "They can't beat us if we have a clock start!"

I was talking about this on the phone with J.W. Myers, who has done it all, and who took particular pride in frequently surprising the Unlimited guys with his "old outboard tricks." Like Chip, J-Dub thought the assigned-lanes and paceboat start for the U-boats was pretty lame. But he says that the UIM beach start is, "Different, kind of fun." But he still thinks the clock start is the most fun.

[Donald]

I believe I should do this in segments because there are a lot of different episodes.
The first is that Steve and me had arranged to meet at the Atlanta airport for our flight to Europe. We are in line to check in and when they ask for my passport I don't have one, left it at home. We were supposed to meet Douglas Willey and Paul, I don't remember his last name, in Brussels for a ride to Grein, Austria. Of course I couldn't go, and Steve had never met Douglas, so he had to find Douglas in the Brussels airport and I had no way to tell Douglas about the problem. I told Steve to look for an old man with long hair down to his shoulders. Well, Steve did luckily see such a man and yelled Douglas and it was him and they went on to Grein. Douglas had great fun telling everyone about my stupidity. I had to catch a flight the next day to Brussels and rent a car to drive to Grein. Hans Krage brought our boats down from storage behind Dieter's shop. I will stop here for the next segment later.

[Steve Litzell]

I believe I should do this in segments because there are a lot of different episodes.
The first is that Steve and me had arranged to meet at the Atlanta airport for our flight to Europe. We are in line to check in and when they ask for my passport I don't have one, left it at home. We were supposed to meet Douglas Willey and Paul, I don't remember his last name, in Brussels for a ride to Grein, Austria. Of course I couldn't go, and Steve had never met Douglas, so he had to find Douglas in the Brussels airport and I had no way to tell Douglas about the problem. I told Steve to look for an old man with long hair down to his shoulders. Well, Steve did luckily see such a man and yelled Douglas and it was him and they went on to Grein. Douglas had great fun telling everyone about my stupidity. I had to catch a flight the next day to Brussels and rent a car to drive to Grein. Hans Krage brought our boats down from storage behind Dieter's shop. I will stop here for the next segment later.

Because Ralph was not there, my only knowledge of Douglas is of what Ralph gave to me. Ralph left out that the Brussels airport is a very busy and crowded place, I mean crowded worse than Atlanta ever could be. I’m in a literal sea of people looking for a old guy with long gray hair. Keep in mind that there are literally thousands of people around, and I could not see for jack. What’s a southern boy to do? I look around and see some steps that will take me to the high ground. So up I go and I had a good view of the crowd. I spotted a guy that sorta looked as discribed and noticed he had a heavy orange OMC jacket on. Well hell, this had to be him, so down stairs I go toward this guy. I stop short and had a listen to what he was saying to another guy, ( this was Paul Brumberly Douglases bearer) and I put two and two together and said to him,Are you Douglas Willy? Well as some might remember, back then I was a pretty big boy with 22 inch arms. Douglas was shocked and jerked as he stepped back because of my stature and said , Yes, who the hell are you lad? I introduced myself and explained what had happened about Ralph and pass port, and his comment was, I’m shocked you Yanks won the war! To my shock I said, who the hell are you calling me a Yankee? Sir I’m a Southerner, not a Yankee. Well it was great times from there on. I will wait for Ralph to tell more about this. Steve

[racingfan1]

I understand it is an UIM event but perhaps a better format might be 2 jetty starts and 2 clock starts ??

[Steve Litzell]

I understand it is an UIM event but perhaps a better format might be 2 jetty starts and 2 clock starts ??
Nope! Either you are or not as I see it, kinda like I always say, you can’t be a little bit pregnant.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

My favorite Douglas Willey airport story was told to me by someone, but I can't remember who. Maybe Steve told it, and I thought it happened at the airport in San Francisco, but I could be wrong about that. Anyway, Douglas and his wife were on a long overseas flight after the time when smoking was no longer allowed on a plane. He was going crazy for a smoke and it was all his wife could do to keep him from sneaking into the bathroom to light one up. She finally convinced him that they would land soon, and he could smoke once they got into a terminal. It was later on that smoking became banned in one place after another, then final even in bars, but that was later. This terminal, however, banned smoking already. As soon as the plane stopped Douglas was ready to get inside the terminal for a smoke. He hurried out the gangway and was ready to fire up a cigarette when he found out he could not smoke in there either. He hollered out loud in exasperation for everyone to hear. "A fag...a fag....I got to have a fag!"

[Steve Litzell]

Ahh, the difference between our British friends and us. The first time Douglas said to me he wanted to burn a fag, I almost crapped my self laughing. At that time the Word fag was unkind slang for a gay person and would raise the hair on some. So I tried to explain to Douglas what that meant here and we had a good laugh over it, but it didn’t change his words a bit as he still wanted to burn a fag. When in England and we were at a race for Nottingham, we stayed at a bed and breakfast place. These places as you know Wayne also had bars in them. Well being young and strapping as they say, we were drinking and I was chatting with the Bar maid who was a stunning redhead. She then asked what time she could knock me up! I damn near atomized a whole mouthful of bourbon on that one.

[1100r]

Steve-I could just see your face when the bar maid said that to you lol. This is a great thread with you, Wayne, and Ralph and your guys stories .

[Master Oil Racing Team]

It is a great thread guys, but because of the need to tell all the funny stories, we have high jacked Dales original question regarding when the switchover from clock to dock. I think we have covered part of that question as that it kind of took place over time. Now the question is did it ever become official that UIM World Championships were Le Mans, and no more clocks. That said, I think this is still a question to be answered, but all these stories need to be in a thread where we know to look for Pip Willey stories rather than a clock start. I have spent many hours trying to remember where I read something, and never to find it. It is there, but I can't remember where. Seems like I remember a thread about Douglas Willey when he passed away. That would be a good place to continue so we can find it again and add to it, but if you guys want to continue on here....that's okay. I will join you.

[Steve Litzell]

Don’t know if it is a rule even today, but due to a lot of venues, and the drivers opinions, they do all jetty start.

[Donald]

Wayne, The incident took place at the Atlanta airport, Douglas and Jane were on the way to Fort Myers for a visit with me and Shirley. It was the week before the UIM WC at Cypress Gardens in 1997 where we all went together. I believe that was the first time Rossi showed up with his three cylinder engine.
I wondered if my story telling was in the right place, where should it be?

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I think the rest of the stories should be on the thread you started Ralph after Douglas passed away. That way anybody wanting to read about the stories will know how to find it. I know in 6 months I won't remember that I need to look at clock VS lemans start to find stories about Pip Willey, But I will remember to search for the thread with his name in it.

[Donald]

Good, everything new will be on the outboard history page.

[smittythewelder]

Maybe you could insert a note on that thread, with a link to this one . . .

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I don't know how to link Smitty, but I'm sure someone does. Otherwise we can just say to come over here and check out these stories when they come to that part.