Thunderboat Regatta

WHERE: Mission Bay.

WHEN: Today, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Gates open at 7 a.m.

ADMISSION: Tickets good for all three days are available for $10; no charge for children 12 and under. Ticket gates are located on East Vacation Island and Fiesta Island. Admission is free on Crown Point Shores.

PARKING: Non-reserved parking passes, good for all three days, are $8 per vehicle in advance, $10 at the game. Passes permit parking in general areas located on West Vacation Island and Fiesta Island. A general parking pass is required on Sunday only at Crown Point Shores. Limited daily reserved parking is available on East Vacation Island.

HISTORY: Dating back to 1964, there have been 21 unlimited hydroplane races on Mission Bay. In 1975, the purse was $20,000; this weekend’s purse is $121,000.

OUTLOOK: Five of the 14 boats entered in this weekend’s races have turbine/jet engines, which have a history of faltering in the salt water of Mission Bay. That’s becoming less of a concern because air-intake systems are being built with a series of sealed doors to prevent the motors from being coated with salt.

The 2 1/2-mile Mission Bay course is regarded as one of the fastest on the circuit because of its wide turns. Chip Hanauer, defending champion and driver of the Miller High Life boat, said the courses at Mission Bay and Tri-Cities in Eastern Washington are the only 2 of 9 on the tour where drivers can run the entire race full throttle.

Hanauer’s competition in defending his championship this weekend will likely come from Miss Budweiser, driven by Tom D’Eath. D’Eath has won 9 consecutive heats and the past three regattas. Miss Budweiser is first in the overall standings with 6,721 points.

Miss Budweiser, which Jim Kropfeld crashed during the qualifying for last year’s Miller High Life Regatta, was renovated during the offseason for safety purposes, making it capable of building downward force more rapidly.

Other top challengers this weekend are Scott Pierce in Mr. Pringles (second, 6,169 points), George Woods in Oh Boy! Oberto! (third, 4,782 points) and John Prevost in Miss Circus-Circus (fourth, 4,719).