June 15, 2017
by Jay Reese
(Hoopa,Ca.)--The third race of the 2017 Cal-Ore River Racers (CORRA) season is set for Father's Day weekend in Hoopa, California with the running of the annual 'Hydro Heritage' race presented by the Hoopa Valley Tribe.
The two day event kicks off Saturday on the Trinity River with Time Trials at 12pm, followed by a dinner and Calcutta auction at 5pm.
The main event hydroplane race takes place Sunday with the green flag dropping at 12pm just below the Hoopa bridge.
Hoopa veteran racer Roger Sanderson (#B200) has won back-to-back races to begin the summer series and leads the early CORRA Championship points race with 1,200 points, followed by Dereck Ely (#11) of Grants Pass who holds 809.72 points.
Ely has a pair of third-place finishes to start 2017, while last year's Points runner-up Jesse Reinhart (#17), also of Grants Pass, is third-place overall after a 10th place finish last week, and finishing 2nd place at the 'Boatnik' on Memorial Day.
The top-5 finishers last week in race-2 at Willow Creek were Sanderson, Justin Hood, Ely, Jeff Lewis, and Robert Buckman.
Sanderson, the defending CORRA Champion followed up his 'Boatnik' win in Grants Pass by winning 5 of the 7 legs last week in Willow Creek, Ca..
Sanderson has won 4-straight races dating back to last season. The 54 year old pilot has won 4 Championships in his 33 year career, and won his first race in 1984 in Hoopa.
5 Rookies are expected in the field this weekend, led by (#05) Robert Buckman of Hoopa who finished his first race last Sunday claiming 5th place and making an early statement to win the 'Rookie of the Year' award which was won by Buck McCovey (#AR15) of Hoopa in 2016.
Other racers expected to be in the hunt to win the 'Hydro Heritage' are Michael Dickson (#20) of Willow Creek, and Hoopa's Jude Hostler (#50) who both are looking to finish their first event after suffering mechanical problems in the first two races.
The Hoopa Hydro Heritage event is co-sponsored by Lucky Bear Casino, Hoopa Mini-Mart, Humboldt Motorsports, Two Rivers Tribune, Big Red Country 92.3FM, and the event is sanctioned by the APBA.
Attached is the current CORRA Points Championship, and results of the first two races of the season.
The Cal-Ore circuit returns to southern Oregon June 24-25 for the 'Rooster Crow' race in Rogue River, Oregon.
For more information on schedule, results, standings, driver profiles, and history, visit 'caloreriverracers.com'
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