The first heats for this year’s Regatta began with the 2.5-liter Hydroplanes sponsored by BJ’s Tavern. They made a great comeback on Friday night as No. 47 Justin “J.P.” Squires won both heats.

“This is a tough course,” said Squires. “Lots of tight turns.”

He is used to racing on lakes with wider courses, so the tight course on the Snake River with a current is a big adjustment, he said. Squires and his father, No. 83 Dutch Squires, from Denver, Colo., both race Hydros. They raced at Morgan City, La., before arriving in Burley, so they had to make many changes because of the high altitude.

“We had to jet down, put different jets in our carburetors, because the oxygen is thinner here,” Squires said. Although Dutch’s boat was unable to get running in the first heat, he finished second place in the second heat, 40 seconds after Justin.

Regatta winners

The winner of the Moyle Mink and the Faulkner Memorial Trophy at the Pepsi Idaho Regatta was Toby Clark from the Competition Jet Class.

The mink and trophy are given to the driver who either breaks or gets closest to the course’s mile-and-a-quarter record for their boat classification.

According to race organizer, Mark Moyle, a total of five records were broke over the weekend and Clark was the fastest at 102.22 percent of the record.

The runner up and winner of the Boise Corporation Idaho Cup was Ty Newton in the Pro Stock Class. He ran at 101 percent of the record.

Third places and winner of the McCain Foods Governors Cup, at 100.10 percent of the record from the Cracker Box Class west to Scott Schatz.

The top placers in each of the classes were:

Crackerboxes: Scott Schatz and Mike Schatz; Amy Ottinger and Missy Monroe: Matt Bookey and Dallas Ambrose.

Pro Stock: Mike Darner, Jerry Cotter and Ty Newton.

Competition Jet: Glen Dilworth, Scott Dayley and Toby Clark.

Super Stocks: Hal Jones, Dave Rankin and Skip Tuttle.

K-Boats: Duff Daily, John Gthrie and Ty Newton.

Nostalgia Flat: Michael Devore, Mike Todd and Randy Slinker and Brandon Brodecki.

2.5 Liter Stock: Justin Squires, Mike Hoffhine and Joe Gutierrez.

Other record breakers were Toby Clark in the Competition Jet class at 100.08 percent of the record and Ty Newton in the Pro Stock class at 100.05 percent of the record.

By Kathryn Montoya / South Idaho Press Correspondent