Dri
vers
Bo
ats
Race
Dates
JON ZIMMERMAN As a small boy Jon loved to watch the unlimited boats race. Later he started racing RC boats (remote control hydroplanes) and progressed from there. At twenty-nine Jon began racing in the Limited class with a 2.5 stock, running a 2300 ford which is like a pinto motor. Jon got into driving right away. He says "Dave Bibby bought a boat, I helped him work on it, and we split the diving between the two of us. Thats how I got started driving. After that year I bought my own boat." As a driver Jon is competitive but won't cut somebody off, "But will run somebody tight," he says, and adds " but I won't break the rules to take them out of the race." Jon has won a lot of races because of your racing strategies on the water. He makes good starts, and has the ability to make changes to set up the boat to make it go faster. A driver needs to get around the course to get up to the start while not jumping the gun plus keeping some speed at the start. Jon states, "We have a time start when you want to be full throttle as fast as you can when you hit the start line. You want to get there before anybody else so you can still control the turn." Sometimes the race can get rough. Jon has been through capsule training four times, in the pool and once in his own boat during a race. At Black Lake the boat got away from Jon and blew over going into the first turn in about the third lap. Jon said "It happened very fast, it was really confusing until I looked out the side window and saw the boat was about six feet above the lake, than I figured out what was going on, it was over very fast. I got myself out of the capsule, and everything was fine. Jon adds "I would recommend capsule training to everybody because when the boat blew over and I was upside down in the water I knew exactly what to do." The boats race at high speeds of about 105 m.p.h. in a straightaway, and for Jon racing is a lot of fun, and it keeps him from driving his car fast. Jon Says "I get racing out of my system in the boats and I don't get speeding tickets on the road." Jon likes to keep his boat 100% legal. There are no grey areas with it. "I'll squeeze somebody a little bit in the corner or something but not flagrantly, I don't want to hurt anybody," Jon said, adding "If there is somebody real fast, and we're very competitive I will give a little bit less room than I really should sometimes." Jon says he likes to put everything else out of his mind to concentrate on the race and driving the boat. For Jon and his wife Joanne the races are like ten little vacations a year. Jon said "You go to a little town or park, or wherever, and you know everybody, and its a lot of fun, like another family." Although racing is not financially lucrative Jon does OK. He said "I don't have a lot of expenses with the boat. I also have some sponsorship and they pay for the fuel, entry fees, and traveling through the year. So that is pretty much a wash. If something breaks on the boat it comes out of my pocket, and it could be expensive. Racing is more for fun, nobody is in it for the money."
Racing with Jon Zimmerman
INSIDE LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENING WITH JON ZIMMERMAN
Racing with Jon
Looking forward to seeing Jon back out o...
Web Development by
Off Road Web Design
