Anyone interested in a FOFF Hydroplaning competition?
 

So now that the popularity of Formula Offroad rigs has taken off, and people have been working on them long enough to develop the capabilities for sustained water crossing (hydroplaning), I was wondering if anyone might be interested in setting up a Hydroplaning competition sometime this summer? There are plenty of reservoirs that we could hold the competition at, with large bodies of calm water and relatively smooth entrance/exit from dry land to water surface.

I'm thinking course design would be a fairly simple two-car drag race setup; have a starting line and a finish gate, with a large body of water between them. Two cars would line up per race at the start line, a starting judge would count down from 3, and on 1 both drivers would gun it as fast as possible towards the lake. The trucks would transfer onto the surface of the water, hydroplane across (we'd make the water section relatively long, so the trucks would have to be able to skim across the surface using their paddle tires and wheel speed to keep going, not just inertia), then they'd land on the opposite end of the body of water and blast towards the finish line. First truck across the finish line moves on to the next round.

As for classes, again I think it should be kept fairly simple, in my opinion keeping it only to two classes;

1. A 1/10 class, limited to 2.2 wheels and tires. Examples of rigs that would compete in this class would be the Billet Works Design Whiplash FOFF chassis, Axial AX10/Wraith rigs, etc. The only real restriction I think that should be put on this class though is the use of 2.2 wheels (no SC split diameter wheels) and tires (perhaps specifying specific brands of paddle tires to be used), with maybe a limit on wheelbase. And,

2. An unlimited class, for rigs based on 1/8 buggies and truggies or SC trucks with larger tires and bigger motors, with less of a scale appearance. Examples of rigs that would run in this class would be the Slash 4x4, HPI Savage, etc. - basically any vehicle, any scale, with no restrictions on wheel/tire size.

It wouldn't be a serious competition, I'd like everything to stay relatively relaxed and fun for all involved, so no competing for money/prizes. But I think this kind of competition would be a fun, unique challenge to build a truck that's capable of sustained hydroplaning.

Maybe we could also have a few people bring fishing waders and stand in the middle of the pond near where the rigs would be crossing, to catch any truck that started to sink.

Anyway, let me know your thoughts and suggestions regarding the format/rules, and post up if you'd be interested in participating in this type of competition.

Oh, and for the name, I'm thinking something along the lines of "Colorado Hydrocross Racing" 8)