Rinker family sweeps top two spots at Bradenton Area River Regatta for second straight year

PALMETTO -- For the second straight year, the Rinker family swept the top two spots in the Formula 2 PowerBoat race at the Bradenton Area River Regatta. Last year it was brothers. This year father and son.

Ashton Rinker, the defending Powerboat Superleague champion, finished second behind brother Rob Rinker at the inaugural River Regatta in 2015 and followed it up with a title Saturday at the 2016 regatta. Right behind him, for the first time ever, was his father Terry Rinker.

"Three in a row's the plan if we keep doing what we're doing," Ashton Rinker said. "As long as we keep doing it that way it's going to be three in a row next year in Bradenton."

Rinker sat in first place at the end of qualifying and when weather forced the final to be canceled he was named the champion of the second River Regatta. For the first time, the Riverview resident finished ahead of his father.

Rain and wind pounded the Manatee River throughout the day, causing choppy conditions and occasional delays. Shortly before 3:30 p.m., it finally forced races to be canceled. Boats started to take on water and the

manatee watch helicopters were unable to take to the skies above Bradenton and Palmetto. Without anyone to check for wildlife on the track, regatta officials were forced to scrap the F2 PowerBoat finals.

Earlier during the day, a race was forced into a delay by dolphins on the course.

The regatta was able to get through Jet Ski races before the weather cancelation occurred. Broc Harris, a Musella, Ga., resident, repeated as the ski open stand-up champion against the river's choppy waters, followed by Bradenton's Kirk Britto. Eric Francis won the roundabout division ahead of Bradenton's Troy Snyder, last year's champion in the division.

"It makes it more about the rider," Harris said of the conditions. "You could tell a lot of them was getting tired. It makes it more about the rider instead of who's got the fastest gear."

Rinker and the F2 PowerBoats shoved off the docks around 3 p.m. and quickly Rinker had a hunch the weather had worsened to the point where racing would have to be canceled. As boats moved toward the course, wind picked up and forced the race to be canceled.

Before then, spectators were treated to a rare sight: a Rinker father and son racing against each other in Formula 2. Terry Rinker retired from the classification in 2014 after racing for three years against Ashton. In each of the three seasons, Terry finished first in the standings and Ashton finished second. Saturday was the first time they raced against each other in F2 since Terry's retirement.

Terry Rinker now races almost exclusively in Formula 1, so the Rinkers' Amsoil team slapped an F2 engine on Terry's boat and set him loose against his son.

"We wanted to make it more interesting," Ashton Rinker said. "He came out and put a show on."

The slightly rougher conditions early during the day affected the F2 racers, as well, but Rinker expected the choppy waters and was able to improve on his performance from a year ago. His title defense began, even if his first win of 2016 didn't come the way he expected.

"We were glad that we were able to put on the heat races and everything for Bradenton," Rinker said. "We definitely wanted to be able to run a 30-lap final, but it got to be really rough out there, really choppy real quick."

David Wilson, Herald sports writer, can be contacted at 941-745-7057 or on Twitter @DBWilson2.

This story was originally published February 6, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Rinker family sweeps top two spots at Bradenton Area River Regatta for second straight year ."