The D-modified classes of racing boats produce an exhaust note so vicious spectators lining Ellis Lake plugged their ears.

Not 11-year-old Angelina Moreno. She loved every bit of it.

"I like the racing; I like the loud noises," she said smiling. "It's fun to come out here with your family."

The Yuba City kid was one of many who came to watch 11 classes of racing boats take to the man-made body of water on Saturday as part of the Great American Celebration and Regatta.

On Friday, the event kicked off with cardboard boat racing. Suffice to say, the American Powerboat Racing Association sanctioned event was a little more fast paced.

Boat racing has been a July 4 weekend tradition for decades at Ellis Lake. But for various reasons, there were no crackles of two-stroke engines or sights of rooster tails last Independence Day.

Now that they're back, everyone involved seems pleased.

"It's important because my dad raced here in the '60s and '70s and they raced here in the '30s too," said Yuba City racer Alan Sutfins, who helped return the races to Yuba County.

Everything from slower entry-level classes to fully encapsulated hydroplanes capable of high speeds navigated around buoys in the section of lake stretching from Ninth to 14th streets.

The course offers racers an experience like none of the other courses on the APBA Region 11 circuit.

"This place is tricky, nowhere else do we go around an island," said Teri Ziemer, the official for Saturday's race. "It's by far our smallest (course) and one of the oldest at this point."

With the narrow width and the rock-lined edges of Ellis Lake, the drivers had to throttle back from what they would usually be able to run on a more open body of water.

For instance, the SST 45 class, which requires oxygen tanks in the cockpit and 10-point racing harnesses, can hit 90 mph on open water. In Marysville, that simply wasn't going to happen.

"We try to tell everybody at the drivers' meeting that it's a gentleman's race and to go out there and have a good time," said Sutfins.

But slightly diminished speeds did nothing to temper the mood of the racers or the crowd. The boats were still fast and loud and the racing was still competitive.

Climbing out of his 45ss hydroplane, Bob Gibson shouted out words of encouragement to Mark Wimpee, who had just beaten the veteran racer by a nose in a rousing finish.

"Hey Mark, thanks," he said. "We gave (the crowd) a really good show."

Gibson, who has been racing for 40 years, enjoys making the trip to Marysville.

"I like the course and I just like being with the racers," he said.

And his words resonated with many of his competitors who donned fire suits and life jackets before stepping onto the water.

"If you have a problem your most fiercest competitor will do what they can to get you back on the course," said Ziemer, who is a racer herself.

Gibson agrees. He was borrowing parts from the fastest team in his class.

"I'm running somebody else's lower unit right now," he said. "If somebody's got something and you need it, they'll give it to you."

Winning the 45ss class was Warren West, Lonnie Morris took first in the D-modified runabout, Dean Wilson was tops in the C-stock runabout and Troy Christie was first in the A-stock hydro.

Wimpee won in the SST 45 division, Mark Tingley won the C-modified runabout and Garland Powell was fastest in the C-stock hydro. Brian Merkel bested the competition in the outboard stock yamato class and Alex Thackara won the A-stock runabout.

The racing continues at noon today.