Or even better, if it's a variable lift motor, then can dispatch almost whenever and the lift hill will adjust the speed until it clears the block, or worst case scenario, stop the lift until it clears the first block. The run time from the top of the lift to the first set of brakes is about 1:25, so 1:45 dispatches are probably the best case scenario, meaning about 800 pph (if in fact the mid-course brake isn't a block).
But has that been confirmed by anyone at CP or RMC that the mid-course cannot be a block (it appears to have two different sets of brakes on it)? I am confused why it wouldn't be designed to be a block? Indeed, the theoretical capacity advertised by CP is 1,200 pph and that number wouldn't make sense -- even if those numbers are frequently perfect-case aspirational figures that are rarely (if ever) hit, I think they usually don't list impossible numbers, and anything north of 800-ish pph would indeed be impossible without that mid-course block.
It is a variable lift motor. When I was there, the train on the lift sped up considerably the second the other train cleared the final brake run. This obviously confirms that the mid course isn't a block, although the park has never mentioned it.
If you take a look at the official POV, you are correct, there are two sets of brakes. The first set is magnetic brakes, which trim the train, but they're unable to stop them. I noticed that when we got trimmed, we were trimmed at the start of the mid course, where the magnetic brakes are. The second set of brakes are the friction brakes, which can stop the train. These brakes would define a block section.
Neither RMC or CP have spoke of the Mid Course, they generally stay quiet about the specific issues they're facing with a ride. If I had to speculate, I'd assume that either they ran into a programming issue while trying to program the mid-course, or they're just afraid that the train simply won't have enough speed were it to stop on the mid course, and they simply don't want to risk it. Either way, we're looking from the outside in, there's no way for us to know what's going on.
If anyone is heading to the park this weekend, please keep us updated on the status of the ride. Today was the first day since May that Steel Vengeance hasn't operated (excluding the day before CoasterMania), and they still have the rest of the week. I hope they're able to get this thing up to full capacity soon, it's my #1 coaster and I hope more people can experience it.