ULHRA History

THE UNLIMITED LIGHTS: 2006 IN REVIEW

By Fred Farley - ULHRA Unlimited Light Historian

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(1) TASTIN'-N-RACIN', Issaquah, WA

The 2006 edition of the Unlimited Light Racing Series had its traditional
kick-off on historic Lake Sammamish, near Seattle, Washington. Most of the
major players from 2005 were on hand to resume competitive battle. These
included Jerry and Greg Hopp's MIKE'S HARD LEMONADE/HAPPY GO LUCKY (UL-1),
the ULHRA National Championship team for 2003-04-05, and Joe Frauenheim's
MISS BOAT ELECTRIC (UL-72), the second-place finisher in National Points for
those same three years.

The Hopps entered their newly acquired Ron Jones, Jr., hull, which had
formerly raced as Paul Droullard's AMERICAN EAGLE.

When the roostertails subsided after the Final Heat on Lake Sammamish,
Thunder Valley Racing's MISS RED DOT CORPORATION (UL-40) and driver Brian
Perkins emerged victorious. It was the first-ever race win for both the
UL-40 team and for Perkins. Taking advantage of two boats jumping the gun
and the improved performance of his veteran craft, Brian outran the Paul
Becker-chauffeured MISS CRITICAL LOGIC (UL-14) over the finish line, 91.790
miles per hour to 83.554.

Michael Flaherty in the UL-72 and Greg Hopp in the UL-1 both jumped the gun
in the Final Heat and placed third and fourth respectively in the corrected
order of finish. Moreover, the UL-1 suffered hull damage in the second turn
of lap #1 in the Final.

The 2006 Tastin'-N-Racin' regatta featured an event record of twelve
Unlimited Light teams along with the largest fan turnout in the event's
10-year history.

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(2) LES REGATES DE VALLEYFIELD, Valleyfield, Quebec

Michael Flaherty and MISS BOAT ELECTRIC (UL-72) came from nearly two
roostertails behind at the start of the final lap to score a sensational win
at the 2006 Regates de Valleyfield on Bay St. Francois. Flaherty overcame a
late start for the victory over Greg Hopp and MIKE'S HARD LEMONADE/HAPPY GO
LUCKY (UL-1).

Flaherty drew even with Hopp in turn-one of the last lap while both drivers
were lapping slower boats. Flaherty raced side-by-side with Hopp down the
backstretch and deck-to-deck through turn-two. Then, at the exit pin, Hopp's
boat hooked and briefly went dead in the water. Greg was able to re-fire and
finish second.

Hopp was piloting the re-activated Jamie Auld hull, a 6-time National
Champion UL hydroplane, while the ex-AMERICAN EAGLE hull was being repaired.

As a result, after two races on the 2006 Unlimited Lights Racing Series
tour, Flaherty had a slim 146-point edge over Hopp heading into race number
#3 at Detroit the following weekend. Paul Becker and the UL-14 were third,
841 points behind, followed by Vince Xaudaro (UL-929), Brian Perkins
(UL-40), and Bob Estes (UL-33).

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(3) O.J. MULFORD SILVER CUP, Detroit, MI

After experiencing difficulty at Issaquah and Valleyfield and after
overcoming two days of mechanical gremlins at Detroit, Greg Hopp came
through when the chips were down on the Detroit River.

Greg and MIKE'S HARD LEMONADE/HAPPY GO LUCKY (UL-1)--the Jamie Auld
hull--dominated the Final Heat of the O.J. Mulford Silver Cup, outrunning
second-place Ken Brodie II in GP-50 RACING (UL-555). Brodie overcame a
5-second handicap at the start to take the runner-up position. The delayed
start was because Brodie's boat ran an oversized supercharged engine.
Third-place went to Brian Perkins in the MISS RED DOT CORPORATION (UL-40).
However, because the UL-555 was a non-compliant UL Invitee, Perkins' Thunder
Valley Racing Team earned second-place points in the Final Heat.

The O.J. Mulford Silver Cup is the oldest and most prestigious trophy in
Unlimited Light racing, first contested in 1946. The original winner was Lou
Fageol, owner/driver of the Gold Cup Class SO-LONG, JR., powered by a 404
cubic inch Fageol bus engine. SO-LONG, JR. is the forerunner of all
Unlimited Light and Grand Prix Class hydroplanes competing today.

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(4) HAPO COMMUNITY THUNDER CUP, Tri-Cities, WA

Greg Hopp made it two wins in a row with the Jamie Auld hull on the 2006
ULRS tour with a victory at Kennewick-Pasco-Richland on the Columbia River.

Following lengthy delays due to high winds and a couple of accidents in the
Atomic Cup Unlimited hydroplane race, Hopp and MIKE'S HARD LEMONADE/HAPPY GO
LUCKY (UL-1) grabbed the inside lane before the start and led from
wire-to-wire over Michael Flaherty and MISS BOAT ELECTRIC (UL-72). Hopp
averaged 109.664 miles per hour to Flaherty's 107.139 over the 3-lap/5-mile
Final Heat distance. Bob Estes checked in third at 97.406 with MISS GRAHAM
TRUCKING (UL-33).

With the victory by Hopp, coupled with his number #1 qualifying spot at
better than 119 miles per hour, the Hopp Racing Team had a perfect 1240
point weekend. That erased Flaherty's 446-point advantage at the start of
the weekend and vaulted Hopp into the top spot with a margin of 252 points
at the half-way point of the 2006 Unlimited Light season.

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(5) GRAHAM TRUCKING CUP, Seattle, WA

After going winless in his two most recent starts (at Detroit and the
Tri-Cities), Michael Flaherty bounced back with a clear-cut victory on
Seattle's Lake Washington with MISS BOAT ELECTRIC (UL-72).

Flaherty secured lane #3 and crossed the starting line even with Al
Carstensen and MAACO OF BREMERTON (UL-6) in the Final Heat. Carstensen
stayed within a few boat lengths for about a lap before gradually slipping
to a couple of roostertail lengths behind. However, it was a career best
second-place finish for Carstensen, partner Kerry Beynon, and the BCS Racing
Enterprises team. Greg Hopp and MIKE'S HARD LEMONADE/HAPPY GO LUCKY
(UL-1)--the re-activated Ron Jones, Jr., hull--took third.

As a result of Flaherty's victory, the UL National High Points lead held by
Greg Hopp was shortened to 158 points with three races remaining in 2006.

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(6) QUICKSILVER REGATTA, Silverdale, WA

In boat racing, one can expect the unexpected. And the unexpected is what
occurred at Silverdale, Washington, off Puget Sound, west of Seattle, at the
north end of Dyes Inlet.

Rookie Ryan Mallow made a shambles of oddsmakers' predictions, driving MZ.
ZIP FIZZ (UL-19) to first-place ahead of the favored Michael Flaherty and
MISS BOAT ELECTRIC (UL-72). The ZIP FIZZ entry ran astonishingly
well--better than anyone had previously seen--and kept lengthening its lead
to more than two roostertail lengths in the Final Heat.

National Points leader Greg Hopp had a miserable day at Silverdale when
MIKE'S HARD LEMONADE/HAPPY GO LUCKY (UL-1) threw a propeller blade while
leading on lap #1 and failed to finish the Final Heat. This reduced Hopp's
lead over Flaherty to a mere 104 points with two races remaining on the 2006
ULRS tour.

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(7) SAN DIEGO THUNDERBOAT REGATTA, San Diego, CA

Rebounding from his misfortune at Silverdale, Washington, where he failed to
finish due to mechanical difficulty, Greg Hopp was back in his familiar
first-place a month later on San Diego's Mission Bay with MIKE'S HARD
LEMONADE/HAPPY GO LUCKY (UL-1). This was the first-ever race victory for the
former AMERICAN EAGLE hull, which the Hopp Racing Team co-owns with Bob
Schellhase.

Hopp had a virtually perfect weekend. He established a new UL speed record
in qualifying at 126.528 miles per hour and then proceeded to win all three
of his heats. (This same hull had set the previous lap record in 2004 at
122.324 with former owner Paul Droullard at the wheel.)

Meantime, Michael Flaherty and MISS BOAT ELECTRIC (UL-72) qualified third,
took first and second in his preliminary heats, and then failed to finish
the Final. As a result, the 104-point advantage that Hopp had going into San
Diego expanded to 621 points.

Still, with 1640 points up for grabs at the season finale in Port Angeles,
Washington, quite a race remained for the title.

Second-place at San Diego went to Paul Becker and MISS CRITICAL LOGIC
(UL-14), the oldest boat in the fleet--built in 1974 by Ron Jones, Sr. The
UL-14 had likewise finished second earlier in the season at Issaquah,
Washington. These are career bests for owner/driver Becker.

***

(8) STRAIT THUNDER REGATTA, Port Angeles, WA

With the National Championship on the line, the traditional season-ender at
Port Angeles provided great competition for the fans. In the final analysis,
Ryan Mallow won the battle but Greg Hopp won the war.

The rookie Mallow, who had surprisingly won at Silverdale earlier in the
season, did it again at Port Angeles with MZ. ZIP FIZZ (UL-19). Mallow took
advantage of two teams (UL-1 and UL-72) jumping the gun in the Final Heat
and zipped to victory. Al Carstensen took second with MISS VICTORIA EXPRESS
(UL-6), followed by Paul Becker with MISS CRITICAL LOGIC (UL-14) and Wil
Muncey with POWER PUNCH (UL-83).

Hopp in MIKE'S HARD LEMONADE/HAPPY GO LUCKY (UL-1) and Michael Flaherty in
MISS BOAT ELECTRIC (UL-72) were both fractions of a second too early for the
start. The resulting one-minute penalties added to their times relegated
them to fifth and sixth respectively at Port Angeles.

The Hopp Racing Team finished the year with 9186 National High Points,
compared to 8125 for MISS BOAT ELECTRIC. Third-place MISS CRITICAL LOGIC
concluded with 6674 points--the highest finish ever for the Becker Racing
Team, founded in 2002.

This was Greg Hopp's second straight driving title and Hopp Racing's fourth
consecutive team title. For the fourth year in a row, the UL-72 team took
second-place in the Unlimited Light Racing Series final standings.