March, 2001 2000 Tastin' n Racin' Highlights Note: The file will require that you have Windows
Media Player installed on your computer. If you don't have the player, you
will need to go to www.microsoft.com and then 'downloads'. Click on
'downloads' and under 'Products' scroll and select Windows Media Player.
Under operating system select either 95 or 98. Windows 95 users should
select version 6.4. For Windows 98 select 7. The download is free
from Microsoft. Big announcements are coming from the
UL-19 camp! The team returned a few days later letting us know that former unlimited pilot N. Mark Evans has joined the team as their driver! Mark is well know from his time with the unlimited fleet and often carries a disposable camera in the cockpit so he can take pictures while warming up the boat for races. Borrowing a few facts from the Hydros website, Mark is "easily the most amiable of Unlimited drivers, Evans got his baptism, briefly, in the big boats back in 1979 when he drove a boat sponsored by Seattle's Evergreen Roofing. In 1997, Mark Evans became the first non-Budweiser driver since Chip Hanauer's days in the old Miller American to win four straight events." Mark will be an outstanding addition to the Unlimited Light fleet! Finally, John returned yesterday with recent photos of their repainted hull. For your enjoyment, here are those shots...
The UL-19 Spirit of
Coeur d' Alene team is certainly one to watch in 2001! In fact, we
may not have to wait that long. Crew member Rick Carlson let us know
that "we are looking forward to getting the boat in the water real
soon." We will hear from this group again and we welcome them
to the fleet! Bob Larimore
discusses the Kilo run and the UL-23| The problems we had were actually minor; oil cooler was restricted and when we bypassed it we found some particles that probably were from the cooler. Still, with that and the revelation that we had melted the bushings in the prop strut (from lack of water usually picked up in the turns) we had decided to call it a day. The wind started blowing again shortly thereafter anyway. We were about 145 at 6500 which means we were well within range of our goals. That and the information we gathered made it a very successful session. We will be testing in Tri-Cities in May in preparation for the season opener at Sammamish. It occurred to me on the way home that our first four races are all short tracks! One mile in Sammamish and Valleyfield; 1& 1/4 in Tonawanda and Detroit. We plan an all out assault on those events." Bob Larimore, owner of the UL-23
Index Home Systems/Team Pegasus. A brief update on
the UL-38 Security Race Products A brief update on
the UL-19 Spirit of Coeur d' Alene The Spirit of Coeur d' Alene team will campaign the
former UL-72 1985 Ron Jones hull during 2001. This is the hull that
Phil Bononcini and Joe Frauenheim ran in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Brian Reynolds and the Flyin Hawaiian to
a return to Unlimited Light racing! "You are the first to get the scoop. By popular demand the UL-11 team of the "Flyin Hawaiian" is working toward plans for a possible 2002 new UL racing program. Brian Reynolds and engine builder Art Davidson have formed a partnership in which each will own 50% of this racing team. I can no longer avoid all the pressure to race UL again. Both my sponsor and Art Davidson have made offers that I can no longer say "No" to. It will take a year to formulate this plan, bring all the components together and complete all the testing. A new boat will be built by a yet unnamed builder. My only requirement will be to get the rules stabilized which I hope they can do this year. More to come soon. Regards, Brian Reynolds" For those of you newer to the series, Brian Reynolds was the winner of
four Unlimited Light races during the 1995 and 1996 seasons with Miss
Seafirst and the Flyin Hawaiian and currently holds fifth place on the
ULHRA Driver Career Victories list. An update from the Kilos... The weekend didn't set any records, but was still seen as a success for the UL-23 Index Homes team. They were in place to test on Friday, but the wind was up and the conditions were miserable. After a wait for improved conditions, Friday was eventually blown out. On Saturday, they made it onto the water, but suffered from "stuff was in the cooler". The oil light also went red right off the bat. An oil pressure problem had to be resolved. The team worked on the boat through the day. On Sunday morning they went out to test the kilo setup. The water was perfect and JW described it as "testing on glass". They added the Mercury prop and were amazed at the new power they had to play with. During the test session they ran the hull with the San Diego set-up so that they could get a baseline. On this initial series of runs, JW idled into the trap at about 105 mph. Out of the trap he took the hull up to 140 mph and it was rock steady. JW said it was "the safest he's ever felt in a powerboat". As they went into the run the oil light kicked on right away. They would eventually learn that they broke a belt to the oil drive. Later a lost bearing in the crank led to blockage and a series of filter changes. They eventually parked the hull for the weekend. JW considers the weekend a success as they learned a lot about the hull
and the set-up. They feel fortunate that they learned several things they
won't have to repeat under race conditions. The team feels one step ahead
of the game going into this year's Tastin' n Racin' event June 2nd and
3rd. Communicating
with the series... If you didn't get the updates, please contact
Chuck by e-mail. In the e-mail be sure to indicate the e-mail
address where you would like to receive the updates, the team you are with
or your affiliation to the series. This will be the primary way we
keep teams informed as we gear up for 2001. Don't miss out on the
latest, important information. The Kilo Run! "The boat (and JW) left about 11:45 today for California. JW is driving it out. We will run on Saturday and Sunday with testing available Friday (if we are all there by then). We're very excited about the kilo attempt. We will likely establish a UL record and we are also hoping to break an existing UIM record for Class R inboard (over 7 litre reciprocating engine, over 800 kilos weight and over seven meters in length). The record is currently 149 plus. The weather is a primary concern as there have been major storms in the area and some flooding. Too late to change plans now!! We will give it our best shot. Fired the engine yesterday; 509 Chevy, so we will not be attempting the GNH record. We are hoping for 160mph. Can't thank Mercury Marine enough for their help and, of course, Index Homes. Ronny Brown supplied invaluable technical assistance, and several other people too numerous to mention. The event is planned to be taped for the first Speedvision show this year at Sammamish with more info throughout the season. AeroFX will be doing the production with some shop footage both here and at Ken Muscatel's shop in Seattle. The boat will be there after Orriville until the Sammamish race. I will keep you posted of any further developments. One more thing... I was figuring out how long we would have to maintain our speed for the kilo. At 160 entering the traps, we have to maintain that for 14 (Fourteen!!) very long seconds. Then of course, slow, turn and do the same thing the other direction. No wonder so few attempts are made!!" We wish Bob and his team the best this weekend.
For the latest on the attempt and updates on the results, stay pointed to
the Unlimited Lights website and the UL-23
team website. Paul Droullard
and the UL-9! Tastin'
n Racin' IS Eastside’s answer to Seafair and the Bite of Seattle H.I.D.R.O.S Inc. is in full swing in its planning for this year’s Tastin' n Racin'. Last year we had hot, sunny weather and over 50,000 people came to the shores of Lake Sammamish to experience Tastin’ n Racin’ …and great success and fun was had by all!! Tastin' n Racin' is thrilled to announce a sponsoring partnership with KZOK 102.5 The Classic Rock Station for this year’s festival. This partnership insures the success of this great event and, if live within the KZOK market, you will know about Tastin' n Racin'!! If that isn’t enough, Speedvision will once again be there for the racing and festivities taping APBA Competition Offshore. You may have seen the show featuring Tastin’ n Racin’ 2000 on Speedvision this past year! The Speedvision network package will add some 30 million viewers during it’s air time segments that will partnership with Tastin' n Racin' and the race sponsor- which is available at the moment. In combination with The Speedvision Network and KZOK, this event will now take on a national as well as local market flavor in the 20 - 60 age bracket market. The KZOK 102.5 Roy’s Roostertail Regatta, will showcase the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association along with 10 other classes of APBA Inboard Boat Racing. On the shore, there will be live music, lots of great food to tantalize your taste buds, kids play area, arts and crafts, new boats to buy and the Wenatchee Youth Circus with their high wire and trapeze acts. Not only will there be contemporary boats, but displays of vintage race boats from the Antique & Classic Boat Society and Hydroplane Museum. Don't forget the Beer Garden and lots of activities and attractions for the entire family!! Finally, there is the crowd pleasing, Custom Car & Rod show set for Sunday! All this and ADMISSION IS FREE!! We invite all local business to get involved in our own Eastside festival with sponsorship or booth space. There are a variety of sponsorships available in all price ranges. We also have several spots open for restaurants for a food booth and booth space for all types of business and arts and crafts. Don’t miss this opportunity to jump on board for the publicity and fun with Tastin’ n Racin’ 2001. Visit the event on the web at www.tastinracin.com! What?
5th ANNUAL TASTIN' N RACIN' AT LAKE SAMMAMISH Click here for updates from February, 2001.
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