News from September, 2002! Sometimes a photo really is worth a 1000 words...
The Little Hydro that could, nearly did. Brow is an aggressive driver and knows the UL37 well. The team set as a goal this year to run select UL races in preparation for the Grand National Hydroplane (GNH) World Championship at Hampton VA in August. As a result the team missed its hometown UL race at Seafair in Seattle.. But their goal was met with the U.I.M. title for Grand National Hydros. Last season this team was snakebit with engine woes, culminating in a blown engine at the last race of 2001 in Chelan on its first testing session warm-up lap. What could go wrong last year, did. But turnaround they did in 2002. With the World Championship theirs the next step was head south to San Diego and the annual powerboat spectacular on Mission Bay. If this were a radio station promotion they'd probably dub it "all boat racing, all the time"; including drag boats, Super Stock runabouts, F1 Prop Tour tunnel boats, plus the Unlimited and Unlimited Light hydroplanes; all racing on 4 courses.....occasionally more than one race at a time. For competitor and fan alike, San Diego is a must. Plus, it's hard to beat the San Diego weather in late September and this year's event was no exception. For driver Brow, the race has an even greater meaning. His father, the late Bill Brow, known in the 50's & 60's around the racing fraternity as "The World's Fastest Milkman", won the Unlimited event on Mission Bay in 1966 driving Bernie Little's Miss Budweiser. Brow hoped to emulate that feat, as he had done so last month. While in Virginia, he learned that his father had won at Hampton about 40 years ago. So, with an outstanding field for the Unlimited Light final, Brow gave it his all. He put the UL37 in lane one, nailed the start, and led the field through lap one of the 3 lap, 5 mile final. Meanwhile, Jerry Hopp in the UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade, Freddie's Club, Happy Go Lucky, cranked up his supercharged entry....the one that qualified 6 miles an hour faster than any other UL, at better than 119 mph. Hopp started on the outside of the 7 boat front line (with the UL72 as trailer....more on that to come). By the end of the back stretch of lap one he had come alongside Brow. It looked for a time like their two preliminary heats where Hopp & Brow battled to the finish....a sort of Davey & Goliath match, with Hopp holding the edge both times. This time, Hopp took command on lap two, but Brow stayed strong to the end. After starting a bit behind at the outset, Cal Phipps in Charley & Milt Wiggins UL10 Frazee Paint began reeling in Brow for second. On the final turn they were deck to deck. On any other course, Brow may have prevailed. But San Diego has the longest run from the exit pin to the finish line of all UL courses. The line is just a couple hundred feet from the first turn entrance pin. And at the line, Phipps was able to edge Brow by less than three feet. Still it was a great weekend for the Little Hydro That Could. Now, owner Hogan is putting the UL37 up for sale, so this Nate Brown designed & built hull (congratulations Nate; driver of the U-16 Miss Elam Plus....you're now a World Champion builder) can stay in the competitive world of GNH racing, and Hogan hopes to debut a new UL hull with driver Doug Brow, next season. Two races, and two exciting second place finishes. Cal Phipps has shown he has the driving talent, and Wiggins Racing's Ron Jones Sr. hull is as fast as ever. If they run the entire series next year, all of the competitors know the UL10 is a top runner and a threat for the title. This hull is the first one that designer-builder Ron Jones Sr. created as an Unlimited Light. The second is the UL72 Budweiser Pocket Mechanic and the third is under construction for Gary & Barbara Michael. OK, let's speak of the UL72. A trailer boat?! Well, I did write that it would take an uncharacteristic weekend on the part of the Frauenheim & Bononcini entry for driver Phil Bononcini not to achieve his third straight driver's title. The gentlemen they are...they never said a word about being "jinxed by "the voice" but unfortunately they did have that uncharacteristic weekend: 3 starts and 3 DNF's. The point being made at the time was, while the team title had been wrapped up for the third consecutive year the driver's title was still not secured for Bononcini. He held a less than thousand point edge over 2nd place Dave Bender in the UL38 Silver Dollar Casino-Security Race Products entry. Because Bononcini had allowed Canadian Patrick Haworth to drive the UL 72 at Tri Cities and Seattle he hadn't earned the same number of points as the team. With 1200 points up for grabs, Bender had a chance if he had a perfect weekend, and Bononcini had a perfectly lousy weekend. And that's almost what occurred. The usually fast & reliable Budweiser Pocket Mechanic experienced electrical problems throughout the weekend. Remember, this hull suffered a "blowover" accident in Seattle, and engine failure at Olympia so there were a lot of repairs made during the 6 week break before San Diego. With the UL72's first DNF, Bender and the UL38 countered with a 400 point heat victory. Second verse, same as the first, ALMOST!. Bononcini had a second DNF and Bender was leading when his engine expired near the end of lap 2, ending his weekend before the Sunday final. Had Bender been able to win heat 2, he'd have entered the big final heat on Sunday just 124 points behind Bononcini in the driver's points race. Tough luck for Dave & co-owner dad Gene Bender. But it was the best season ever in Unlimited Lights competition for the UL38 squad from El Dorado CA; 2nd in Driver's points and third in team points behind the UL15 of Jerry & Greg Hopp. For a boat that began it's life as Ron Jones Senior's first 2 wing hull, and a 6 liter at that, this craft has evolved with driver Dave Bender into a formidable UL contender. Even though there was no chance to win the championship, 4 teams arrived in San Diego eager to finish the season strong and move up in the final points standings. All raced hard and had areas of success. But two moved up in the standings, and two slid down. Entering the weekend, the UL40 Thunder Valley team, driver Kelly Stocklin and new sponsor Stone Brewery of San Marcos held 4th position. Right behind Stocklin was fellow Rookie of the Year candidate, Pingree Conflitti. But "Ping" couldn't attend the race after damaging his UL58 at Celina OH in a GNH event. In 6th was the UL19 Spirit of Couer D. Alene team, driver Steve Hook, and new sponsor Team Chapman.net ; a leading Real Estate firm in Lake Havasu City AZ, with owners Scott & Margie Chapman who are long time UL racing fans. Next it was the hard charging, but unfortunately inconsistent finishing UL23 J.W. Myers No Fear.com, followed by the X-Man, Vince Xaudaro and his UL929 Contour Aerospace. The final results found Hook & Xaudaro each moving up a spot, with Stocklin & Myers each dropping one spot. First, the Thunder Valley team from Auburn WA. They'd spent the past 6 weeks getting one of their two supercharged engines back in racing shape, following a tough luck Washington State tour. They ran moderately and gained points in both preliminary heats. Stocklin needed only to finish the final heat to be certain of 4th place in the standings. But the ol "ham & egger" motor had had enough as Stocklin coasted to a stop a mere 300 yards before the finish line. That gave 5th place in the final to Steve Hook, and 4th in the season standings.....by only a 11 point margin over Stocklin! Hook and the UL19 had a consistent, if unspectacular weekend. But consistent was exactly what this team needed. The 19 had always been a bit "flighty" this season. The wags in the pit area figured that Hook would keep the boat more level, as he outweighs last year's UL19 driver, Wally Johnston, by probably 70 lbs. But, not to be. So, the team installed a new "air dam" at the base of the front ram wing of the hull, and that helped to settle the ride. Hook's involvement in the UL series 2 years ago also helped the team. They'd been told they had sponsorship for San Diego, only to find out the day before departing from Washington State that the sponsorship fell through. In stepped Scott & Margie Chapman, Real Estate company owners from Lake Havasu City who had sponsored Hook at the Arizona race two years ago. Then there was J-Dub. For Myers, a miserable east coast swing and Tri Cities race had improved with a 4th place Seattle finish, and 2nd at Olympia. Then at San Diego, after the first round of qualifying, the UL23 No Fear.com was on the provisional pole. Yes that's an auto racing term, but it means that Myers 113.143 mph qualifying lap was number one early Friday afternoon. By the end of qualifying on Saturday, Myers 113 had been bettered by Dave Bender at 113.817, and by top qualifier Jerry Hopp at 119.447 mph. The Myers camp was confident. Their engine woes had been corrected in Washington, and his 113 mph lap was Myers' best yet in UL competition. Unfortunately, J.W. was unable to finish the final heat, and lost a spot in the final standings. But how about the X-Man? Vince Xaudaro's UL929 Contour Aerospace team took him to his first ever UL heat win. In heat 2A, Xaudaro won the start. By turn two, Phil Bononcini had pulled even in the Budweiser Pocket Mechanic, but Xaudaro stayed within striking distance. On lap 2, Bononcini's ride broke down; and Bender pulled even to challenge Xaudaro. Into turn 2, and it's Bender's boat that fails costing him a chance at the driver's championship. Xaudaro goes on to an impressive and popular victory, showing that while he benefitted from others misfortune, he had put the UL929 in position to succeed. The 929 is at a disadvantage to more technically advanced UL hulls. But often times a less than ideal hull can lead to greater driver skill development. One can see with Xaudaro's starts and burgeoning skill & confidence, given a better ride he's certainly a capable player in this league. Throughout the final, Vince was in contention. It was superior craft in the UL15, 10, & 37 that kept Vince from better than a 4th place finish. But as they say in horse racing, Vince "broke his maiden" in heat 2A, and future victories can be expected for the UL929 team. One other team to note; our newest UL team, and what spirit they possess. Kevin Aylesworth, Kevin Braun and the entire UL5 Team Freedom from San Diego. Due to a blown head gasket, they had to withdraw from the final heat, but they had qualified for the front row. In testing, Aylesworth ran a lap in excess of 101 mph, which is the best for this team so far. They ran Seattle, Olympia and San Diego, all the while learning a great deal that they will apply to their 2003 effort. They hope to be able to add supercharged power to this Ron Jones 2 wing design in 2003. But regardless of their future performance they are a terrific addition to our family of UL racers; a team that all of San Diego will be mighty proud to call their own. Next up, the off season. The debate will continue regarding supercharger rules. Curiously, the one comparison test run at San Diego with Jerry Hopp's UL15 saw a slightly quicker speed with the reduced blower drive ratio. As explained by engine builder for the UL15 Ed Trihey, the supercharger produces roughly the same top speed with different drive ratios. But the larger size will generate quicker acceleration. Hopp's 118 run was done on Friday afternoon with the currently approved 10% blower overdrive. On Saturday morning he ran over a mile per hour quicker, but in better water conditions, with the blower operating at 3.4% underdrive. For those of you, like myself who are not engine experts, 10% overdrive means the supercharger is turning 10% faster than the propeller. That means it's compressing more air into the engine which results in increased acceleraton. Conversely, 3.4% underdrive means the supercharger was turning 3.4% slower than the propeller. Less air compressed, less acceleration. Hopp was able to win the final heat even though starting in lane 7. Of course his two strongest challengers, Dave Bender and Phil Bononcini were unable to start (Bender) and finish (Bononcini) while Doug Brow gave Hopp every challenge early and Cal Phipps came on in the end. The debate will be, what to do next. If the goal is to continue the growth of Unlimited Light racing, the series would like to maintain a competitive balance among the 4 approved engine packages (GNH, 468 unblown, 509 unblown and 468 supercharged,with either the 6-71 or 8-71 Roots type superchargers approved. Areas likely to be debated include changing the supercharged hull minimum weight (currently 2600 lbs) and changing the blower drive ratio, and possibly the compression ratio. Two of the reasons for adding superchargers to the UL program are..... fans like the noise, and ......blower motors can be built for less money than unblown because the need for exotic parts and special heads is negated by adding the supercharger.....otherwise dubbed "bolt-on horsepower". Several new teams are planning to join the UL fleet next year and some are committed to "blowers". That's why the debate will be conducted now for teams to have sufficient planning time for 2003. No doubt the debate will be lively. Just like an Unlimited Light final heat. It's been a pleasure to share thoughts with you this season here on the ULHRA website and host the television series along with handling P.A. announcing duties. Personally I can hardly wait for next season to commence. The teams; well as much as they like to race they can sure use a break, and time to prepare for next season. But Tastin & Racin at Issaquah WA will be here before you know it.....June 6, 7 & 8 2003 to be exact. Hope you'll be there too. John Lynch
Frazee paint & wallcovering sponsors hydroplane racing boat for Bayfair UL10 Miss Frazee is over 24 feet long and weighs over 2500 lbs. She races at speeds up to 160 mph and is powered by an 800+ power automotive engine. Wiggins Hydroplane Racing Team from Gadsen, Alabama owns UL10 Miss Frazee. The driver will be Cal Phipps. The regatta is to raise awareness of the research, life-saving treatments, and superior medical care provided by Children's Hospital and the organization's need for continued support. "We are honored to have this opportunity to support a worthwhile cause while connecting sporting fans with a valuable San Diego resource," said Ed Lanctot, president of Frazee Industries, Inc. The Thunderboat Regatta has been an annual fixture on Mission Bay since 1964. The regatta runs September 20-22nd and is made possible by more than 1,200 community and military volunteers. Since it opened in downtown San Diego in 1896, Frazee Paint & Wallcovering
has grown to over 87 locations throughout California, Arizona and Nevada. Over 50,000 new homes are painted with Frazee Paint annually. Choose from
over 1,400 colors to complement any décor or let the Frazee Experts match your color sample. Frazee offers expert advice, quality products and
old-fashioned service that can only result from a century of excellence. UL-10 Wiggins Racing Team
heads west! "Looking forward to visiting with everyone
out on the left coast." - Mitch Moore A look at the San Diego Schedule of events...
Click
here for the weekend's full schedule of events. Skidfin Magazine website
unveiled! Alan Lagervall has new
photos to share! Looking ahead to San
Diego...
To supercharge or not has been a matter of considerable debate even before the introduction of the restricted blower motors in 2001. Last season the Thunder Valley team with their UL21 & UL40 debuted the concept. They went through a substantial learning curve and were hampered by the competitive limitations of their respective hulls; yet the team keeps improving those hulls. But now, with a supercharged engine in one of the most successful hydroplanes in UL history, the perspective changes. Elsewhere on this site Glen Davis has written a review that's must reading. It shows a recent comparison of various UL engines currently in competition and the supercharged test motor that Davis and George Woods Jr. built this past spring and tested on the dyno at Performance Engine Development in Tacoma WA. That motor (which can be seen at this website's For Sale section) shows a noticeable horsepower and torque increase compared to the carburetor motors, even while giving up about 50 cubic inches. This particular motor has not been in a boat, but it was built to the specifications of the current UL blown motor rules. Those rules, as explained by Thunder Valley Crew Chief Jon (JC) Courtright were developed based on a computer model. However what the model predicted, and what Davis & Woods engine demonstrated, were distinctly different results. That's why you'll see Jerry Hopp in the UL15 testing at San Diego on Friday (9-20) a total of three different blower drive ratios. It's part of an ongoing effort by the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association to provide equitable opportunity for teams to compete. Currently, most of the UL fleet run carburetors. Next year however that ratio could reach 50-50. Blower motors may provide some cost savings to teams, at least in the engine building area. Fans at the races this year have certainly enjoyed the "blower" option, and fans are an important consideration. So is growing the sport both for those currently running, and for those contemplating entering. At the UL level the officials and teams are mindful of a similar scenario that came upon the Unlimited community a couple of decades ago. There, rapid entry of unrestricted turbine powerplants doomed the piston camps and reduced the fleet as well as the competition level. Now the competitive level of that class has been upgraded over the past couple of seasons through mandated restrictions. But what wakes up the fans? One brand new piston boat that will probably break piston hydroplane speed records next weekend.
So who are those 10-12 boats for San Diego? As of this writing it appears certain that the following boats & drivers will compete. UL5 Kevin Aylesworth Also possible are UL110 Randy Haas, UL17 Rick Bridgeman, UL19 Steve Hook and UL58 Pingree Conflitti, although the UL58 sustained damage in a recent GNH race. Speaking of the For Sale section on this website, check it out. Some excellent race hulls are available including the UL19, UL21 and two fast, ex Grand Prix hulls. All 4 of these boats have experienced levels of competitive success either in UL or GP competition, and are ready for more. The time to make a deal is now, so you're ready to compete next spring. The break is over so Let's Go Racing!. See you in San Diego. John Lynch - "Voice" of the Unlimited Lights (Photos shared above are scenes
from the 2001 San Diego race.) Carburetor/Supercharged Engine Report 1. The parts to build a supercharged engine can cost as little as $10,000 2. Fans love the noise of blown engines and this helps promote UL boat racing. 3. Blown engines also have a certain charisma and/or mystique. Listed below are the actual dyno test numbers for three UL carburetor engines given to me by their builders and my own supercharged 454 engine as tested at PED. Engine 1: 502 cu in - symmetrical port heads - dominator
carb. with a
restrictor plate. Engine 2: 502 cu in - common wall heads - dominator
carb. Engine 3: 509 cu in - common wall heads - dominator
carb. Engine 4: 454 cu in - 6-71 blown engine. To help address the parity issue Jerry Hopp, at San Diego, will test three different blower drive ratios as we continue the blown engine learning curve actually on the water and not in the dyno cell. Yours for better racing, - Glen
Davis The latest saga of the UL-9
Droullard Racing team... Many people have been disappointed with the time it has taken me to finish this project, but nobody as much as me. I have had to overcome an assortment of disappointments and delays, but I have had wealth of friends like Jim Mowrey, Gordy Gillmore, Jon Zimmerman, Rick Campbell, and Paul McNalley to name a few that have gone way beyond the call of a friend from time to time trying to help me with this quest. The thought of another disappoint, like the sponsor I had depended on was unable to paint the boat was enough to take my breath away. Bud the manager went on to tell me the doors on this enormous paint shop were aprox. 14' tall, but they were only 12' wide, the boat wouldn't fit thru any of the doors on the dolly we had off loaded it on to, to make painting it easier for them. Mark from Burien Towing agreed to come back down at 6:30 AM on Friday morning to help reload the boat back on the trailer. Four of Adesa's painters and the manager all showed up early to move all the cars out of the shop, so Mark could get his tow truck inside and unload the boat again after it was backed in to the shop on tilt and put it back on to the dolly. I do not believe there has ever been a boat build with so much resolve against the odds before. I can only believe it has to be a great boat. This much heart from so many people has to have rubbed off on it. Here are a couple more photo's of it on the dolly waiting to go in to the paint shop. God bless to all that have helped me get this far. We will overcome and prevail! - Paul Droullard, UL-9 owner/future driver reporting
Looking for great Valleyfield photos? Hydroplanes Quebec has you
covered Looking for new photos? Mike Johnson's gallery site has you
covered Newspaper story heralds Ron Jones Sr as a hydroplane pioneer Cal Phipps (UL-10 Wiggins
Racing pilot) and Pingree Confletti (UL-58 Union Dooz) race in Celina "Cal Phipps in the GNH-41 had three wins on the weekend but his second place in Sunday's Final Heat was a battle with Joe Kreitzer in the GNH-8 Deel Me In. Kreitzer got the win and set a new Celina course record in the Grand National Hydroplane class at 94.132 MPH. Steve Kuhr was steady in the GNH-317 The Irishman with two seconds and two fourths for the weekend. Ken Brodie II had a tough start with a DNS in Saturday's heat race but bounced back with one second and two third place finishes. Ping Confletti in the GNH-58 Union Dooz had a third in Saturday's heat race but withdrew after damage suffered before the start of Saturday's Final Heat. The Grand Prix GP-154 Miss Pontiac Coil raced with the GNH's after the Baby Doll III and Xanadu had engine failure in the Grand Prix heat race. Snyder had a third in Saturday's Final Heat and Mark Weber was leading Sunday's heat race in the GP-154 but the GP-154 went dead in the water in turn one on the final lap and had a DNF." Jeff has our thanks for the great update! Classmates.com
Sponsors San Diego Thunderboat Regatta Benefiting Children's Hospital SEATTLE, WA - August 29, 2002 - Classmates Online, Inc, a personal networking service connecting friends, family, military and work colleagues, today announced its primary sponsorship of the 37th Annual San Diego Thunderboat Regatta benefiting Children's Hospital and Health Center. The Thunderboat Regatta is San Diego's largest annual sports competition attracting more than 150,000 people to the three-day event. Net proceeds from the event will benefit Children's Hospital and Health Center, which provides care to more than 350,000 children through its hospital, satellites and affiliated physicians throughout the county. Children's is the San Diego region's only designated pediatric trauma center and the only area hospital dedicated solely to pediatric care. "Classmates' mission is all about bringing people together. We view this event as an excellent opportunity to spread goodwill, educate, and connect race fans with an essential resource in the San Diego community," said Michael Schutzler, president and chief executive officer of Classmates.com. "We expect the regatta to raise awareness of the research, life-saving treatments, and superior medical care provided by Children's Hospital and the organization's need for continued support." "Classmates' participation in the Thunderboat Regatta helps provide essential funding for the staff, patients and families of Children's, said David Gillig, senior vice president and executive director of the Children's Hospital Foundation. "Involvement from the community is critical to Children 's success and we are grateful to Classmates' for its commitment to improving the lives of our region's children." The Thunderboat Regatta has been an annual fixture on Mission Bay since 1964. The regatta runs September 20-22nd and is made possible by more than 1,200 community and military volunteers. About Classmates Online, Inc. About Children's Hospital and Health Center
Click here for updates from August, 2002.
Questions, comments? E-mail the
site's webmaster. |
But for the race itself, is Jerry Hopp the favorite? It would seem so after two victories in a row for the supercharged UL15 entry; Greg Hopp driving at Olympia and Jerry at Seattle in his hometown race and his first ever victory in Unlimited Light or Unlimited competition in a career that spans over 20 years of racing. The change to supercharged power has put a charge into this Jamie Auld design that overall was the "best of the rest" in 2001 but couldn't overcome Phil Bononcini in the UL72. 
At the outset of this article, boat count was mentioned. So why is that an issue? Actually there are several reasons. First of all, more boats bring more fans. Secondly, more boats provide more racing. A 10-12 boat count results in 7 heats of racing (1A & 1B, 2A & 2B, 3A & 3B and the Final). A 15 - 18 boat count adds Heats 1C & Heat 2C and assures a B-main or consolation, or "last chance" heat. That makes 10 heats of racing; or put another way, a 42.8% increase in on the water action for the fans. But it gets even better if boat count reaches 20-24 as there will be heats 1D & 2D and 3C plus a B-main for a total of 13 heats of racing. With that kind of count, race fans will find enjoyment throughout the weekend because teams can't settle for 3rd & 4th place finishes and still make the final. The racing will be intense for first & second positions throughout each heat. That's the kind of action that will attract more race promoters and sell more tickets and sponsorships. But to get there, the ULHRA must grow in an orderly manner and not competitively eliminate good race motor combinations. The "blower" was never meant to harm the
ULHRA. It was meant to give teams an alternative, and to be an attraction to potential teams to join the UL fleet. With the number of new hulls under construction that goal is being reached. Keeping those blowers "in line" and maintaining a competitive balance with the carburetor motors is and will continue to be a major technical challenge for the
ULHRA. 
Christian Bergeron, the web designer behind the Hydroplanes Quebec website,
has posted two galleries and a full results summary from this year's Valleyfield
race. The photos are a lot of fun and the results summary covers each of
the classes that participated in this year's event. You can find the
Hydroplanes Quebec website at 
