As the two
fleets head to sunny southern California in mid September, championships
are on the line. The Unlimited Lights 2004 title chase has taken a turn
toward the defending champion as Hopp Racing's UL-1 Mike's Hard
Lemonade-Happy Go Lucky has built a 1310 point lead over Impact
Equipment Racing's UL-72 Graham Trucking - Security Race Products. The
bright yellow entry driven by Jerry & Greg Hopp is continuing
its pattern of the last two seasons; dominating the last half of
circuit. Fully 8 of the team's 11 victories since their first in 2001
have come in August, September and October. Jerry Hopp drove to his
second Seafair victory in Seattle, followed a week later by Greg Hopp
taking the title in Olympia. Now, during a well earned break in the
schedule, the Snohomish WA based team is preparing for the final two
races, both on salt water in the Washington Mutual Thunderboat Regatta
in San Diego CA, September 17-19, and two weeks later in the Victoria
Express Strait Thunder Regatta in Port Angeles WA, October 2-3.
While the
two victories by Hopp Racing helped push the lead margin, the George
Woods' driven UL-72 experienced an uncharacteristically high rate of
attrition. Over the past 3 races, the team has endured three Did Not
Finish (DNF) heats, resulting in a loss of up to 1200 points. Still,
with 2800 points, plus qualifying points remaining, Woods still has a
mathematical chance to overhaul the Hopp team. But even if Woods "ran
the table" and won the final 7 heats, Jerry & Greg Hopp need only to
score qualifying points in both remaining events, and finish each heat
in third place, for a second consecutive ULHRA Team title.
Over on the
Driver's side, Woods leads San Diego's Kevin Aylesworth in the UL-5
Baker Equipment Co. by 1070 points. Because Jerry & Greg Hopp alternate
driving assignments, neither are in contention for the Driver's title.
With the gap close in the Driver's Championship race, any more DNF's by
the UL-72 will create a great opportunity for Aylesworth's Freedom
Racing Team.
What a
boost of confidence was Olympia Speedfest for the UL-40 Thunder Valley
Racing Team. The Harold Mills driven entry scored its best ever finish
in Unlimited Lights competition. The team that debuted supercharged
engines in this series in 2000 grabbed 2nd place at Black Lake,
and believe they may have more to show on the swift San Diego race
course.
Olympia
was a tough weekend for Xaudaro Racing's UL-929 Western Cascade
Truck and Tank - Baker Equipment Company - Neuvant Aviation entry.
Vince Xaudaro scored a first and second place in two preliminary
heats, but DNF'd in his third heat and was forced to scratch from
the Final. Still, Xaudaro's entry has shown it likes the San Diego
course and team 929 has been a factor in every race this year except
opening weekend, holding 4th place in the points and a mere 37
points behind the third place UL-5.
Looking for
a dark horse? One better not ignore the UL-9 American Eagle of Auburn,
Washington's Paul Droullard. While the team scored no heat finishes at
Seattle and was unable to enter Olympia, Droullard secured his first
ever Unlimited Lights pole qualifying effort at Seafair with a lap of
better than 117 mph. Translate that to the quicker San Diego course and
a 120 mph lap may be in the offing.. After being away from the series
for several years, and with a new boat's "teething problems",
consistency has been missing from the American Eagle's debut season.
But speed is there, and speed is needed in San Diego. A
dozen or more UL entries are expected in San Diego and it should be a
terrific race.
Meantime,
the Thunderboat season is NOT done. For that matter there is a
tremendous race for points supremacy in this category. San Diego is the
third and final event in the series of "Independent" races in 2004 for
the Thunderboats, and after two installments, at Evansville IN and Tri
Cities WA, Mitch Evans in Ed Cooper's turbo-charged Allison powered
Vacationville.com leads Dave Villwock in the Miss Budweiser by a mere 7
points! And that's with using the traditional hydroplane points
schedule of 400 First Place, 300 Second Place, 225, Third Place, just as
the ULHRA uses. The two red Thunderboats are expected to battle it out
on the 2.5 mile Mission Bay course, the fastest race water the
Thunderboats see all season long. With this the finale in the
Thunderboat season, and the final race in the storied 42 year history of
the Miss Budweiser team, the battle should be of epic proportions.
Another top contender is the JW Myers driven Llumar Window Film team which has shown outstanding speed and competitiveness, but was damaged and did not finish the Final at Tri Cities WA. in the last Thunderboat event. Myers has raced in San Diego both in a turbine hydroplane and in Unlimited Lights and knows what it will take to reach the top of the podium. In addition, the Madison IN based Oh Boy Oberto and driver Steve David expects to be a top contender. This is a race course where Oberto crew chief Mike Hanson has multiple victories as a driver, and that knowledge can be the extra help needed by the rapid red, green & white community owned hydroplane. The field will number at least 7 and possibly 9 teams, including Nate Brown in the Miss Emcor from Las Vegas. Nate says the crew has rebuilt the boat from the serious accident in Seattle. Brown also says he's fit and ready to race. It will be the first appearance in the Independent races by the Kim Gregory owned team. Jim Harvey's Graham Trucking, with rookie driver J. Michael Kelly is entered. Kelly completed his rookie qualification at the 2nd Independent race, at Tri Cities, and went on to a successful 3rd place finish. Fred Leland''s two entries, with Greg Hopp and Steve Hook could still be in the field, but that depends on late sponsorship decisions. Qualifying begins on Friday, September 17th, with both the Unlimited Lights and the Thunderboats racing on Saturday & Sunday, September 18th & 19th. The race will be conducted and officiated by ULHRA, Inc. John Lynch "Voice" of the Unlimited Lights
Hydroplane at a Car Show
Why not? Air
shows have been conducted at hydroplane races for decades. Hopp Racing's
UL-1 Mike's Hard Lemonade will be on display this Saturday (8-21) at the
Harvey Airfield Corn Roast and Fly-in at Snohomish WA......the home of Hopp
Racing. Owner Jerry Hopp says the popular event features sky diving, flower
bombing, a spot landing contest, lots of antique aircraft on display, and as
the name implies, plenty of fresh local corn.
The event takes
place from noon till 4pm this Saturday and Hopp promises the bright yellow
UL-1 will glisten in the sunshine. This is a great opportunity for race
fans to get an up-close view of the defending ULHRA championship hull.
Harvey Airfield
is located at 9900 Airport Way, south of
the main city area and just off of the Snohomish River.
The third
annual Speedfest in Olympia begins competition tomorrow (Saturday 8-14) on
the fast racing waters of Black Lake, in Washington State's Thurston
County. Ten or more Unlimited Lights are expected for Speedfest, along with
3 categories of Lighter than LIGHTS including the newly authorized MOD
category that will combine 4 cylinder and 8 cylinder hydros with modified
engines. Two full days of racing commence Saturday morning at 11am at
Salmon Shores Resort. The event is sanctioned by the Unlimited Light
Hydroplane Racing Association, Inc. and produced by the Olympia Power Boat
Association. The host team for Speedfest is the UL-17 Miss Ted's Red Apple
Market owned by Rick & Shawn Bridgeman. That team returned to competition
at Seafair last weekend, after a long off-season rebuilding program that
created a virtually brand new UL-17. In their "shakedown cruise" at
Seattle, the team finished 8th. Last year, Rick Bridgeman took 2nd in this
race.
Speedfest is
expected to be the debut of another new team in the ULHRA. Terrill
Motorsports of Canby OR, headed by inboard hydroplane veteran Bill
Nootenboom, will campaign their completely rebuilt UL-85. The project is
over 2 years in the making. The UL-85 began life in 1971 as a Ron Jones 7
Liter hydroplane and at one time held a 7 liter competition speed record.
For many years this hull was raced in the Pacific NW by Howie Labrie of
Tacoma WA, the same Howie Labrie who later built the current UL-5 and raced
it in selected Unlimited Lights races before retiring in 2000. The "85" is
now fully ULHRA compliant and is a welcome addition to the Unlimited Lights
family of race teams.
Unfortunately,
the Number 1 qualifier at Seafair in Seattle WA last weekend will be unable
to compete at Speedfest. Paul Droullard, owner-driver of the UL-9 American
Eagle reports that his team will have to miss the Olympia WA event. At
Seattle, Droullard's improving "Eagle" sped to the top of the qualifying
ladder with an outstanding lap of 117.280 mph. Unfortunately the team's
lone engine sustained serious damage after concluding that lap, and the
American Eagle had to be scratched. Look for the UL-9 to return to
competition next month in San Diego CA. Meantime the UL-5 Baker Equipment
Co. team is ready for Speedfest. The team lost an engine in Seattle. It
was their original supercharged engine that had been raced for nearly 2 full
seasons, demonstrating the reliability and durability of the ULHRA's
"restricted supercharged" engine formula. Owner-Driver Kevin Aylesworth and
the Freedom Racing Team were able to finish a new engine and wound up taking
5th place in the Graham Trucking Cup at Seafair, after starting as the
"trailer boat".
John Lynch
"Voice" of the Unlimited Lights
Lighter than
LIGHTS return with a new category!
Speedfest 2004
is this weekend, August 14th & 15th at Olympia WA on Black Lake; a body of
water where many a national speed record has been set. The Unlimited Lights
and the Lighter than LIGHTS series will take center stage at Salmon Shores
Resort,
5446 Black Lake Boulevard in Olympia WA
with a viewing area second to none. In the spectator level, fans can watch
the action on the water and in the pit area, simultaneously.
The top two
teams in ULHRA points this season are expected to duel once again. Jerry
Hopp defeated George Woods at Seafair in Seattle last Sunday with a
brilliant drive. Hopp, in the Mike's Hard Lemonade-Happy Go Lucky UL-1
leads Woods in the Graham Trucking - Security Race Products UL-72 by 395
points. With 400 points for first place, this remains a tight battle with 3
events to go. After this weekend in Olympia, the Unlimited Lights will be
in San Diego CA September 17-19 and in Port Angeles WA October 2nd & 3rd.
Up to a dozen
Unlimited Lights are expected to compete, including the surprise Seafair
number 1 qualifier, Paul Droullard in his UL-9 American Eagle. Droullard
sped to the top of the ladder with his best run of the season, 117.280 mph
on the 1 2/3's mile Lake Washington course. Unfortunately his engine was
damaged in the run, and the Eagle was grounded for competition at Seafair.
But he expects to return at Olympia.
A new team in
the ULHRA, Terrill Motorsports from Canby OR may debut this weekend.
Veteran limited inboard racer Bill Nootenboom heads the Terrill team with
their totally re-modeled UL-85. This boat began life in 1971 as a Ron Jones
Sr. 7 liter hydroplane. A former record holding hull, this boat was raced
for many years in the Pacific NW by retired Unlimited Lights racer Howie
Labrie of Tacoma WA, the same Howie Labrie who built the Ron Jones designed
tandem wing hull that is now the UL-5 Baker Equipment Co. of San Diego's
Kevin Aylesworth. The UL-85 has been completely upgraded to ULHRA specs for
competition in the Unlimited Lights series.
The rest of
the UL fleet from Seafair is expected to compete, with the exception of the
UL-18 Jackie's Purple Thunder of Joe Turner. The UL-18 suffered hull
damage, including a hole in the left sponson that nearly sank the hydroplane
in Sunday's "B" Main at Seattle.. Turner was upbeat, however, about his
first ever UL heat finish the day before and said that despite taking on
water, the engine appeared to run fine in test mode at the end of Sunday.
A return to
Speedfest marks a return to the site where The X-Man began to make
competitive inroads. Strong starts in an underpowered machine helped Vince
Xaudaro to a 4th place at Olympia last year. Now, with new power, Xaudaro
continues to make strong starts. He led the field in the Final at Seattle
last Sunday through turn 1 and wound up with a solid third place finish.
Moreover, that finish combined with a preliminary heat victory and a second
place, boosted Xaudaro's UL-929 Western Cascade Tank & Truck - Baker
Equipment Co. - Neuvant Aerospace into 3rd place in the ULHRA standings.
Black Lake at Olympia WA is a race course better suited to the UL-929 hull
than Seattle, and it could be an interesting weekend as Xaudaro Racing tries
for their first ever Unlimited Lights race win.
The UL-5
Freedom Racing Team and owner-driver Kevin Aylesworth are looking for a
strong comeback after a disappointing weekend in Seattle. The Baker
Equipment Co. entry lost it's primary engine in Saturday warm-up when it
"threw a rod". The team was able to get it's backup engine operational in
time for the "B" Main on Sunday, but missed both preliminary heats on
Saturday, dropping to 4th in the standings. Still, Aylesworth was able to
transfer from the "B" Main to the Final Heat on Sunday with a third place
finish. After starting as the "trailer boat" one roostertail behind the 7
boat front line, Aylesworth moved up to take 5th in the Final.
Rookie Michael
Flaherty in the UL-51 Miss Boat Electric Co. continues to run consistently
and pile up points. He had an impressive second place run in a Saturday
preliminary heat at Seafair, losing to teammate George Woods by the length
of a sponson. His tally of 701 points at Seafair places the UL-51 solidly
in 5th place in the points, ahead of the UL-40 Thunder Valley Racing Team by
317 points, and within 641 points of the 4th place UL-5. ULHRA Inc. uses
the traditional hydroplane scoring method of First Place 400 pts, Second
Place 300 pts, Third Place 225 pts, Fourth Place 169 pts, Fifth Place 127
pts, Sixth Place 95 pts, 7th Place 72 pts. and Eighth Place 58 pts. With 3
races and 11 heats remaining, plenty of movement in the series standings
can still occur.
The host team
for Speedfest in Olympia is the UL-17 Miss Ted's Red Apple Market team of
Rick & Shawn Bridgeman. Their winter & spring and now summer project or
rebuilding their former Staudacher GP hull finally came to conclusion at
Seattle. The team competed, gained a Final Heat berth and wound up with 8th
place. Now that the initial "shake down" period is over, expect to see
improved competitiveness from this team which took second place at Olympia,
one year ago.
Another team
that would have had an excellent chance on the Black Lake course is the
UL-14 Aurora Rents Presents Miss Software Prototype. Unfortunately, Paul
Becker's team, which ran well in Seattle but came up just short of a Final
Heat berth, won't be able to compete this weekend due to family
commitments. Becker led the field into turn one of Heat 2B at Seattle; a
performance that matched one of his heats at Tri Cities two weeks
earlier. The performance level of this team has been improving over the past
two outings and can be expected to continue that improvement next month at
San Diego, and in October at Port Angeles.
The UL-6 team
plans to qualify its third driver this season. BCS Racing is comprised of 3
veteran NW racers. Kerry Beynon drove at Seafair after qualifying at Tastin
n Racin in Issaquah WA in June. Al Carstensen qualified at Tri Cities last
month, and this weekend it is Jack Sipila's turn. The UL-6 took sixth at
Seafair.
Thunder Valley
Racing and Driver Harold Mills had another weekend of completed heats. In
fact they've only failed to finish one heat in 2004, after having a 2003
campaign that heat finishes were the exception rather than the rule.
However the team didn't perform as they'd hoped. Mills took second in the
"B" Main but the UL-40 was uncompetitive in large field of 8 in the Final.
The team suffered propeller damage to their chosen "wheel" over the weekend
and the resulting handling difficulties kept performance down. In fact,
handling was a major issue that relegated the team to 7th in the Final
Heat. Expect an improved outing for Mills and the Thunder Valley team this
weekend.
Seafair also
marked the debut of Ron Doumont of Windermere B.C. in his UL-117 Escapius
Maximus. Doumont was a non starter in Heat 1B, but later took sixth place
in Heat 2A and fifth in the "B" Main. His boat is the former UL-19 of Tom
Eckenburg and driven to 4th & 5th place series finishes the past two seasons
by Steve Hook. Eckenburg's new UL-19 is nearing completion, hopefully in
time for the San Diego race next month. While awaiting delivery, Steve Hook
took the time to get qualified in the Thunderboat (turbine) category, taking
4th in Tri Cities and in Seattle Hook picked up an Unlimited Hydroplane
preliminary heat victory, on the way to placing 6th at Seafair in Fred
Leland's U-99.
This weekend
marks the second event in the 2004 Lighter than LIGHTS series. Following
the race at Issaquah in June, Brian Perkins leads Jeff Bernard by 400 points
in the 4 cylinder category, while Jeff Bernard has more than 800 points on
the field in the 8 cylinder category.
An exciting
addition this weekend will be a modified class in the Lighter than LIGHTS
series. A combination of 4 cylinder modified and 8 cylinder modified
hydroplanes will compete as a "demonstration" category, and could become a
permanent fixture in the series in 2005. The new category will race this
weekend at Olympia, and also at the season finale in Port Angeles.
John Lynch
"Voice" of the
Unlimited Lights
8 Cylinder Mod Category Approved The 8 cylinder Mod category consisting of the National Mods and 2.5 Mods has been approved as a racing category for the ULHRA. The guidelines as approved by the ULHRA Board of Directors are as follows: 1) Each boat running in this category must follow all rules as currently written within the APBA guidelines for each class. 2) One two race trial period to assist growth of the class. 3) Your best effort to produce 6 registered racing boats for the class at each of the events. 4) The Board will review the results and registration (boat count) for consideration to continue racing in the 2005 season. 5) Each boat will only be allowed to register in one category for the weekend. 6) The ULHRA will collect prize and sponsorship funds from ESL Enterprises. The funds will be deposited into the ULHRA points fund account for the use and distribution of this class at the annual banquet at the end of the season. Supercharged or Non Supercharged? In 2004, the answer is YES!
Through 4
events in the current season, 3 teams have won, and two of those
victories have been by supercharged engines, with two by non
supercharged (normally aspirated) engines. Further, the points chase
shows the supercharged UL-1 less than 400 points ahead of the normally
aspirated UL-72, and the supercharged UL-5 holds a 315 point edge over
the normally aspirated UL-929 in the battle for third. In fact, Vince
Xaudaro in the normally aspirated Neuvant Aviation UL-929 has taken 2nd
place in the past three events. With a heat victory worth 400 points
and a second place finish worth 300 points, this year's results
demonstrate that both power plants can be and are successful in ULHRA
competition.
In race
number 1 at Issaquah WA, George Woods Jr. in the normally aspirated
Graham Trucking-Red Rocket defeated the supercharged UL-1 Mike's Hard
Lemonade with Greg Hopp driving. Hopp returned the favor in Evansville
IN while Woods did not finish. Then at race # 3 in Valleyfield, Kevin
Aylesworth prevailed with a perfect start while others were early, and
went on to his first career ULHRA victory.
The
philosophy in bringing "restricted" supercharged engines into the
previously non supercharged Unlimited Lights series was to allow another
power source that could be built and maintained for a bit less money,
while keeping a competitive equivalency with the non supercharged
engines. A major side benefit resulting from running the 468 cubic inch
engine with a 671 "blower" at 20 under ( meaning the supercharger turns
20% slower than the engine speed ) has been reliability. For example,
Jerry Hopp's UL-1 Mike's Hard Lemonade - Happy Go Lucky team has toured
this year's circuit with a brand new engine in the tow rig. They never
bothered to install it till race # 4 in Tri Cities WA at the end of
July, because their previous motor was doing so well. And that engine
has about 2 seasons worth of service with normal maintenance and very
little parts damage. The UL-5 Baker Equipment Company team ran the
entire 2003 season on one engine, as did the UL-51 team. Even Thunder
Valley Racing and the UL-40 team which had no end of problems in 2003,
report that their engine program this year is strong, reliable and so
far, problem free. When considering that a top quality ULHRA
supercharged engine can cost nearly $30,000, getting this kind
of durability is key to staying within a racing budget. It also
results in better racing and more enjoyment for the fans and the race
organizers because they see UL teams go out to compete, race hard,
and return to the pits under their own power instead of at the end of a
tow line.
What about
the normally aspirated engines? As has been demonstrated over the past
two seasons, the "unblown engine" is anything but "dead in the water".
So far this season, George Woods Jr. in the UL-72 Graham Trucking - Red
Rocket has two victories; the only team with multiple wins so
far. Last year, there were two victories, including Seattle, by the
normally aspirated UL-10 team from Wiggins Racing in Alabama, who
unfortunately were unable to travel and defend their Seafair title this
weekend. Plus the strong performances this year by the UL-929 of Vince
Xaudaro reinforces the competitiveness of the non supercharged engine.
Yes, both
engine options work, compete, and win in ULHRA competition. And while
engine choice is important, so is the hull package because no engine can
overcome a poorly setup hydroplane. A favorite phrase of UL-72 team
owner Joe Frauenheim is, "want to go faster? fix your boat".
Frauenheim knows from experience because the UL-72 was not a winning
hull "out of the box", but once the set-up was corrected with guidance
from the Miss Budweiser Team, the UL-72 became the Red Rocket, and the
winningest non supercharged hull in ULHRA history.
So the
question prospective entrants in Unlimited Lights competition should be
asking is, not which engine to run........but how soon to start
racing? Supercharged, or normally aspirated? Whichever you prefer,
build it and you can compete here. And if you're going to compete
here, a great time to start is right now.
John Lynch
"Voice" of
the Unlimited Lights
News & Notes on the Unlimited Lights competing in the Graham Trucking Cup at Seafair
UL-1. Mike's Hard Lemonade - Happy Go
Lucky. Jerry Hopp won his first ever Final
2 years ago here in Seattle, after racing in Unlimited Lights and
Unlimiteds for 20 years. Since
then, Jerry has added 4 more victories and son
Greg has 3 victories, and the team claimed the 2003 ULHRA
Championship. Hopp Racing dates back
to the founding days of the Unlimited Lights, when they raced the
current UL-14. The UL-1 is the winningest hull in UL history with 20
victories, the first 12 as the UL-16 of Florida's Ned Allen with driver
Bo Schide. A Seafair win this weekend would tie them with the UL-72
team for most race wins since the start of the 2001 season.
UL-72. Graham Trucking - Red Rocket George Woods Jr. won the
Unlimited race at Seafair in 1992 . If
he takes the victory this
Sunday, he'll become the first driver to have won in Unlimited Lights
and Unlimiteds on the Ted Jones race course in Seattle. When
he won at Issaquah in June, Woods became only the second driver in
history to win in both Unlimited Lights and Unlimited Hydroplanes. The
first was Nate Brown, who was co-driver in 1996 with Brian Reynolds when
they teamed up to win at Kelowna BC. In Woods'
case his victories in UL competition came after he had won three
Unlimited trophies, the first two in 1988, and all three before the
Unlimited Lights series was created. Woods currently
trails Hopp in the 2004 points standings by 388 pts. or less than one
heat victory (400 pts) difference.
UL-5 Baker
Equipment Company. Kevin Aylesworth picked up his first victory in
ULHRA competition a month ago in Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada.
Aylesworth owns & drives the only "tandem wing" hull in Unlimited Lights
competition. Built by Tacoma's Howie
Labrie and designed by Ron Jones Sr. this hull competed as a non
supercharged UL in the 90's before Labrie retired from competition and
sold his race team to Aylesworth in the winter of 2002. Aylesworth's
Freedom Racing team converted to supercharged power in 2003.
UL-929.
Neuvant Aerospace. Vince Xaudaro and
his team are having their best run of success since joining ULHRA in
2001 After a disappointing season opener at Issaquah WA with only 17
qualifying points and no completed heats, the
"X-Man" has driven to 3 straight second
place finishes. Xaudaro now sits in 4th place in the ULHRA standings,
315 points behind Kevin Aylesworth, or just over 1 second place heat
finish (300 pts)
UL-51. Miss Boat Electric. Rookie
Michael Flaherty, taking over behind the wheel of the team that brought
George Woods Jr. back to hydroplane racing in 2003, currently sits 5th
in the standings, making 3 of 4 Final Heats so far. John Flaherty,
Michael's father, is Team Manager. Boat Electric Co. of Seattle has
signed on to sponsor for the remainder of 2004.
UL-40. Thunder Valley Racing. A nearly
complete turnaround for this team from 2003, when it seemed that
anything that could go wrong, did..........including striking a "jersey
barrier" while racing in Canada after the steering failed. This year,
with Harold Mills taking over the driving duties, and a revised engine
and systems program, the Mills driven entry has captured a couple of
"B-Main" heat victories, and finished 3rd twice, and fifth once in the 3
races the team has entered. UL-40 trails UL-51 in the battle for 5th
in the series championship by just 94 points.
UL-14. Aurora Rents Presents Miss
Software Prototype. Airline pilot Paul Becker's hydroplane has been
part of the series since 1995. It's been in every ULHRA event in 2004,
even though Becker was unavailable to drive back east. Jerry Hopp
substituted. Becker won the start and took the lead over Hopp in a
preliminary heat at Tri Cities, showing there is still competitive life
in this 30 year old Ron Jones Sr. hull.
UL-6. BCS Racing. Three NW racers
pooled their resources and purchased this race team from Dave Bender,
who ended his ULHRA career with a 2nd place finish at Seafair in 2003.
While the team members have changed, one thing remains the same. This
is one fast Ron Jones hydroplane. Kerry Beynon, aka "B" of BCS Racing
will drive at Seafair. He qualified for UL competition at Issaquah in
June. "C" in BCS, Al Carstensen, qualified and drove at Tri Cities, and
"S" in BCS, Jack Sipila, will qualify next week at Olympia.
UL-9 American Eagle. Paul Droullard's
4 year long effort to build this hull, is now starting to pay off.
Performance gets a bit better each time out in this supercharged UL
hydroplane. Handling difficulties have plagued the team but Droullard's
team is improving with each outing. Droullard qualified for the first
ever Unlimited Light Final Heat, in 1995 at Phoenix.AZ.. His
spectacularly painted American Eagle hydroplane is a "hit" wherever it
appears.
UL-17. Ted's Red Apple Market. Rick
Bridgeman will debut the re-styled UL-17 this weekend. The team entered
the Tri Cities race, following weeks of "thrashing" to complete the off
season work. A shaft alignment problem was detected so the team's 2004
debut will be at Seafair. Last year the team finished 6th in the
standings and took 2nd at their home race in Olympia. During the
off-season, Rick and his wife Shawn realized they liked their sponsor so
much.......they bought the store!.......... in Westport WA.
UL-18
Jackie's Purple Thunder. Joe Turner returns to Seafair with a new
engine, and new enthusiasm. Turner was unable to start a heat in 2003.
The team competed at Issaquah this year but "blew" their only engine at
the time. The team is seeking consistency and finishing heats, and will
build from there.
UL-117.
Escapius Maximus: Canadian Ron Doumont has entered UL competition with
the purchase of the former UL-19 that Steve Hook drove to 5th place in
2003, and 4th place in the 2002 standings. Doumont expects to debut at
Seafair after experiencing an engine problem in pre-race testing at Tri
Cities WA.
John
Lynch
"Voice" of the Unlimited Lights
12
Unlimited Light hydroplanes are scheduled to race at the 54th Annual Seafair
Race in Seattle WA, Friday through Sunday August 6 - 8. This turnout equals
the ULHRA's biggest fleet of the season, matching the turnout at
Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada over 4th of July weekend.
Leading the dozen entries is Jerry Hopp in the UL-1 Mike's Hard Lemonade -
Happy Go Lucky. Hopp finished 3rd at the Security Race Products Trophy in
Tri Cities, but also had 2 preliminary heat victories. The UL1 currently
leads the season points chase over second place UL-72 Graham Trucking driven
by George Woods Jr. 4443 to 4055. Woods won the Tri Cities race but was
hurt in the points by failing to finish one heat. Still, Woods parlayed a
"B" Main victory into a front line starting position in the Final, avoided
potential trouble on the inside, and powered past leader Vince Xaudaro for a
convincing victory.
Xaudaro, Hopp, and Harold Mills nearly came together just prior to the
start. Hopp appeared to make contact with another roostertail and fell back
at the start, but was able to recover for a third place finish.
It
was the second straight race that the "X-Man" took second, all the while
trying to become the first native of the Tri Cities area to win on the swift
Columbia River course. But this vastly improved team is running up front,
winning their share of heats and the UL teams know the 929 is a contender.
After failing to score any heat points in the season opener, the Xaudaro
Racing team has now moved into 4th in the series standings, close behind 3rd
place Kevin Aylesworth in the UL-5 Baker Equipment Company.
Paul
Becker in his UL-14 Miss Software Prototype had a much improved outing,
showing better chute speed and cornering. It wasn't enough to gain entry
into the Final, but it bodes well for the rest of the season. Further,
Becker aggressively took the lead at the start of one preliminary heat,
following the X-Man mantra of, "if you make them go around you, sometimes
they don't". This time they did, but Becker is encouraged that the oldest
boat in the fleet, built 30 years ago by Hall of Fame inductee Ron Jones Sr.
still has racing life ahead.
One
of the most popular boats in the fleet is the American Eagle, racing under
sponsorship at Tri Cities from Richland Suzuki and Apollo Spas. Paul
Droullard's team repaired the damaged cockpit, caused by a failed escape
hatch at Valleyfield, and replaced the original skid with with a brand new
model. Improved performance was the result, and if not for a penalty for
failing to hold a lane at the start of the "B" Main, Droullard would have
been in the Final.
Even
with a 5th place finish, it wasn't a "banner weekend" for Thunder Valley
Racing. In the preliminaries the team was unable to get their engine to
perform at peak efficiency. The engine ran several hundred rpm below
normal. Plus, there was damage caused when the UL-40 collided with the
UL-929 at the start of Heat 1B, and driver Harold Mills had some difficulty
adapting to the much longer than normal turns. Still, a Final Heat berth
and 5th place for a team that was unable to run at Evansville, moved the
Issaquah WA based team into 6th place for the season, less than 100 points
behind Michael Flaherty and the UL-51 Miss Boat Electric.
Canadian Ron Doumont's effort to make his first UL start came up short.
During an engine test on the trailer, Doumont's engine sustained damage and
the team was withdrawn. Doumont recently purchased the former UL-19 from
Tom Eckenberg, who is having a new Dale Van Wierengen hull built. Doumont's
renumbered UL-117 is expected to debut with Doumont behind the wheel, at
Seattle.
# Boat Name Driver
UL-1 Mike's Hard
Lemonade - Happy Go
Lucky Jerry Hopp
UL-5 Baker Equipment Company Kevin Aylesworth UL-6 BCS Racing Kerry Beynon UL-9 American Eagle Paul Droullard UL-14 Aurora Rents presents Miss Software Prototype Paul Becker UL-17 Ted's Red Apple Market Rick Bridgeman UL-18 Jackie's Purple Thunder Joe Turner UL40 Thunder Valley Racing Harold Mills UL-51 Miss Boat Electric Michael Flaherty UL-72 Graham Trucking - Red Rocket George Woods Jr. UL117 Escapius Maximus Ron Doumont UL 929 Neuvant Aerospace Vince "X-Man" Xaudaro
John
Lynch
"Voice" of the Unlimited Lights
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Ken
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