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Five Stars
racing has now taken delivery of their brand new Unlimited Light, designed &
built by Dale Van Wierengen. The new UL-19 is at the Unlimited Light
Hydroplane maximum of 26 feet in length and has a 78" tunnel (space between
the sponsons). Owner Tom Eckenberg is pleased about this major upgrade of
his racing program. Previously in partnership with Idaho's John Tietz, the
team campaigned a different UL-19 hull that is now the UL-117 Escapius
Maximus, owned and driven by Windermere B.C. resident Ron Doumont. In 2002,
the team with driver Steve Hook took 4th place in the ULHRA standings, and
followed that performance with a 5th place finish in 2003. Eckenberg's team
was inactive in 2004 while construction was underway on the new hull.
As the photos
demonstrate, the hull has not been painted. The 5 Stars team will be
installing systems over the next few weeks and painting the hull. They will
be ready to go in time for Spring Training, May 14th, in Tri Cities WA.
Power for this new UL-19 will be an Ed Trihey supercharged 468 cu.in.
engine. Trihey also builds motors for, among others, the 2 time series
champion UL-1 Mike's Hard Lemonade, and the UL-9 American Eagle which
established a new UL qualifying speed record in San Diego.
Driver Steve
Hook says he's "excited to get back in the cockpit of
an Unlimited Light!" He did get qualified to drive a turbine hydroplane and
raced at Tri Cities and Seattle last year. But the Unlimited Light
series is where his focus and interest remain.
The 5 Stars
crew stays intact. In addition to owner Tom Eckenberg, the team includes Crew
Chief John Godfrey and crewmembers Rick Carlson, Steve Davidson and Bruce
Townsend. Based on this team's previous performance and reliability, plus
the capability of the new hull & engine, fans may expect a lot from this
team in 2005..........but no more than this team will expect from
itself. There may be some "newboatitis" issues to deal with but this crew's
experience should minimize the impact and give the hard charging Hook a
really competitive ride in the upcoming season.
The new UL-19
further demonstrates the growth of ULHRA, and the Unlimited Lights series.
In 2004, the American Eagle debuted as a new UL hull. In addition to the
UL-19 in 2005, Mike Eacrett and the G-24 will debut a new hull in
Thunderboats ACCS. Rick Bridgeman brought out a virtually all new hull in
2004 and it becomes the G-17 in 2005. Gary & Barbara Michael will debut
their new Ron Jones Sr. UL-57 Cheetah in 2005. It's expected that Ray
West's new UL-32, another Dale Van Wierengen creation, will debut in 2005.
Plus, Ken Brodie II's recent announcement of joining ULHRA with the UL-50,
(formerly GP 77) and Mike Webster joining with the UL-2 Red Hot (ex-Southern
7), demonstrate strong commitments to ULHRA racing, and more entrants in
2005.
John Lynch
"Voice" of the
Unlimited Lights
Ken
Brodie II, a veteran campaigner in Grand Prix hydroplane, has joined
ULHRA, Inc. and will race in the Unlimited Lights series in 2005.
Along with his father, Ken Brodie, they will race their recently
re-acquired EX 77 hull, to be reconfigured for ULHRA competition,
including rear tails. They will race with the UL supercharged
engine package of a 468 cubic inch V-8 with a 671 supercharger
turning at 80% (20 under) of crankshaft speed.
The
younger Brodie says they are working on Title Sponsorship which they
hope to announce soon. He also says the UL-50 Brodie Motorsports
entry will compete on the full ULHRA circuit in 2005, which will
include 9 races plus Spring Training; the ULHRA annual open testing
session. They have also posted For Sale on this site, their GNH 44
hydroplane. Until sold, the GNH 44 will be the Brodie Motorsports
backup hull, and may see action at the eastern ULHRA races in 2005
as a second Brodie team entry.
2004 ULHRA Awards Banquet a spectacular success
A full house of 200 racers,
officials, and fans gathered at the Grand Central Casino Banquet Room in
Tukwila WA for the 2004 Awards. The evening began with a very clever
review of the participants in 2004, by Gold Cup Video. The 11 minute
presentation featured youngsters pulling wooden hydroplanes on a string,
and the youngsters would later grow up to be Unlimited Lights drivers,
like the two champions of 2004, Jerry Hopp and George Woods Jr.
Hopp, along with son Greg,
own the UL-1 Mike's Hard Lemonade and they successfully defended their
2003 title. After competing in Unlimited hydroplanes and Unlimited
Lights for over 20 years with nary a victory, "Grandpa" Jerry Hopp now
has 6 race wins over the past 3 seasons, and two National Championships
in Unlimited Lights. Son Greg earned Hopp Racing's first ever UL race
victory in 2001 and he also has garnered a total of 6 race wins, putting
father & son in a fourth place tie in career Unlimited Lights race
victories. Just ahead in the career standings is Charley Wiggins with
8, behind the all time leaders, Bo Schide and Phil Bononcini, each with
12.
The UL-1 hull, which began
it's racing life as the non supercharged UL-16 Alamo Rent a Car, driven
by Bo Schide, leads all Unlimited Light hulls with 24 victories. 13 of
those wins came with carburetor engines, including one by Greg Hopp in
2001. The other 11 have been with supercharged power.
George Woods Jr. who
returned to racing in 2003 after an injury forced 10 year hiatus, picked
up 3 race wins in 2004 and captured the ULHRA 2004 Driver's Title at the
wheel of the UL-72 Graham Trucking, Security Race Products. The 3 ULHRA
victories match his career total in Unlimited Hydroplanes. Further,
Woods became the first driver in history to capture a victory in
Unlimited Lights, at the same venue where he had previously won in
Unlimited hydroplanes. Woods victory at San Diego in 2004, reprised
his win on Mission Bay back in 1988. His 3 wins in 2004 also propelled
Woods to 10th place all time in Unlimited Lights victories, tied with
Mark Weber.
Despite all of his
credentials, 2003 was Woods' first in UL competition, so not only did he
fit the qualifications, he won Rookie of the Year. This time, Woods, as
the previous year's Rookie of the Year, presented the 2004 Rookie of the
Year Award to his protégé, Michael Flaherty. When Woods came back to
racing, he helped the UL-51 team of Impact Racing establish a
supercharged engine program, and energized a 20 year old hull that had
been inactive for 10 years. Flaherty was Woods understudy in 2003, and
when Woods moved over to the Impact Racing Team's UL-72, taking over for
Phil Bononcini, Flaherty took over the ride in the UL-51. Flaherty
drove to 5th place in the ULHRA standings, and also earned his first
ever heat victory in the season finale at Port Angeles WA.
Many other awards were
announced and presented. We'll recap those in the days ahead.
John Lynch
"Voice" of the Unlimited
Lights
American Eagle flies on RSBN.NET
Paul Droullard,
owner-driver of the UL-9 American Eagle Unlimited Light hydroplane, is Steve
Cowin's guest on this week's edition of Fast, Wet & Wild. Droullard stunned
the racing world in his last two events of 2004. While he did not achieve
victory in the brand new American Eagle hull, his team's 4 year effort to
construct the UL-9 did pay dividends. In Seattle, Droullard was the Number
1 qualifier. That was a first time achievement for this Unlimited Lights
driver who first competed in the very first event back in 1995. Later in
San Diego, not only did Droullard repeat as top qualifier, he set a new
ULHRA speed record of 122.324 mph.
Fast, Wet &
Wild can be heard on the internet at
www.rsbn.net It airs at 6:00pm Pacific time tonight (9:00 pm
Eastern)(11-18) and is repeated several times over the next week.
After seeing the increases in lap speeds this year
with several of the teams, as well as a record lap set by the UL-9, it was
determined that we would need to make some signficant changes to our program in
order to stay competitive. The length of the 929 will increase by at least 1
foot, the tunnel width of the hull is being widened by 4", a new updated outside
sponson will be added, new vertical stablilizers, and new shoes for the
afterplane, and a new cowling. The hull has been
racing with the 2000 lb/468ci aspirated engine option, but will now utilize the
2500lb/509ci aspirated option. The changes should provide marked improvement in
the cornering and acceleration aspects of the hull. The actual weight gain of
the hull will only be about 100lbs. The changes to the hull are being designed
and supervised by Dale Van Wierengen with the help of the Lumar Window Film
Unlimited Team as well as team owner/driver, Vince Xaudaro.
Some new photos of the UL-929 hull reconstruction project
Veteran race
driver and businessman Mike Eacrett from Seattle WA is coming out of a
lengthy absence from hydroplane racing in a big way. Eacrett, a former
record holder in 7 liter hydroplane and an Unlimited hydroplane driver in
the 90's with Oh Boy Oberto, now heads the second team to enter Thunderboats
ACCS.
Eacrett's G-24
ACCS entry has had an interesting, albeit inactive history to date.
Originally built as a GP Hull by Ron Jones Jr several years ago, the boat
was later acquired by Eacrett but has never been in competition, nor for
that matter, even on the water for testing. Early in 2004, Eacrett hired
renowned Crew Chief Ron Brown, formerly of the Miss Budweiser team, to
spearhead development of the hull for Thunderboats ACCS competition. The
higher powered engine package in ACCS, compared to the Unlimited Lights
engine program, is better suited to this hull according to the owner. Of
course, with Ron Brown on board as Team Manager and Owner's representative,
how much of the original hull design is retained, will remain to be seen.
One can only speculate because Eacrett's not talking other than to say,
"stay tuned".
The G-24 joins
the G-17 of Rick Bridgeman in committing to the new Thunderboats ACCS
program. Other teams are expected to sign on in the near future. The
momentum is building for this new premiere class of hydroplane, featuring
575 cubic inch supercharged engines in hulls up to 28 feet in length
and chute speeds that could exceed 180 mph. This compares to the Unlimited
Lights more restrictive supercharged engine of 468 cubic inches, and hull
length of no more than 26 feet with chute speeds around 150 mph. Plus, the
commitment of Eacrett, along with Ron Brown, signifies that this new class
will enhance, rather than detract from, the opportunities available in ULHRA
racing. The Unlimited Lights fleet continues to grow for 2005, and the
entry of the G-24 confirms the new series can and will attract ownership
interests from beyond the ULHRA.
Welcome aboard
Mike Eacrett, Ron Brown and the G-24 team.
First "G" Class team
welcomes friends, fans & competitors to a benefit motorcycle run. December
4th.
The G-17 Thunderboats ACCS team of Rick &
Shawn Bridgeman, sponsored by Ted's Red Apple Market, will participate in
the annual Olympia (WA) Toyrun., a 20 motorcycle ride that benefits
disadvantaged children as each participant contributes a toy for
distribution at Christmas. Rick Bridgeman says it's a great deal of fun for
a great cause and he's participated in this run for several years.
Participants can meet at the G-17 race shop on Saturday, December 4th and
then head to the run. At the
conclusion there will be a gathering at the Bridgeman Team shop.
Last year over 6,000 motorcyclists
participated!
FOR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL UL17@AOL.COM. OR CALL 360-357-7021.
They began racing in the Unlimited Light
Racing Series in the inaugural year of 1995. Twice in their history
they secured 2nd place trophies. In 2003, they stepped up to fulltime
competition. In 2004, they upgraded their racing craft, and
they enter 2005 as the first ever Thunderboats ACCS racing team.
They are Rick & Shawn Bridgeman,
known as Shockwave Racing, and
the owners of the now re-numbered G-17. Racing for several
seasons as Ted's Red Apple Market, the Rick Bridgeman driven entry will
sport new Title Sponsorship in 2005, with Ted's Red Apple Market, now
owned as well as managed by Rick Bridgeman, remaining as an associate
sponsor.
Rick began racing hydroplanes in 1990 in 5
Liter stock competition, but quickly moved up to Grand National
Hydroplane. When Unlimited Lights were launched in 1995, his team
stepped in and was a consistently solid competitor while racing
only the west coast events. In 2003, with the newly acquired
former GP101 hull sporting a dazzling black, yellow and red paint
scheme, the Bridgeman's decided to race the entire UL circuit. Not only
did they claim 2nd place at their home race on Olympia Washington's
Black Lake, the then UL-17 also finished a solid 6th place in the final
ULHRA season standings.
With the announcement of Thunderboats ACCS
nearly 1 year ago, the Shockwave Racing
Team, along with consultant Ron Jones Sr. set about to upgrade
the hull for entry into the new series. During last winter and spring,
what was planned to be an upgrade became in essence a brand new boat,
with larger state of the art sponsons, a 6 1/2 inch
wider "tunnel" (the area between the sponsons), an additional foot in
length, and new, bigger non trips (aft
of the sponsons). In addition
they reinforced all of the frame seams, installed carbon fiber running
surfaces on the sponsons, plus extra strong skidfin brackets
& bracing to handle the new skid fin that weighs approx 75 lbs.
The only element left from the original GP101 is the center
section. The new hull is listed at 25' 8" (ACCS
minimum is 25') and weighs 3600 lbs (ACCS
minimum is 3500 lbs) and
is 13 feet wide (the ACCS maximum). Gary Pugh of Performance Engine
Development in Tacoma WA will build the new 575 cubic inch supercharged
engine. Pugh also built the team's 468 cu.in. supercharged UL engine,
which the team plans to keep in reserve. When
in use, the 468 will run at a higher "blower" speed than is
allowed in Unlimited Lights competition.
Co-owner and driver Rick Bridgeman commented
"we are transferring to the ACCS Class because we feel it is going to be
the premier automotive powered class of hydroplanes and we are looking
forward to being a part of the beginning".
The Bridgeman's have been more than a race
team in ULHRA competition. Like their fellow competitors, the Thunder
Valley Racing team who run the UL-40 hydroplane and also have created "Tastin
N Racin at their Issaquah WA homeport, the G-17 team and their
associates with the Olympia Power Boat Association created Speedfest in
2002 at their home port of Olympia WA. Shawn Bridgeman has been
a leader in that race's development and notes " I helped organize an
inboard Region race at the site in 1998 and felt that it was an awesome
place to hold a UL event. So
with the help of Olympia Power Boat Association and the support from
Ted's Red Apple Market we were
able to bring the Unlimited Lights and
now we are looking forward to bringing the ACCS boats to our show
in 2005.
After 10 seasons of competition with the
Unlimited Lights, the Bridgeman's are still seeking
their first race victory. But
one thing's for certain. They have achieved their
initial "first" in the ULHRA. Rick & Shawn Bridgeman, along
with Crew Chief, Allan Freeto,
Communications, Bill Thompson, Crewmembers
Ed Preston, Dave Miller, Curt Gronewald, Steve Higginbotham plus
Marketing Director Larry Linn, and their substantial support team of
daughters Staci Bridgeman, Shannon Bracken, their grandchildren, Chloe
and Ty Bracken, son in law TJ Bracken, and Brenda Freeto, Josh Freeto..............all
of them comprise the FIRST Thunderboats ACCS team.
Congratulations Shockwave
Racing Team!
John Lynch
"Voice of the Unlimited Lights" Click here for updates from October, 2004
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