Serious News
07-21-2015, 12:02 AM
TRI-CITIES, Wash. — When the Tri-City Water Follies celebrate “50 Years of Racing”, 12 H1 Unlimited Hydroplane drivers might be thinking about the history of the sport on the Columbia River, but their first thoughts will be winning the gold—the HAPO APBA Gold Cup to be exact.
The action starts Friday, July 24th with testing and qualifying. Racing will take place on Saturday, July 25 with more heat racing and the championship final on Sunday, July 26.
“When we had the opportunity to change venues for the APBA Gold Cup, all the race sites on our circuit agreed unanimously that the 50th anniversary of the Tri-City Race on the Columbia River was the perfect choice for the biggest of all boat races,” said H1 Unlimited Chairman Steve David. “The Gold Cup is the oldest active trophy in motorsports, and to have it in Tri-Cities on the 50th anniversary of its unlimited history is exciting for the fans and all of us in the sport.”
The Gold Cup race, first contested in 1904, was America’s answer to the highly touted International Harmsworth Trophy. Since ’04, the Gold Cup has been run each year except during World War II and when weather conditions forced a cancellation. This weekend’s race is the 106th running of the Gold Cup and the fifth time Tri-Cities has hosted this prestigious race. It will also be the first time the APBA Gold Cup has been raced outside of the City of Detroit since 1989.
With the last Friday’s addition of the only piston powered Allison powered, the U-3 Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware piloted by Jimmy King, 12 drivers, 11 racing turbine powered hydroplanes, will compete for the title.
Of the dozen drivers looking to win the most prestigious trophy in boat racing, only two current drivers have ever won the Gold Cup.
Jean Theoret won the 2006 race for Billy & Jane Schumacher and he returns to the H1 series full-time this year in the U-96 Elam Plus. The new U-96 hull, christened last year at this race, is one of the front runners for this year’s Gold Cup.
Jimmy Shane drove the Oberto/Miss Madison to victory last year in the APBA Gold Cup in Detroit. The victory gave the City of Madison community-owned boat its first win since 1971 in boat racing’s marquee event.
Shane’s job was made easier when his main competitor J. Michael Kelly in the Graham Trucking was assessed a one-lap penalty prior to the start of the championship heat.
Not only is Shane the defending APBA Gold Cup champion, but Shane and the Oberto team also scored its only other victory at last year’s HAPO Columbia Cup in Tri-Cities.
This weekend’s APBA Gold Cup race will be the first national high point race of the 2015 season. High Ohio River water levels forced H1 to put on a non-high point shootout event in Madison, Ind. on July 5th. In the shootout, Kelly edged Shane in the final heat setting the up Shane and Kelly as the two favorites for the 2015 Gold Cup.
Besides the 12 H1 Unlimited Hydroplanes, the Grand Prix West automotive powered boats, the APBA One-Litre class and Vintage Unlimited Hydroplanes will take to the Columbia River. The high-speed action on the water will also be complimented by the Tri-City Water Follies Air Shows.
For ticket and more information on this week’s HAPO Gold Cup go to http://www.waterfollies.com/
http://www.h1unlimited.com/2015/07/12-drivers-to-compete-for-hapo-apba-gold-cup/
Serious News
07-21-2015, 08:13 PM
Tri-Cities Named Hydros Race Site of the Year
By Kevin Uretsky.
As Your Local ABC first told you on our newscast last night, the Tri-Cities and the Water Follies organization was named the race site of the year by H1 Unlimited during its annual awards banquet this past weekend in Seattle. Below is an official release from the Water Follies organization:
Tri-City Water Follies Board of Directors were elated to find out they had once again been recognized as the best race site on the H1 Unlimited Hydroplane circuit bringing home the Race Site of the Year award. Mike Denslow, a past president of the association and Event Director Kathy Powell were on hand to receive the award at the H1 Annual Awards Banquet at the Seattle Aquarium on Pier 59.
According to Steve David, the new H1 Chairman, “The Tri City Water Follies site was chosen based on readiness of the facilities when the boat race teams arrive, courtesy extended by the Tri City Water Follies staff and volunteers, continuity of the volunteer team, energized media support and local sponsor support.”
“The votes are cast by the H1 boat owners, so it’s a huge compliment” said Mike Denslow.
This year will be a true test for the Organization as they prepare to bring the APBA Gold Cup to the Columbia River. 2015 also marks 50 years of Unlimited Hydroplane racing on the Columbia River - quite apropos to be racing for the Gold Cup on the Golden anniversary.
While accepting the award for Race Site of the Year, Mike shared the Water Follies excitement for hosting the APBA Gold Cup saying, “all of our great volunteers, dedicated leadership and generous sponsors are poised to present the most spectacular event the circuit has seen!”
The 2015 HAPO Over the River Airshow and HAPO APBA Gold Cup will take place July 24-26 on the Columbia River in Tri-Cities Washington.
http://www.kvewtv.com/article/2015/feb/24/tri-cities-named-hydros-race-site-year/
Serious News
07-23-2015, 09:41 AM
Tri-City Water Follies set this weekend at Columbia River
Tri-City Herald
It’s that time of year again, when the racing boats, the thundering planes and the massive crowds descend on the Columbia River for Tri-City Water Follies festivities.
And this time around, the event is particularly special.
The Follies is celebrating 50 years of racing unlimited hydroplanes on the Columbia River.
And this year also marks the return of the APBA Gold Club — the Super Bowl of unlimited hydro racing — to the Columbia for the first time since the 1980s.
Races are Friday through Sunday, with gates opening at 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday.
Viewing areas are set up on the Benton and Franklin county sides of the river — at Columbia Park in Kennewick and along the Pasco shoreline.
Admission is free on Friday, but tickets are required Saturday and Sunday.
Getting into the park
Entrance gates are at the east and west ends of Columbia Park, and the Pasco viewing side is accessible off West Sylvester Street between roads 36 and 54.
Vehicles and coolers will be subject to search. Prohibited items include weapons, squirt bottles, squirt guns, glass, skateboards and golf carts and other unauthorized motor vehicles.
Attendees aren’t allowed to bring in alcoholic drinks, although beer gardens will be set up on both sides of the river.
People should leave their pets at home.
Forecast
Spectators should be spared the extreme heat of some boat races past.
The forecast puts the temperature in the low 90s on Friday and Saturday and at 85 degrees on Sunday, with sunny skies all three days.
Air show
The HAPO Community Credit Union Over-the-River Air Show starts at 11:30 a.m. Friday through Sunday.
It lasts about 11/2 hours and features a mix of military and civilian pilots and aircraft. The acts include Lucas Oil Aerobatics, sky dancer Anna Serbinenko, an Air Force F-16 Viper, Air Force Heritage Flight team, Lucas Oil skydivers and the Patriots Jet Team.
Vintage hydroplanes
Vintage “thunder boats” will perform in exhibition heats throughout the weekend. The boats, from the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum, include the 1955 Thriftway and 1962 Bardahl from the shovel-nosed era and the 1977 Atlas Van Lines and 1980 Miss Budweiser from the pickelfork era.
Shoreline activities
About 40 radio-controlled hydroplanes will race on the Family Fishing Pond on the Kennewick side on Friday and Saturday. The one-eighth size hydros — they’re 42 to 50 inches long — weigh about 13 pounds on average and can reach speeds greater than 60 mph.
An autograph session with hydroplane drivers is at noon Saturday at the stage on the Kennewick side, and an autograph session with air show pilots follows at 2 p.m.
Windermere Group One Kids Zone activities will be set up on the Kennewick and Pasco viewing sides — in Kennewick just north of the Playground of Dreams and in Pasco just east of the Bulldog Beach Club. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Face painting, arts and crafts and bounce houses are among the attractions planned.
U.S. military branches will have interactive displays and other activities at the Regional Veterans Memorial on the Kennewick side. Red Dot Paintball also will have a laser tag course set up across from the bleachers on the Kennewick side, and Inland Helicopters will offer rides Friday through Sunday from the heli-pad near the driving range on that side of the river.
A drivers’ church service is 7 a.m. Sunday at the stage on the Kennewick side.
Special needs area
Sunrise Rotary is presenting a special needs viewing area on the Kennewick side, including a shaded tent, cooling misters and Dial-A-Ride shuttle service.
Details: www.tcsunriserotary.com or call 509-783-4675.
Tickets
Admission to the races is free Friday, and children 5 and younger are admitted for free all weekend.
A two-day pass, good for Saturday and Sunday, is $25 for adults and $10 for kids ages 6 to 12. One-day passes are $15 for adults and $5 for kids Saturday, and $25 for adults and $5 for kids on Sunday. A bleacher seat can be added for $5 per day for adults and kids.
Three-day event passes and pit admission cost $45.
Daily pit access passes are $10.
Tickets are available at Tri-City Albertsons and Safeway stores and at the Tri-City Water Follies office, 621 N. Gum St., Suite A, in Kennewick.
Free kids tickets are available at local Jack in the Box restaurants.
Parking
General admission parking is $5 per car Friday and Saturday and $10 per car Sunday on the Kennewick side.
On the Pasco side, parking is free Friday, $5 per car on Saturday and $10 per car on Sunday.
Ride the bus
Ben Franklin Transit is providing bus service to and from Columbia Park on Saturday and Sunday.
Cost is $1.50 round trip, or $4 per family of up to five people. Children 5 and younger ride free.
A senior and disabled rate is available with a transit ID card.
The bus service departs the Three Rivers and 22nd Street transit centers at 9, 10 and 11 a.m., the Knight Street transit center at about 9:15, 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. and the Ed Frost Huntington transit center at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. Return service is 15 minutes after the final race. Pick up and drop off at several hotels throughout the Tri-Cities also is available.
More information: www.bft.org or 509-735-5100.
There is no bus service to the Pasco viewing side.
Art show
The annual Art in the Park arts and crafts festival is Friday and Saturday at Howard Amon Park in Richland. Admission is free.
Hours are from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.
More information, for the full schedule of Water Follies events, go to: www.waterfollies.com.
Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2015/07/21/3660783/tri-city-water-follies-set-this.html#storylink=cpy
Serious News
07-24-2015, 07:03 AM
Hydros ready to rumble
By Jeff Morrow Tri-City Herald
T
here was a sense of optimism in Kennewick’s Lampson Pits on Thursday afternoon as 12 H1 Unlimited hydroplane crews got their camps and boats ready for this weekend’s APBA HAPO Gold Cup.
Only the U-21 Go Fast Turn Left racing team wasn’t in the pits Thursday, but they’ll be leaving the Seattle area around 6 a.m. Saturday.
When the U-21 team — a team that finished second in last year’s Gold Cup — does get here, the pits will have a different atmosphere than what previous Columbia Cups have had.
Because this is the Gold Cup, unlimited hydroplane racing’s biggest race.
“(It’s going to be about) survival,” said Jeff Campbell, the crew chief for the U-9 Red Dot/Les Schwab. “It’s that the intensity is so much higher. And everybody is bringing all of their good stuff.”
And Campbell, who was a long time crew member of the prestigious Miss Budweiser teams, knows what it takes to win a Gold Cup.
“I’ve already got six rings. I’d like another,” he said.
But he knows he’ll have to be patient.
There is an extra round of preliminary heat races in this event, and each heat race is four laps long, not the usual three of a Columbia Cup heat race.
That leaves a lot of room for mistakes.
“It doesn’t matter where the Gold Cup is,” said Scott Raney, co-owner of the gbr-11 Peters & May. “It’s a long, long event. Crazy things happen. It’s a race of attrition. But I don’t know if it’s the extra set of heats or racers trying harder.”
It’s all about surviving those extra heats and laps, staying patient, Ted Porter said. He owns the U-5 Graham Trucking and the U-7 Graham Trucking II.
“You have to start and finish every heat to get to the final,” Porter said. “Once you’re there for the final, anything goes.”
Even the defending Gold Cup and Columbia Cup champion Oberto team is cautious about the event, knowing it’s a long way from today’s testing and qualifying to the Gold Cup final.
“You get enough times out there to try things that even if you miss your mark, you’re OK,” Oberto team manager Charlie Grooms said. “You have a number of opportunities to find out what your driver can do. I’ve only had one year with (driver) Jimmy (Shane), so I’m still learning things about him. I had 13 years with Steve David, so I knew what to expect.”
Some don’t really know what to expect yet.
Charlie Wiggins purchased Nate Brown’s U-17 boat and equipment after the 2014 season and moved the team operations from Preston to Alabama. He changed the boat number to U-27 and got Dalton Industries to sponsor it. He then hired veteran driver Cal Phipps. This weekend marks the first time on the water for the team together.
“We need for us to stay out of the way while the other boats take each other out,” Wiggins said. “We need to stay clean and get through the turns.”
Those wide, sweeping turns is what has U-96 Ellstrom Elam Plus manager Erick Ellstrom hyped.
“With the bigger turns here, there is going to be some tight racing,” Ellstrom said. “I think it’s going to be exciting.”
Ed Cooper, whose piston-powered U-3 Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware makes its return to the H1 circuit for the first time since 2010, simplified things.
“Winning any race is difficult,” Cooper said. “I think winning the Gold Cup is one more on the notch difficult. Somebody’s gotta win it.”
On Thursday night, 13 teams were making plans as to how they were going to win it.
Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2015/07/23/3664013/hydros-ready-to-rumble.html#storylink=cpy
Serious News
07-28-2015, 11:58 PM
Shane wins Gold Cup in controversial finish
Chief referee Brian Hajny was pretty clear in the H1 Unlimited drivers meeting Friday in the Lampson Pits before qualifying for the APBA HAPO Gold Cup.
Stay out of the so-called DMZs — areas on the course where rescue personnel are parked. An infraction that used to cost a team a couple hundred dollars would be more severe, Hajny said.
“If you go through any of my DMZs, I will disqualify you,” said Hajny.
Hajny was true to his word all weekend, including when Jean Theoret cut through a portion of one of the DMZs in the warmup to the Gold Cup final.
Theoret continued to race the U-96 Ellstrom Elam Plus boat while officials reviewed video. And the French Canadian, who hadn’t raced an unlimited hydroplane in the Tri-Cities since 2008, dominated the field in what looked like his second career Gold Cup victory.
But within 10 minutes of the race, Theoret was disqualified, and the Gold Cup went to Jimmy Shane and the U-1 Oberto, who crossed the finish line after Theoret.
It all started when Shane, driving to Theoret’s right during the warmup period, did a double take when he thought he saw Theoret cut to the Pasco side of the course on the wrong side of the buoy — on the map it is buoy No. 10.
“It was right next to me,” said Shane. “I told my radio guy, Jeff Bernard, ‘I think he just went through the DMZ.’ I didn’t know if anyone else saw it.”
After he told Bernard, he let it go.
“At that point I was just thinking about the race,” Shane said. “The water was extremely rough, but I knew I had to be inside to beat the 96 or the 5 (J. Michael Kelly in the Graham Trucking).”
That didn’t work at first. Theoret got a great jump and was never threatened. And Kelly had the Graham in second place for the first few laps.
Shane credited Bernard in pushing him to try to catch Kelly.
“Jeff kept on me,” said Shane. “I had to catch the 5 boat to get second place.”
Kelly wasn’t pleased after the race, with himself or race officials.
“I thought the U-1 was going too slow at the start,” Kelly said. “But we didn’t put ourselves in the right spot. I was outside at the start. I kind of let it get away from me.”
Kelly had a chance, he said, to take the inside lane at one point against Shane. But he didn’t get it.
It was a tough way to lose out on the Gold Cup.
“I would have rather jumped the gun,” Kelly admitted. “Knowing I was running for the Gold Cup, that one mistake of not getting the inside lane cost us.”
In the aftermath in the pits, where everyone thought Theoret had won, Shane was standing on the dock.
“Then I saw (Oberto crew chief) Larry Hanson and (crew member) Cindy Shirley jumping up and down, all excited,” said Shane. “I ran as fast as I could up to the boat in the pits.”
The announcement had been made of the disqualification. There was bedlam in the Oberto camp.
“It’s probably not the best way to win,” Shane admitted. “But we worked hard and came out on top.”
For Charlie Grooms, the team president for the U-1, it was a pleasant surprise.
“That puts the ‘Oh Boy!’ back in the Oberto,” Grooms said. “I’ve been preaching to the guys that we’re just a points race team. We want the national title. Don’t make mistakes. And I told Jimmy before he went out for the final, ‘I hope you’re a Gold Cup champion, but I want you to be a national champion.’ ”
It was a tough pill to swallow for the Ellstrom team.
“There are too many stupid rules in this sport,” said Ellstrom crew chief Mike Hanson in the heat of the moment. “It keeps you from going to a race.”
Team manager Erick Ellstrom saw the video evidence, then went over and congratulated the winners.
But it was still frustrating.
“They won the race, but it’s hard when there was no lane advantage,” said Ellstrom. “He cut the course where he could.”
Theoret was stewing for a while, and didn’t want to talk until he could settle himself down.
It was a disappointing end to a weekend for a 96 team that everyone in the pits agreed had the fastest boat in the fleet.
“It’s an awesome boat and an awesome team,” said Theoret. “The thing that is bad is that (the penalty) had no impact on the race. It’s hard to swallow. If you make a big mistake, take a boat out for example, than sure that’s a penalty. This does nothing.
“It’s just disappointing to the team,” Theoret continued, “Most of them don’t get paid.”
The emotional swing was huge for a guy who 30 minutes earlier had gotten out of his cockpit in front of the pits, climbed on top of the boat and raised his hands in exultation.
“You are on a big high,” Theoret said. “They’ve announced it all along the river that you just won the Gold Cup. Then you don’t. This stuff doesn’t happen. We won that race.”
It was high drama for a long weekend.
“If there is no drama,” said H1 Unlimited chairman Steve David, “it’s not an unlimited race.”
• Kelly finished second in the U-5, while Cal Phipps — driving the U-27 Dalton Industries for the first time this season — placed third. ... Shane leaves the Tri-Cities headed for Seafair this coming week with 1,805 points to lead the national high-points race. Phipps is second at 1,585, and Kelly third at 1,434.
HAPO APBA Gold Cup
Gold Cup: 1, U-1 Oberto, Jimmy Shane, 145.756 mph, 400 points; 2. U-5 Graham Trucking, J. Michael Kelly, 145.088, 300; 3. U-27 Dalton Industries, Cal Phipps, 135.122; 225; 4. U-21 Fasteners Inc., Brian Perkins, 132.970, 169; 5. U-9 Les Schwab/RedDOT, Scott Liddycoat, 130.754, 127; 6. gbr-11 Peters & May, Tom Thompson, 117.464, 95; DQ U-96 Ellstrom Elam Plus, Jean Theoret.
Heat 2A: 1. U-5 Graham Trucking, J. Michael Kelley, 151.194 mph, 400 pts; 2. U-96 Ellstrom Racing, Jean Theoret, 150.947, 300; 3. U-1 Oberto, Jimmy Shane, 141.862, 225; 4. U-22 PayneWest Insurance, Mike Webster, 132.877, 169; DQ U-3 Griggs Ace Hardware, Jimmy King.
Heat 2B: 1. U-9 Les Schwab/RedDOT, Scott Liddycoat, 144.763, 400; 2. U-27 Dalton Industries, Cal Phipps, 142.634, 300; 3. gbr-11 Peters & May, Tom Thompson, 137.615, 225; 4. U-21 Fasteners Inc., Brian Perkins, 133.122, 169; 5. U-7 Graham Trucking II, Jesse Robertson, 127.327, 127; 6. U-100 Miss CARSTAR, Kevin Eacret, 124.308, 95.
Heat 3A: 1. U-27, Phipps, 142.899, 400; 2. U-21, Perkins, 136.371, 300; 3. gbr-11, Thompson, 133.956, 225; 4. U-3, King, 123.656, 169; DNF U-7, Robertson; DQ U-12 Dijulio Family, Mark Evans.
Heat 3B: 1. U-96, Theoret, 148.129, 350; 2. U-1, Shane, 145.225, 300; 3. U-9, Liddycoat, 130.191, 225; 4. U-22, Webster, 128.664, 169; 5. U-100, Eacret, 123.453, 127; 6. U-5, Kelly, 143.863, 95.
Heat 4A: 1. U-1, Shane, 144.999, 400; 2. U-27, Phipps, 144.148, 300; 3. U-21, Perkins, 137.092, 225; 4. U-12, Evans, 122.054, 169; 5. U-7, Robertson, 130.324, 127.
Heat 4B: 1. U-5, Kelly, 145.018, 400; 2. U-9, Liddycoat, 135.705, 300; 3. U-22, Webster, 134.011, 225; 4. U-96, Theoret, 141.194, 169; 5. U-11, Thompson, 123.384, 127.
H1 points race: 1. Jimmy Shane 1,805; 2. Cal Phipps 1,585; 3. J. Michael Kelly, 1,434; 4. Jean Theoret 1,319; 5. Scott Liddycoat 1,271; 6. Brian Perkins 1,118; 7. Tom Thompson 797; 8. Mike Webster 593; 9. Jimmy King 509; 10. Kevin Eacret 447; 11. Jesse Robertson 411; 12. Mark Evans 169; 13. Kelly Stocklin 0.
Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2015/07/26/3667732_shane-wins-gold-cup-in-controversial.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy
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