Gold Cup hydroplanes to race in Detroit next summer

[Serious News]

Detroit — H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Chairman Steve David announced last month the series would be making a stop on the Detroit River after all this summer.

Well, now the series will be showcasing the Super Bowl race of the series, the APBA Gold Cup next year as well.

“In 2016 Detroit will be having its 100th running (of H1 Unlimited) and we feel it’s appropriate to have the Gold Cup there,” David said Monday night. “It’s huge, especially with the rebirth now with UAW and GM jumping on board with the local Chevrolet dealers. It’s just a real positive thing for both the race and the city.

“Then, the 2017 Gold Cup will be going back to the highest bidder during our annual meeting, just like it was long ago.”

Long ago is right since the Gold Cup had been run on the Detroit River every year since 1989 before the Detroit River Regatta Association disbanded, ending the city’s run of holding the race for motorsports’ oldest active trophy.

Jimmy Shane, who won the APBA Gold Cup on the Detroit River last year, repeated as Gold Cup champion this past weekend on the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington. It marked the 50th anniversary of Unlimited Hydroplane racing in Tri-Cities.

Shane and the rest of the field will be competing on the Detroit River August 22-23 with the running of the UAW-GM Sprit of Detroit HydroFest.

The APBA Gold Cup will be held in Detroit August 20-21, 2016.

“Bringing the APBA Gold Cup back to Detroit next year for the 100th anniversary is something truly special,” said Mark Weber, president of Detroit Riverfront, Inc., the organizing body for the UAW-GM Spirit of Detroit HydroFest in a statement. “But we have so much to look forward to even before the Gold Cup’s return. The UAW-GM Spirit of Detroit HydroFest is less than a month away and promises two days of action-packed racing, including the unlimiteds, Grand Prix and Formula 2 tunnel boats.”

Grandstand seating starts at $45 with VIP Club tickets at $175. For more information, call (313) 329-8047.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/motor/2015/07/27/gold-cup-hydroplanes-race-detroit-next-summer/30765223/

[Serious News]

Gold Cup hydroplane racing to return to Detroit River in 2016

Jimmy Shane’s bid for a third consecutive Gold Cup championship will happen on the Detroit River.

Racing for the prestigious unlimited hydroplane trophy will return to Detroit in 2016, Mark Weber, president of Detroit Riverfront Events Inc., said Monday.

The Gold Cup was first awarded on the Detroit River in 1916, and it has been contested in Detroit more than any other city, but Shane and the U-1 Oberto won the trophy last weekend in Kennewick, Wash., on the Columbia River.

“Bringing the APBA Gold Cup back to Detroit next year for the 100th anniversary is something truly special,” Weber said in a news release.

Detroit River Events Inc., backed by sponsorship from the United Auto Workers and General Motors, will stage the Spirit of Detroit HydroFest Aug. 22-23.

Next year’s HydroFest, including racing for the Gold Cup, will be Aug. 20-21, 2016, Detroit River Events Inc. said in a news release.

“The UAW-GM partnership has contributed to the reshaping of the automotive world and its workers, and they are going to be a major contributor in reshaping the city of Detroit and its people,” Weber said.

Gold Cup races were moved to Washington after the Detroit River Regatta Association, which had been hosting the event in Detroit, dissolved last fall.

The Spirit of Detroit HydroFest came together at the 11th hour, and its advent was announced by Weber in June.

Detroit’s first Gold Cup race was won by Bernard Smith in the Miss Minneapolis.

“But we have so much to look forward to even before the Gold Cup’s return,” Weber said. “The UAW-GM Spirit of Detroit HydroFest is less than a month away and promises two days of action-packed racing, including the unlimiteds, Grand Prix and Formula 2 tunnel boats.”

The Detroit race will be the fourth stop on the H1 Unlimited schedule for 2015.

The series runs in Seattle this weekend.

Cal Phipps of Sterling Heights drove the U-27 Dalton Industries hydroplane at Kennewick and accumulated a weekend total of 1,585 points, second to Shane’s 1,805.

Phipps won one heat race and finished second in three others. He took third in the Gold Cup final.

Phipps finished second to Shane in Heat 1B. He finished second to Scott Liddycoat in the U-9 in Heat 2B, and he was second to Shane in Heat 4A. Phipps won Heat 3A with a speed of 142.899 mph.

Phipps’ team, Wiggins Hydroplane Racing, based in Gadsden, Ala., is in its first season. Owners Milt and Charlie Wiggins purchased Our Gang Racing’s U-17 boat and equipment in the off-season.

Phipps drove the U-7 Graham Trucking last season.

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/sports/20150727/gold-cup-hydroplane-racing-to-return-to-detroit-river-in-2016