Steve David in Qatar this weekend, Congrats.....

[Ratickle]

With all that has been going on, I've been negligent reporting on how Steve is doing overseas. After last year, I have to always pay attention to see what he'll try......

Here is some of our friends out in the Tri-cities....

Friday Results


HYDROS: Villwock, David win second heats in Qatar
By Jeff Morrow, Tri-City Herald sports editor
Tri-City Herald

Veteran drivers Dave Villwock and Steve David each won their second heat races Friday at the Oryx Cup World Championships for unlimited hydroplanes.

Villwock, whose earlier victory clinched the season championship for his team, the U-96 Spirit of Qatar, had no problem starting in lane 2 of heat 2A as he raced uncontested to the win.

Greg Hopp, starting in lane 1 in the U-100, held off Scott Liddycoat in the U-7 Valken.com and Kip Brown in the U-17 Miss Red Dot to finish second.

Liddycoat took third, while Brown was fourth.

David, starting outside in lane 3, beat Brian Perkins in the U-21 and J.Michael Kelly in the 88 Degree Men to the first turn and was never threatened.

Kelly finished second, while Perkins was third.

Heat 3A was unavailable at the site.

Racing continues at midnight tonight with heat 3A. The final is tentatively set for 4 a.m. Saturday.

Villwock came from the outside in lane 3 to beat Scott Liddycoat in the U-7 Valken.com and J.Michael Kelly in the 88 Degree Men in Heat 1C.

David in the U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto and Brown in the U-17 Miss Red Dot also won preliminary heat races.

H1 Unlimited officials elected to run three four-boat heats rather than crowd the 2-mile course with more boats.

But each heat had a boat drop out early.

In 1A, Brown took the lead on the first lap while starting from the inside lane and never looked back.

But Greg Hopp in the U-100 and Jeff Bernard in the U-5 Graham Trucking raced pretty much deck to deck the entire three laps. It wasn't until the last half of the last lap that Bernard pulled away for second place.

Hopp finished third, while JW Myers, driving the U-11 Peters & May, pulled out of the race after limping across the starting line at the beginning.

In Heat 1B, David and the Oberto were never threatened. Starting in lane 2, David hit the starting line perfectly and got to the first turn ahead of the field.

Brian Perkins in the U-21, starting on the inside lane, finished second. Jimmy Shane, driving in place of Mark Evans (who couldn't get away from his job in Chelan), finished third in the U-57.

Ryan Mallow drove the U-25 for Dr. Ken Muscatel, who is having back problems. Mallow, who qualified as an unlimited driver in July at the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup in the Tri-Cities, had problems with the boat and pulled off the race coourse early.

Villwock started on the outside in 1C, and he overtook Liddycoat on the second lap for the lead. All three boats were deck-to-deck for the first lap, with Kelly in between the other two.

Kelly ended up having to pull back as things got tight in the turns.

Mike Webster, in the U-22 Great Scott!, pulled out of the race before it even started, heading back to the pits early.





Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/1...#ixzz1eHpVKgHY


(These pictures are ones I took in Detroit in 2009)

[Ratickle]

And Saturday. Congrats Steve.........


HYDROS: David steers Oberto to Oryx Cup title

By Jeff Morrow, Tri-City Herald sports editor


Steve David and the U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto may not have defended their national high points championship, but at least they finished the season on a winning note.

David, running from lane 3, hit the start-finish line almost perfectly and was never threatened after that in the 5-lap final of the Oryx Cup World Championship unlimited hydroplane race Saturday in Doha, Qatar.

Rookie Scott Liddycoat, driving the U-7 Valken.com, had the inside lane in the seven-boat final. But he couldn't overtake David. Liddycoat still finished second.

Dave Villwock, driving the U-96 Spirit of Qatar, had to start out in lane 5 thanks to the blind draw before the final. That was too much to overcome the rest of the field.

Villwock was able to drive the Qatar to a third-place finish. If it was any consolation, Villwock won the national high points drivers championship and the U-96 won the team title.

Back when the season opened on the Fourth of July weekend in Madison, Ind., David and the Oberto team entered the 2011 season as three-time champions.

But in the Madison final, Villwock -- who was leading David -- hooked his boat inside on a turn. David had nowhere to go but over the top of the U-96. The accident nearly destroyed the Oberto boat, and while David was declared the winner, the Oberto team couldn't get the boat ready in time for the Detroit Gold Cup the next week.

That gave Villwock and the Qatar the breathing room they needed to win the season title. Villwock and David each won three races this season.

J.Michael Kelly drove the 88 Degree Men to a foourth-place finish in the Doha final, while Jeff Bernard was fifth in the U-5 Graham Trucking.

Greg Hopp and the U-100 finished sixth, while Jimmy Shane, driving the U-57 as the trailer boat, finished seventh.





Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/1...#ixzz1eHqJCfT3

[Ratickle]

[F1-00 Racing]

Hey Paul,

Dont know if you heard, Steve, Dave and J. Michael got penalized(bad start) and the final finishing order was 1)Liddycoat 2)Bernard 3)Hopp 4)Shane 5)David 6)Villwock 7)Kelly

I copied this from Steve's FB page and as usual is Steve at his best. Maybe he can bring his professionalism back over to Offshore and help us get our heads out of our rear ends.

Dear friends. Thankyou for your kind wishes. I would not be genuine if I didn't tell you I'm disappointed. On the water we won by 3 football fields. However, there was no starting clock, just a countdown. After an hour review, us, the 96 and the 88 were determined to have jumped the gun by 1/20th of a second. The Oberto team congratulates the 7 on their win as their driver did better than I did in making a start. Our sport is great, yet our technology has room to improve. During the entire heat we were told officially it was a good start. With hope, the leadership of our sport will invest in the equipment necessary to conduct World Class racing. In the meantime, we'll lick our wounds and come back in 2012 more determined than ever.
Each of you are very special to us, and our appreciation for your support is immeasurable.
Take care, big hugs!
Steve

[Ratickle]

Thanks Trent....


Well, that sucks........

I always root for Steve. Tried to convince him he should take another go at APBA President......(And come race offshore again)

[Ratickle]

And my congrats still stands.........


And no backflips this year........

[Bobcat]

Class act all the way.

[Coolerman]

1/20th of second..... what a bullchit call by the officials. I would be suprised if the timing equipment is even that accurate.

Regardless, congrats to Steve for being "on the money" for the start IMHO.

[F1-00 Racing]

Heres the footage they used to come to their decision:

http://www.h1unlimited.com/2011/11/d...amera-footage/

[Ratickle]

Wow, it sure looks over, still sucks......

We'll see what Steve says when he gets home......

[Ratickle]

And thanks once again Trent....

[AugiePensa]

Steve has always been CLASS! Congrats to him, his team and everryone that raced.

[Wil Ros]

I do not know Steve personally but only have heard that he is a true gentlemen. I must confess that I know little about unlimeted hydros but that call on the start is pure BS.

Congratulations on a great season.

Wil

[Pete B]

Intresting Video, all I can say is darn the bad luck. But IMO the official made the call, and that is the end of the story. Unlimited is top notch, and is consider top tier racing!

Now when you go to a offshore race, it varies on the organization, but the starts are anything but professional. And following rules are out the door for the most part as well.

so this is what you get with a professional sport that is conducted as such, while the officials dont always make the call the way we would like to see them, as a professional team. they except the ruling, and carry on. NOT, take there ball and leaving for the next abc of boating.

Steve sorry about the bad luck, although you ran a great race. Thanks for being the Sportsman, and gentleman you are! I wish it was contagious to all levels of boat racing!

[Ratickle]

I hope Steve made it home for the holidays.... I haven't heard yet...


I did hear he was a "little" upset at the call......


With no starting clock for countdown, and listening to a verbal countdown, dang that's close......