Steve David wins title in Qatar after blowing over in heat 4a

[shifter]

U-7 wins 2009 Oryx Cup UIM World Championship, U-1 Team and Driver National High Points titles
J. Michael Kelly in the U-7 Graham Trucking won his first hydroplane final in grand fashion, passing an ailing U-16 Ellstrom Elam Plus in the final lap to win the inaugural Oryx Cup UIM World Championship.

Steve David in the U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto finished second giving him enough points to lay claim to both the team and driver H1 Unlimited National High Points Championship and retain the coveted U-1 designation for the 2010 season.

Villwock in the U-16 had engine difficulty after a bumpy ride through the west turn on the second lap and the usually strong charging orange and blue hull started to compression stall and yellow flame came through the tailpipe. He managed to hold off Kelly until the final lap.

The final heat was rerun after Jeff Bernard in the U-5 Formulaboats.com flipped during in its initial running. Bernard was talking with the media and the crowd in Doha and appears to be fine.

The National High Points standings can be found here .

The complete results from Doha, Qatar can be found here .


2009 Oryx Cup: U-5 blows over



Top image courtesy Bill Osborne - click on the image above for larger version. Bottom gallery courtesy Chris Denslow - Click on image for slideshow.

Jeff Bernard in the U-5 Formulaboats.com blew over in almost the same location as the U-1 did earlier in the day during the final winner-take-all race of the 2009 Oryx Cup UIM World Championship. Bernard exited the boat under his own power and is complaining of a sore knee and bumped head. He is talking and appears to be OK. We will update as we know more.

Oryx Cup: Heat 4B and 4A restart
Heat 4B



Photos courtesy Chris Denslow. Click on the image above for a slideshow.

Dave Villwock in the U-16 Ellstrom Elam Plus and Jeff Bernard in the U-5 Formulaboats.com both jumped the gun at the start of heat 4B earning them each a one-lap penalty. The infraction moved the U-37 Miss Peters & May Racing to the winners circle. Villwock and Bernard battled each other for each of the four laps, changing positions multiple times, but Villwock's acceleration at the end of lap four and tight turn in lane two gave him second place by half a roostertail.

Heat 4A restart
After Steve David in the U-16 Oh Boy! Oberto blew over in the initial running of heat 4A, the field was reduced to three boats: the U-7 Graham Trucking driven by J. Michael Kelly, the U-17 driven by Nate Brown and Brian Perkins in the U-48 Go Fast, Turn Left Racing. Kelly and Brown fought through the first lap, but the red Graham Trucking boat ended up taking the checked first earning 400 more qualification points for J. Michael, 1310 total for the weekend. Brown also qualified for the final as the fourth boat.


Oryx Cup Heat 4A: Oberto blows over


Photos courtesy Ryan McMenamin. Click on image above to begin slideshow.
DOHA, Qatar (Nov. 21, 2009) - Steve David in the U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto did a complete flip at the entrance to the West turn during heat 4A of the 2009 Oryx UIM World Championship. David was in lane two being chased by J. Michael Kelly in the U-7 Graham Trucking. The boat never shut down, and David drove the boat back to the pit area. There appears to be cracks on the decking, but the bottom of the boat is in tact. Upon return to the dock, David popped the hatch and leaped out of the boat to the applause of the pit area. U-37 crew chief Scott Raney who was on the dock said "[Expletive] He's still smiling." David waved off medical attention and is seemingly fine, but was complaining of some soreness in his leg. The U-1 is not eligible for the restart of heat 4A.

2009 Oryx Cup: Heats 3A and 3B
Heat 3A

Greg Hopp in the U-100 Leland Unlimited, Jeff Bernard in the U-5 Formulaboats.com, U-17 Our Gang Racing’s Nate Brown, Jean Theoret in the U-37 Miss Peters & May and Mike Webster driving the U-22 Matrix Systems Automotive Finishes were drawn in the first of Saturday’s four heats in front of a packed crowd along Doha Bay. Webster didn’t leave the dock, forced to miss the start with mechanical issues, but Bernard managed to hold off Theoret through the first turn and maintained the inside line through lap one. He extended his advantage over the subsequent three laps to take the heat victory and reduce David’s overall championship lead to a virtual 31 points before heat 3B.

Theoret claimed second position before being docked all his points for a fuel violation. As a result, the U-17 Our Gang Racing was promoted to second despite finishing a distant third. Hopp went dead at the start/finish line after one lap and failed to add to his points’ tally.
Heat 3B

Steve David in the U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto, U-16 Ellstrom Elam Plus driven by Dave Villwock, Brian Perkins in the U-48 Go Fast, Turn Left Racing and J. Michael Kelly in the U-7 Graham Trucking filled the grid for a crucial heat 3B. Damage sustained during heat 1A on Friday forced Ken Muscatel in the U-25 Superior Racing to suspend any further racing in the Oryx Cup. Villwock held the racing line through the opening turns and managed to pull away from David, who settled into second in a bid to conserve 300 points and maintain a National High Points championship gap of 331 points over Jeff Bernard.

Villwock held on take his third heat win of the weekend, David was second and Kelly finished third. Perkins was deemed to have made a jump-start and finished a distant fourth after running an extra lap.


www.abrahyroplanes.com


Great job Steve! Now you can change your shorts.

pat W

[shifter]

pat W

[Pat D]

Good job Steve......missed you in KW but had a conversation about you with our sly old mutual friend.
Congratulations but I don't like that picture of you in the air......PD

[Chris]

Nice going Steve!

Congrats.

A complete flip and keep running? That's a ride I'd kill to experience and pray to God I never do

[MarylandMark]

Steve David in the U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto finished second giving him enough points to lay claim to both the team and driver H1 Unlimited National High Points Championship and retain the coveted U-1 designation for the 2010 season.

Great job and CONGRATS!

[Ratickle]

Great Steve. Still missed you in Key West though.....


And thanks for the update Pat. Really appreciate it.

[MarylandMark]

A complete flip and keep running?

mms://tampadig.wmod.llnwd.net/a1563/o18/abra/Heat4APartOne.wmv

2 minutes in

[inbetween]

Congrats!

[Ratickle]

mms://tampadig.wmod.llnwd.net/a1563/o18/abra/Heat4APartOne.wmv

2 minutes in

Cannot wait to chat with Steve about that one.......

[Chris]

mms://tampadig.wmod.llnwd.net/a1563/o18/abra/Heat4APartOne.wmv

2 minutes in

Holy $hit.

That's man stuff right there.

[OldSchool]

Holy $hit.

That's man stuff right there.

WOW!!!! That turned out a hell of a lot better than it could have been!

Congrats Steve, Karma was on your side!!

Craig

[Sean Stinson]

Congrats Steve lets get together soon my friend!!!!

[ThrottleUp Props]

Congratulations Steve and his entire team! I am looking forward to seeing pics of your adventure in Qatar. Safe travels.

Julie

[SteveDavid]

Thanks for your good wishes! Amazingly, we only had deck damage and tore the mounts lose on that engine. The team taped it back together, put in another engine, changed my underwear and we got a 2nd. in the final heat. That gave us enough points to win the High Point National Championship and retain U-1. I am so blessed to drive for the folks that I do. This Unlimited Driving championship is my 4th. and puts me in a rarefied group of four other drivers: Bill Muncey, Dean Chenoweth, Chip Hanauer, Dave Vilwock and now me. When I first started in Unlimiteds in 1988 I was lucky to not get lapped twice, let alone once. Kissed alot of frogs to get to this point. The lesson it reaffirmed for me is to keep your eye on your goal, don't ever give up, and set backs are there just to test the strength of your desire.
Thanks again for your kind support. Racing is fun, but the real treasure is the people you meet along the way.
Steve

[boatme]

Wow Steve

I am cleaning my shorts just from watching the video

Congrats and glad you came out ok

[MarylandMark]

Had to watch it again- Holy Smokes!!!

Congrats again!

[cigdaze]

That was unbelievable! Wow.
Nice moves, Steve.

Good luck to you.

[mikey]

Congrats Steve sounds like an awesome time. You are the man!!!!!

[MarylandMark]

Last edited by SteveDavid; Today at 02:55 AM. Reason: spelling error

LOL- look around; those are normal and expected at this joint!

[T2x]

Thanks for your good wishes! Amazingly, we only had deck damage and tore the mounts lose on that engine. The team taped it back together, put in another engine, changed my underwear and we got a 2nd. in the final heat. That gave us enough points to win the High Point National Championship and retain U-1. I am so blessed to drive for the folks that I do. This Unlimited Driving championship is my 4th. and puts me in a rarefied group of four other drivers: Bill Muncey, Dean Chenoweth, Chip Hanauer, Dave Vilwock and now me. When I first started in Unlimiteds in 1988 I was lucky to not get lapped twice, let alone once. Kissed alot of frogs to get to this point. The lesson it reaffirmed for me is to keep your eye on your goal, don't ever give up, and set backs are there just to test the strength of your desire.
Thanks again for your kind support. Racing is fun, but the real treasure is the people you meet along the way.
Steve

Way to go buddy!

Your technique is getting better..........

If it wasn't for the damn French and Russian judges, I believe you would have scored a perfect 10!


T2x