2013 Oryx Cup, Live Feed Link

[MarkHootonMMRT]

H1 Unlimited officials and race teams will return to Doha, Qatar to start the 2013 racing season with the running of the 2013 Oryx Cup UIM World Championship in February.

The 2013 Oryx Cup will be held on Doha Bay February 8th, 9th and 12th. Testing, qualifying and prelimnary heats will take place on Friday the 8th and Saturday the 9th. The final heat will be run on Tuesday the 12th as a center piece of Qatar’s National Sports Day.

The ten teams who made the trip to the January Oryx Cup, final stop in the 2012 season, have stored boats and equipment with the Qatar Marine Sports Federation in the pit area for the return trip".

[Ratickle]

Is "Qatar" going to be able to run?

[jetcruzr]

Is "Qatar" going to be able to run?

Here is an exerpt from Ellstrom's website

Seattle, Washington (January 18, 2013) –In the wake of the “bounce and burn” incident that took the Spirit of Qatar out of the Oryx Cup UIM World Championship in Doha, Qatar, team owner Erick Ellstrom shed some light on his plans for the future of the boat and his race team.

Driver Dave Villwock was ¾ of a lap into heat 3A and leading when his boat hit a roller in turn two and launched into the air – flying about 75 feet and landing with enough force to damage the hull and shear the motor mounts.

The damaged engine then erupted into flames which created enough heat to melt the ¼ inch aluminum heat shield under the exhaust stack and completely melt the electrical system and backups before rescue teams could extinguish the flames.

Ellstrom explained, “We built the boat with two backups for the electrical system, so we could make an easy switch in case of a failure. All three systems and the housing around them melted together. We can’t pull the wires out of the tube. It all has to be cut out.”

The melted systems are only part of the damage. Ellstrom says there is delamination in the hull under the area where the fire occurred, including the engine stringers – and damage to the hull itself caused by the impact. The boat has cracks in the air traps, left sponson and elsewhere.

Ellstrom says he has plans A, B and C regarding ways to get back on the water in February for the 2013 Oryx Cup. Plan A involves an attempt to “patch and race” the damaged boat.

“If we can replace the damaged portion of the boat and systems and make the boat stable in the three weeks we have before the Oryx Cup, we’ll race the boat,” he added. “Jeff Minar will be returning to Doha soon with fiberglass parts he is building and we will have a crew of four working on the boat.”

Ellstrom rated plan A “somewhat of a long shot” and said plans B & C will be revealed in order if it becomes obvious that the repairs will not be completed in time.

Looking to the future, Ellstrom sounded resigned to the fact that the winningest hull in the history of unlimited hydroplane racing has seen its best days and will probably not be the team’s primary piece again.

Plans for 2013 include updating the team’s backup hull, which has been on display with Boeing colors since running as part of a biofuel development program. The boat will receive an updated front wing and changes to the cockpit and other parts of the boat.

Ellstrom says the team will probably run the updated backup at Sacramento and could use it throughout the season, possibly as part of a two-boat entry at some races, depending on the raceability of the repaired newer boat.

Asked about the possibility of a national high point championship in 2013, Ellstrom said chances are slim to none – but all that will change in 2014.

“As of January 16, we have begun the process of building a new Spirit of Qatar which will debut in January of 2014,” Ellstrom shared, adding, “We plan to work with Sheikh Hassan and represent Qatar for many years to come, so we may limp through the 2013 season with a patched up boat and a backup, but beginning in 2014 it’s a whole new game.”

By Steve Montgomery – H1

[Ratickle]

I'll take that as a definite maybe....

[Ratickle]

Well, our friends are sitting at JFK right now waiting for the long flight over.

[jetcruzr]

Well Gang, after a long airplane ride, we are in Qatar! It is 5 am here now, and in a couple hours, we will head to the pits to start getting set up. Internet is a bit patchy over here, but we will try to send as much info and pics back to SOS as possible

With Paul's help, we should be able to get some decent coverage, up on the site.

Tommy
U-57 Team Fedco

[Ratickle]

Hopefully he'll be able to post up a bit of stuff on Facebook too....

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seriou...m/239287417400

I made it to Doha. It is 4:20 am and I can't sleep,so I figured I would
touch base with you. First things first. Internet over here is not like what
we have at home. There is only access in the lobby of the hotel. Supposedly
we will have access in the pits, but I am told that is is very slow, and
most people get hacked.

Jetcruzr

[Ratickle]

Tommy's not in the pic?????



From Steve's website....

[Ratickle]

3:40 AM H1 Steve: "Oberto lost part of a hot section. Motor has been replaced. Ready for qualifying at 1 pm"

H1 Unlimited : Oryx Cup - UIM World Championship


Schedule (Doha Time)Friday, February 8, 2013
8 hours later there I believe the time difference is.

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Driver’s Meeting
9:30 AM - 12:00 AM Unlimited Testing
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Unlimited Qualifying
2:45 PM - 3:00 PM Podium Event for Top Three Qualifiers, Draws for Heats 1A and 1B
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM Unlimited Heat 1A
4:00 PM - 4:15 PM Unlimited Heat 1B
4:15 PM - 4:30 PM Podium Event for Winners 1A and 1B, Draw for Heats 2A and 2B
Saturday, February 9, 2013

[Serious News]

Heat 3B results are official with the Oh Boy! Oberto / Miss Madison placing second in a close race with Jimmy Shane.

[jetcruzr]

...and here's the proof!

[jetcruzr]

Random Candid Shots

[jetcruzr]

[jetcruzr]

Boat Racing's Number 1 Ambassador

[jetcruzr]

[jetcruzr]

SeriousOffshore Correspondant Mark Hooton(MarkHootonMMRT), working on the Oberto!

[Ratickle]

Boat Racing's Number 1 Ambassador

Isn't that the truth......

[Ratickle]

Live today. Good luck all. 7:99 AM Final eastern I believe... Other heats earlier

H1 Unlimited : Oryx Cup - UIM World Championship






Looks like Tommy lost his links.....


And hopefully he'll have a bit of time to chat on the facebook site....

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seriou...m/239287417400

[Pete B]

damn missed it was waiting for my clock to get to 7:99 am, got all the way to 7:59, then it went to 8:00, oh well.

[Bobcat]

Damn foriegn made clocks are ruining this country...