Detroit Thunderfest - August 22-23, 2015

[Welfare Racing]

My thoughts for many years here is add Offshore Racing to the venue, this way its is a major event, not just the invited big dogs, more like an OPA event addition, full event all classes, and ofcourse the hydro's

If you want it to grow and sustain, this is the ticket as it would be "the" event in the area of the year, and double or tripple the event attendies asn well as grab sponsors

[Serious News]

Steve is saying it will be exciting from beginning to end. They have run Offshore with it a couple times in the past.

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Local says waters downtown can 'eat you up and spit you out'

Cal Phipps compares racing an Unlimited Hydroplane on the Detroit River to "going into a lion's cage with a piece of meat."

"You have to respect the river and the racecourse," said Phipps, a 46-year-old veteran powerboat racer from Sterling Heights. "It can take control of you, eat you up and spit you out."

Today and Sunday, Phipps will be at the controls of the U-27 Wiggins Racing Unlimited Hydroplane on the Detroit River.

He'll have sponsorship from Dalton Industries of Waterford, a leader in the metals industry, and will be competing in the UAW-GM Spirit of Detroit HydroFest race.

"We are going to have a big VIP tent at the river," Phipps said. "Great to have Dalton Industries onboard."

Phipps usually gets the best out of his equipment. He finished second in the HAPO APBA Gold Cup in the Tri-Cities in Washington state in July.

"It's been a little bit surprising," Phipps said of his boat's speed and potential. "The Wiggins family has given me the opportunity. But we have a new team, and we are still trying to learn our way. Nevertheless, we've kicked that up a notch and are really looking forward to racing this weekend."

Phipps is excited the UAW and General Motors are title sponsors of the race. His father, Don, was a UAW member for 43 years and most of his family worked for the Big Three.

"It would be unbelievable if we could win Sunday's race in our hometown," he said.

Phipps, like a number of other Unlimited Hydroplane drivers, also works a regular job. He is a color coat formulator for PPG Paints and travels between Detroit and Cleveland several times a week.

"I used to work the midnight shift, but I'm on the second shift now," Phipps said. "My company is pretty excited about what I do, about my racing."

So is Phipps.

"I love the racing," he said. "Sometimes I got to get back to work to get some rest."

Phipps rates the Detroit River the best powerboat racing test in the world.

"For us in the Unlimiteds, it has the longest and shortest turns on the circuit," Phipps said. "The air compresses as you head down past the Detroit Yacht Club into the Roostertail turn. You start flying the boat. Anything, including blow-overs, can happen from there on."

Phipps thinks his U-27 boat — he also has piloted the Spirit of Detroit and Miss Red Dot Unlimited Hydroplanes on the Detroit River — has great potential.

"Boat owner Charlie Wiggins is a perfectionist," Phipps said. "He has run 1-liter, 7-liter and Grand Prix boats. I think we can really develop the Unlimited."

Phipps is third in H1 Unlimited Hydroplane points, trailing Jimmy Shane and J. Michael Kelly.

Does Phipps have the boat to challenge for the win this weekend?

"It's a bit light, but if we keep it from getting too much air, we should be right in the final," he said. "It's going to be fun."

What: UAW-GM Spirit of Detroit HydroFest (Unlimited Hydroplanes).

When: Saturdayday and Sunday.

Who: Unlimited Hydroplane drivers, including Jimmy Shane, J. Michael Kelly, Jean Theoret, Cal Phipps (Sterling Heights) and Jimmy King (Memphis, Mich.); plus Grand Prix and F2 tunnel boats.

Schedule: Today — Testing begins at 8 a.m., time trials at noon and qualifying through 6:20 p.m. Sunday — Testing begins at 8 a.m., opening ceremony at 9:30, qualifying at 9:40, tunnel boats final at 2:30 p.m., Grand Prix final at 3:15 and Unlimited final at 4:10.

Tickets: Grandstands $45-$80, Club Gold $175; call 313-329-8047 and/or visit detroitboatraces.com for more information.

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/mo...iver/32158213/

[Serious News]

Unlimited hydroplanes testing for races on Detroit River

DETROIT >> Calm water greeted unlimited hydroplane drivers for testing on the Detroit River on Saturday morning.

“The water’s lying down real nice,” Jimmy King, driver of the U-3 HomeStreet Bank entry, said after his first practice laps.

King, who lives in Wales Township near Memphis, is optimistic he’ll have a strong showing this weekend in the UAW-GM Spirit of Detroit HydroFest.

“We have high expectations,” King, who finished sixth in points at Seattle, said.

King’s boat is the only one in the 12-boat race fleet that is powered by a piston-driven engine.

The Allison V-12 in his boat is like the engines that powered fighter planes during World War II.

Qualifying for the hydrofest was to begin at noon Saturday, with three heat races following in the afternoon.

More heats and the Spirit of Detroit final will be Sunday.

Grand Prix and Formula 2 tunnel boats also were in action on the river.

Jimmy Shane made an important discovery during practice.

“We had a broken rod end on the skidfin,” the driver of the U-1 Oberto said. “Happy we found that out in testing.”

Shane looked forward to qualifying.

“We’re excited to go out and get qualifying done,” the defending Detroit race winner said. “The boat’s looking good. The water’s pretty much ideal. No big white caps, which is really good.”

Scott Liddycoat is getting accustomed to his new ride. He drove the U-9 to a third-place finish in the most recent H1 Unlimited event, at Seattle.

“It has taken me time to get used to a different boat,” Liddycoat said. “We’re getting there.”

The H1 Unlimited Rookie of the Year in 2011, Liddycoat is back on the unlimited hydroplane circuit after a two-year absence.

He did not run in the season-opening event at Madison, Ind., and then Liddycoat finished fifth in the Gold Cup final in Washington state.

Liddycoat’s boat flipped during the 2012 event in Detroit. He welcomed the smooth water that the Detroit River presented Saturday morning.

“This is the nicest I’ve seen the river here,” Liddycoat said. “But it can change quickly.”

Points leaders

Jimmy Shane is the National High Points leader with 3,180 as the H1 Unlimited series hits Detroit. Shane drives the U-1 Oberto. J. Michael Kelly is second with 2,874, and Sterling Heights’ Cal Phipps is third with 2,567. Kelly drives the U-5, and Phipps drives the U-27.

http://www.macombdaily.com/sports/20...-detroit-river

[Serious News]

Hydroplane goes airborne during race in Detroit

DETROIT (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - A hydroplane went airborne Sunday during the Spirit of Detroit Hydro-Fest.

The pilot, Jean Theoret, was leading the heat when he says he hit rough water going out of turn one at about 170 miles-per-hour.

His boat flipped upward before landing right-side up.

The plane suffered heavy damage, but thankfully Theoret was not hurt.

Video: http://www.wwmt.com/news/features/st...l#.VdvshcuFO70

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In an epic battle, Unlimited Hydroplane young guns Jimmy Shane and J. Michael Kelly gave us an instant classic on the Detroit River on Sunday.

Shane battled Kelly deck to deck over five hair-raising laps on treacherous water to pull away toward the finish to win the UAW-GM Spirit of Detroit HydroFest race.

At the controls of the U-1 Oberto boat, Shane went four-for-four over the weekend in heats and the final.

Kelly never gave Shane an inch in his U-5 Graham Trucking I entry, edging to the lead as the two went head to head on Lap 4 by the Detroit Yacht Club.

Their fight has stamped them as power boat racing's great new rivalry, comparable to the likes of Bill Muncey and Dean Chenoweth.

It was Shane's 10th Unlimited career victory and perhaps his best despite his APBA Gold Cup victory in Detroit in 2014 and his second Cup victory in the Tri-Cities in Washington in July.

"I've been saying all along, we have some of the best racing going on for years and years," said Shane, from Havre de Grace, Maryland. "You guys saw the best of the best. I'm so honored to be part of it. I can't say enough to thank the city of Detroit, all the sponsors and all the fans who came out today."

Brian Perkins in the U-21 Al Deeby Dodge boat was third, while Sterling Heights' Cal Phipps in the U-27 Dalton Industries for Wiggins Racing was fourth.

Shane drove a courageous race in trying conditions, his boat literally dancing across the churned up river at 200 mph.

Kelly, 30, was a perfect dance partner, never missing a beat and challenging Shane virtually the whole trip around the 2.7-mile course.

"That was tough," said Shane. "I hit a bunch of rough water on the second lap going down to the first turn there. I almost took off. But at that point, there was no holding back. This was the Detroit River today and the final was Detroit racing. The fact that J. Michael and I were able to stay side by side in those conditions made it a great race for fans."

Shane said it was the roughest water he'd ever raced on the Detroit River.

"Just getting around without breaking anything was testimony to the team and the equipment," said Shane. "We are just happy to put on a good show for the fans. The Gold Cup is coming back to Detroit (in 2016) because Detroit is a driver's track."

Kelly said "everyone is a winner today," as he waited for the podium ceremony. "I don't think you can ask for a better final than that."

Kelly felt the rivalry between he and Shane would bloom into that of Muncey-Chenoweth, Dave Villwock-Chip Hanauer and Villwock and Steve David.

"How cool is that to have two young guys who will be here for a long time," said Kelly. "I hope nothing changes."

Contact Mike Brudenell: mbrudenell@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mikebrudenell. Be sure that you follow Freep Sports on Twitter (@freepsports) and Instagram and like us on Facebook.



http://www.freep.com/story/sports/mo...fest/32234411/

[Serious News]

Henderson all business on way to clinching title

The motto on Bert Henderson's hydroplane racing team is, "Preparation wins boat races." If that's the case they sure had their work cut out for them last weekend in Detroit in what turned out to be the Grand Prix high-points championship clincher for them.

In the event's testing runs, Henderson broke the propeller and damaged the back of his boat, which forced his team to scramble to get the craft ready for the first heat in about 90 minutes time.

Getting to the finals isn't easy. Getting to the finals when you miss a heat is a lot harder.

Fortunately for Henderson, his boat was ready in time and he finished in the top-three in the three races before the finals and ended the event second overall.

The result spreads Henderson's gap in the standings to 107 points over second-place Brendon Kennedy, who had an unfortunate weekend of failures and only finished one heat.

The most points a racer can get out of an event is 100, so with one race left on the schedule -Sept. 5 and 6 in Beauharnois, Que. - Henderson earned his second Grand Prix title. He last won it in 2012.

"It wasn't something we expected to do in Detroit. We wanted to come out of Detroit comfortable," Henderson said.

The Brockville hydroplane racer isn't throwing in the towel going into the final event, despite already being unofficially declared champion. Henderson said, he's going into Quebec with the mindset that he's still looking to clinch the championship and the race will give him a chance to try and tweak some different things with his propeller and engine.

"We want to finish the year on a high note," Henderson said. "We want other teams to know we're here and we're competitive. It'll give us an opportunity to maybe try some things we wouldn't normally try."

Henderson is also saving the victory party for later. For now, it's strictly business and preparation for him until the season ends and it's time for a little pleasure.

http://www.recorder.ca/2015/08/26/he...linching-title

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