HydroFest - Four teams test for the Gold Cup
Four unlimited hydroplanes expected to compete in the American Power Boat Association’s Gold Cup trophy race on Lake Guntersville, June 25-26 began preparations for the race by testing in Vancouver, Wash. last Friday.
Pacific Northwest rabid hydroplane fans scattered along Vancouver’s Waterfront Renaissance Trail upstream from the Interstate 5 Bridge that separates Washington State and Oregon to watch the colorful hydroplanes take to the course, one at a time. It was the first time unlimited hydroplanes have made an appearance in Vancouver since 1979.
Last year’s Guntersville Hydrofest winner J. Michael Kelly driving the U-8 “Miss Tri-Cities;” seasoned veteran driver Dave Villwock in the U-40 “Miss Beacon Plumbing;” Jeff Bernard in the U-91 “Miss Goodman Real Estate;” and Jamie Nilsen in the U-11 “May Awning and Patio Company,” all posted practice laps on the swift current Columbia River.
The estimated two hundred fans saw the first unlimited hydroplane take to the water in 2022. U-91 “Miss Goodman Real Estate” and Bernard were first on the river after a several hour operations delay in opening the course. Bernard’s top average lap speed in his two-lap test was 142.011 m.p.h.
Bernard later in the afternoon posted four additional laps with speeds that were at best 6 m.p.h. slower than his previous top speed.
Bernard said after that, “I never got a chance to lay down a full lap at top speed but we are happy with what we saw on the data and how it took to our off season adjustments.” He continued, “we are in much better shape than last year coming into (Lake) Guntersville after the successful test.”
Next on the course was the sport’s winningest driver, Villwockm, with 67 victories. His remodeled bright orange and black U-40 hydroplane debuted new aerodynamic changes including a dropped sponson deck and other aerodynamic enhancements.
Not surprisingly, Villwock, a former multi A.P.B.A. Gold Cup trophy winner, turned a top lap average speed over of 154.619 mph, 12 m.p.h. above Bernard’s top average lap speed.
Although the Guntersville Lake A.P.B.A. Gold Cup trophy race will be 2-1/2 mile course, Friday’s practice session was a chance for the racers to experience the estimated 2-mile course used in the circuit’s Madison, Indiana, and Seattle races.
What many fans said might be a sophomore jinx for the second year team, Kelly’s hydroplane, the U-8 "Miss Tri-Cities" only completed two laps. Neither of the speeds would be high enough for Kelly to qualify at an actual race which is a minimum 130 mph lap average. During his third lap, Kelly went dead in the water in the second turn and a several yard plum of white smoke benched from the exhaust tail pipe.
Back on the trailer, the team determined there was a fuel fitting that came loose causing the mechanic problems.
Afterwards Kelly said, “Tested a new engine and found out what we needed to know and things look really good going into the season opener for the Gold Cup in Guntersville.” He said there was lots of offseason work to make the boat lighter and faster.
Kelly continued, “Lots of teams are stepping it up this year and hopefully with all the changes we did will pay off for us.”
The team packed up and headed back to the team’s Seattle suburb shop to make changes before the next practice session June 3 in Tri-City, Washington.
The fourth boat to test, Nilsen and the U-11 “May Awning and Patio Co.,” had a top average speed of 139.437 m.p.h. Nilsen completed four laps, the first time on the water since 2021 when the team experienced damage at the last race of the season and was forced to withdraw. Nilsen took advantage of the practice session and finished his day out with five additional laps, spinning the most of any of the four teams.
"We learned the changes we made to the hull over the winter worked and definitely made the boat better," said Nilsen, a former minor league baseball player turned hydroplane racer.
“We’re all looking forward to seeing what it can do when we line up next to everyone else and race for the Gold Cup at Guntersville in a couple weeks,” Nilsen said.
The unlimited hydroplanes have an optional practice session next month before coming to Lake Guntersville to race for the A.P.B.A. Gold Cup trophy, the oldest active motorsports trophy in the United States.
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Top Lap Speeds Vancouver, Washington Practice Day
1) Dave Villwock, U-40 "Miss Beacon Plumbing" : 154.619 mph lap speed
2) Jeff Bernard, U-91 "Miss Goodman Real Estate" : 142.011 mph lap speed
3) Jamie Nilsen, U-11 "May Awning and Patio Co." : 139.437 mph lap speed
4) J. Michael Kelly, U-8 "Miss Tri-Cities" : 116.550 mph lap speed
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