Unlimited Hydroplanes 2009 Video:

If we assume that "Other Racing" doesn't limit the choices to land-based, let me put in a plug for one of my favorite forms of motorsport, Unlimited Hydroplane racing.

Although I admit that I liked the spectacle better in the old days when the boats were running V-12 Allison, Merlin and Griffon engines, the modern turbine-powered boats are faster, safer and sturdier. Admission to the races is usually inexpensive compared to other forms of racing, and there are usually other events like limited-class races or airshows to fill the time between heats.

Here is the 2009 ABRA promotional video. If you live in the U.S. Midwest or Northwest, there'll be an event close to you.

http://www.abrahydroplanes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=503&Itemid=59

 

I've always loved the hydroplanes but they don't seem to televise it very often. That would be awesome to attend!

 

Great video!

Madison, Indiana race coming up in a few weeks.

 

I've always thought that was a cool sport. Has anyone gone to one? How fan-friendly is it, assuming you're not out on the water on a posh yacht?

 

In Seattle, the primary landside viewing area along Lake Washington is fenced off so that admission can be charged, but admission is cheap by motorsport standards. (I'm not sure how cheap, though -- since I am always a volunteer worker, I get in for free!)

During practice-and-qualifying days, pit tours are given, which is my specialty. We take people throught the pits 12 at a time, telling them about the sport, the boats and the drivers and letting them see what goes on up close.

Alcoholic beverages are prohibited except in designated "beer gardens" and the police do a pretty good job of eliminating rowdiness. Concession stands are in various places along the course, and the large Genessee park nearby has a rather carnival-like atmosphere. People come early in the day and lay out towels on the grass or chairs along the street and spend the day. People can generally swim in the lake between heats, though that is not the case at other courses.

As I said, the time between heats is taken up by other events; in Seattle that is usually airshow acts, culminating with the annual visit of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, who are as much of the Seafair tradition as the hydros! And the races are broadcast on radio, so everyone can keep track of developments through the day.

Unfortunately the attempts to expand the season beyond the traditional sites have seemed to come up short in the last couple of decades; this year even one of those sites -- San Diego -- has dropped out, so we are left with the five other evergreen sites: Detroit; Seattle; Evansville and Madison, IN and Kennewick, WA. However, a big-deal addition is a World Championship regatta to be held in, of all places, Qatar, a big change for a sport which traditionally has been restricted to the U.S., Canada and Australia. The expense of transporting the boats (which typically weigh over 6000 lbs apiece!) to and from the Persian Gulf will be staggering.

 

Madison has a great bank for viewing.

In fact, rent the movie Madison, about the 70's racing there. Still looks the same.

 

They used to have the unlimited hydroplane races at Miami Marine stadium on Key Biscayne. It was great fun to watch as a kid, and got me hooked on motorsports at around age 7. I also prefer the big V-12 sounds, but any spectator boat racing is pretty exciting to me. Lots of passing, and a pleasant setting are some of the big plusses.

BT

 

Bill, I went to Marine Stadium for the 1981 race after having attended two Unlimited races in Seattle, and the differences were remarkable. In Seattle you sit on a towel on the grass lining the lake, a fair distance from the boats. In Miami you're sitting in a seat in a large grandstand with a huge concrete roof overhead, and the boats go by right in front of you! In 1981 there were both V-12 aircraft-engined boats and V-8 automotive-engined boats and the sound was deafening!

But 1981 also marked the competition debut of the Pay 'N Pak turbine boat, the first boat powered by the Lycoming T-55 engine that has now become the standard engine of the sport. That boat was the granddaddy of all the turbine boats running today. They had trouble with the salt from the water sticking to the compressor blades and causing stalling, and ran all day with the engine cowling off, but they did manage to finish the race. (The salt problem was not solved entirely for around 7 years!) In contrast to all the piston-powered boats, the 'Pak was so quiet that you could actually hear the roostertail water falling back into the bay!

At 1-2/3 miles, the course was rather short for Unlimiteds (the norm was 2 to 2-1/2 miles) and better suited to the limited-class boats that made up the rest of the day's racing action. But I believe that it was concern over manatees that finally put an end to the Unlimited race in Miami. I know that a few races were run on Tampa Bay, but I always felt that a race on one of central Florida's lakes would have been a natural. After all, Miss Budweiser owner Bernie Little was from Lakeland. But with Bernie now in hydro heaven and Budweiser out of the sport, other people would have to get involved now. Hopefully, Unlimited hydroplanes will return to the Sunshine State someday.

 

Madison Regatta, just ran finals.

Good racing and tollerable weather. River was in good shape. Only serious incident was U-37 blow over Saturday am. Driver stable in hospital in Louisville.

Miss Madison (Oh Boy Oberto) finished 3rd in final. Only piston powered boat #U-3 in the series (V12 turbocharged Allison WW2 engine) ran good this weekend.
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Upstream turn at the bridge during qualifying.
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A few more boat shots, and there was food a-plenty.

Yellow Pizza boat is the one that crashed. Also, the Formula.com boats were there, the ex-Budwiser boats.
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The site abouve has a live timing section. Here are the Madison results.




Timing and Scoring from the Madison Regatta
Sunday July 5, 2009

Villwock Wins In Madison

MADISON, Ind. --- Dave Villwock (Seattle, Wash.) continued his winning ways by notching his 57th career victory by winning the 59th annual running of the Madison Regatta Indiana Governor’s Cup Sunday..

Villwock (Auburn, Wash.), piloting the U-16 Miss Elam Plus notched a perfect weekend by posting the top qualifying speed and winning every elimination heat to set up for his championship run. This was his eighth Indiana Governor’s Cup win on this Ohio River course—the most of any unlimited driver.

“An old pr man once told me this was a grand slam,” said a jubilant Villwock. “We won the fastest qualifying, we won every elimination heat and we won the race championship.”

With competition from Jeff Bernard (Kent, Wash.) in the U-5 Formulaboats.com to Villwocks left and the U-7 Graham Trucking boat of Jay Michael Kelly (Payallup, Wash.) on the right, it looked like Villwock would have a battle on his hands. But after a tight first lap, the fluorescent orange boat pulled away to clinch the victory.

Although Villwock’s victory was almost never in doubt, a battle was ensuing for the right for a podium finish. Behind Villwock was Kelly who usurped his teammate and last year’s Madison winner Bernard for second place.

But finishing third was hometown Madison boat the U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto driven by Steve David (Lighthouse Point, Fla.). He placed third.

David, who was running in fourth throughout the race, caught a break when the U-3 Miss Chrysler Jeep sustained engine problems just feet from the finish line. With the U-3, driven by Jimmy King (Wales, Mich.) dead in the water, the U-1 managed to speed by to come in third.

Rounding out the field was the Bernard in the U-5 and Greg Hopp (Snohomish, Wash.) driving the U-100 Shoreline Propellers.

King who was just feet away from third place was unable to finish the race.
Now with another Indiana Governor’s Cup in hand, Villwock hopes to carry the momentum to next week’s 100th running of the Chrysler Jeep Superstores APBA Gold Cup in Detroit.

Results of the Indiana Governor’s Cup
Place Boat Driver Final Heat Avg.
1st U-16 Miss Elam Plus Dave Villwock (Auburn, Wash.) 138.054
2nd U-7 Graham Trucking Jay Michael Kelly (Payallup, Wash.) 136.515
3rd U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto Steve David (Lighthouse Point, Fla.) 130.713
4th U-5 Formulaboats.com Jeff Bernard (Kent, Wash.) 121.434
5th U-100 Shoreline Propellers Greg Hopp (Snohomish, Wash.) 118.424
6th U-3 Miss Chrysler Jeep Jimmy King (Wales, Mich.) DNF


*A little excitement as they were moving the U16 Elam Plus forward on the boat, the strap broke allowing the boat to drop hard onto the trailer.*


INDIANA GOVERNOR’S CUP


Donovan Estridge


MADISON --- Dave Villwock continued his winning ways by notching his 57th career victory by winning the Indiana Governor’s Cup Sunday in Madison.

Villwock, piloting the U-16 Miss Elam Plus notched a perfect weekend by posting the top qualifying speed and winning every elimination heat to set up for his championship run.
With competition from Jeff Bernard in the U-5 Formulaboats.com to Villwocks left and the U-7 Graham Trucking boat of Jay Michael Kelly on the right, it looked like Villwock would have a battle on his hands. But after a tight first lap, the fluorescent orange boat pulled away to clinch the victory.

Although Villwock’s victory was almost never in doubt, a battle of ensuing for the right for a podium finish. Behind Villwock was Kelly who usurped his teammate and last year’s Madison winner Bernard for second place.

But finishing third was hometown Madison boat the U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto driven by Steve David who came from the trailer position to finish third.

David, who was running in fourth throughout the race, caught a break when the U-3 Miss Chrysler Jeep sustained engine problems just feet from the finish line. With the U-3, driven by Jimmy King dead in the water, the U-1 managed to speed by to come in third.
Rounding out the field was the Bernard in the U-5 and Greg Hopp driving the U-100 Mirageboats.com. King who was just 100 feet away from third place was unable to finish the race.

Now with another Indiana Governor’s Cup in hand, Villwock hopes to carry the momentum to next week’s 100th running of the APBA Gold Cup in Detroit, Mich.


Points (Unofficial)

U16 Elam Plus 1600

U7 Graham Trucking 1325

U5 formulaboats.com 1194

U100 mirageboats.com 1052

U1 Oh Boy! Oberto 1050

U3 Miss Chrysler Jeep 1000

The Indiana Governors Cup - Madison Indiana, July 5, 2009

With the distinction of being the first race on the 2009 ABRA racing schedule, the Madison Regatta has proved to be a fan favorite. The crowds are very respectable. The weather tollerable. The racing action on the water incredible!

This has turned out to be one of the better races that I have seen here for many years. The competition has been fantastic, with the exception of the U37 accident this has been a quite race with little issues.

The 10 minute gun has sounded.

The five minute has sounded.

The U1 Oh Boy! Oberto is the first boat on the water as they take to the river for the running of the final heat. Four boats on the front line with two trailers this will prove to be one great race!

The wind is calm as the boats take to the water.

Cat and mouse games have begun as they hit the one minute period.

Good start. U5 leads them off the start as they enter the lower turn U16 leads out of the corner with Bernard in second. Side Lap one U16 leads with the U5 and U7 deck to deck for second. In lap one the U5 has gone down that allows the U3 to jump into third place as JMK is second. Elam showing the rest of the fleet the way around the course with his superior boat. Bernard gets the boat back and running.

Bernard has restarted and is now giving a charge to the Oberto. Elam has stretched out his lead by two roostertails. Lap three the Elam first U7 second, U3 third U1 fourth and U5 fifth. with the end of the fourth lap it was Dave Villwock in first place as he easily cruises over JMK. King remains in third and David is in fourth place. Jeff Bernard has once again slowed as he crosses the start finish line. The battle is actually for second as JMK and Jimmy King both are deck to deck.

The 2009 Madison Regatta winner is Dave Villwock. Second goes to J Michael Kelly, however Jimmy King with only about 1000 feet to the finish goes dead allowing the U1 Oh Boy! Oberto to move up into third place. Fourth goes to U5 formulaboats.com., Fifth to the U100 Shoreline Propellers and U3 Chrysler Jeep DNF.

Average Speeds!

U16 - 138.054

U7 - 136.515

U1 - 130.713

U5 - 121.486

U100 - 118.434

U3 - DNF





4:20pm is the time set for the winner take all final. The boats that will be competing and their points are:

Front row

U16 Miss Elam Plus - 1200

U7 Graham Trucking - 1025

U5 formulaboats.com - 1025

U3 Miss Chrysler Jeep - 1000

Trailer Boats

U100 - Shoreline Propellers - 925

U1 Oh Boy! Oberto - 825

Heat 3C - 3:20pm

3C - 3:20pm

U16 Miss Elam Lane 2 - 146.759mph average

U1 Oh Boy! Oberto Lane 3- 145.280mph average

U25 Superior Racing Lane 4 - 126.530mph average

Once again the two top boats drew each other as Steve David has to win this heat to even be in the field for the final.

Just made aware that the U17 Our Gang Racing has withdrawn due to mechanical problems.

Oberto and Elam side by side as they score up for the one minute period. All the boats are early as they go under the Madison\Milton bridge. Oberto leads them across the line. Villwock leads David down the back as Muscatel is a distant third. Elam flying high as he takes lap one. heading down the back chute, David Villwock leads about 10 boat lengths over the hard charging Steve David. With about 5 seconds behind now David still pressuring Villwock even though there is no way now that he can catch him unless the Elam has mechanical issues. Elam takes the win as Oberto take second. Superior racing third.





3:00pm

Heat 3B once again saw the Ted Porter boats dueling it out. J Michael Kelly and Jeff Bernard both have drawn each other several times this weekend as they fight for the front row in the winner take all final. Also joining them is the U48 Albert Lee driven by Brian Perkins. A three boat heat all the boats answered the call.

All three boats were on time for the one minute gun. All three boats were clean at the start. Bernard came out of the turn with a one roostertail lead over JMK as Perkins was third. Side by sie off the corner JMK takes the lead on lap one. Bernard second Perkins third. In the lower turn Bernard takes the lead once again with JMK close to his side.

Bernard leads them down the front as he crosses the line for the white lap. Kelly slamming it hard into the turn regains the lead. However on the back stretch it was Bernard taking the lead suddenly he slows as he goes down in the turn. JMK wins the race in the Graham Trucking. Brian Perkins takes second.



3B - 3:00pm


U5 formulaboats.com Lane 2 - 111.686mph average

U7 Graham Trucking Lane 3 - 136.976mph average

U48 Miss Albert Lee Lane 4 - 128.846mph average

 

Thanks for the report! I've been to a couple of races in Madison and always enjoyed the venue. Nice town, great people, interesting race course. I guess they're disappointed the hometown boat didn't win, but just to see "U-1" on it is probably good enough for now. I hope U-37 driver Jean Theoret is able to make a full and quick recovery.

I'll be in Seattle next month; I guess I'll have to do a matching report!

 

Please do, I won't be making the trip to Seattle!
Maybe Evansville in August though.
I love boat racing. Since I was a little kid. Now we have a Laveycraft Mod VP tunnel hull to get my thrills, but would really like a capsule Champ Boat or something. The cornering forces and acceleration of those puts most cars to shame.