2011 Titles On The Line In Doha
Two H1 boats on Doha Bay in 2010
Spirit of Qatar driver Dave Villwock is looking to finish a record-breaking season with an unprecedented tenth national high points driver championship when the H1 Unlimited hydroplane series takes to the water in Doha for the Oryx Cup World Championships.
Barring a major mechanical problem or a mishap, Villwock should be able to lock up the driver championship within his first two heats and turn his full attention to winning a second consecutive Oryx Cup.
In a testament to how balanced the racing has been this season, just 20 points separate teammates Scott Liddycoat and Jeff Bernard for the runner-up spot in the national high points championship. Lurking just 300 points behind is three-time national high points driver Steve David, who had to sit out the Detroit race because of an injury.
The race for second place in the high points championship is just one of several storylines going into the season finale in Doha. The Miss Red Dot team is hoping to cap a remarkable season with a second-place showing in the boat high points championship. (The sport keeps separate point totals for the drivers and the boats.) In that race, Oh Boy! Oberto trails Miss Red Dot by 55 points.
“We’re the first to admit that we’ve had some luck go our way,” said Nate Brown, owner of Miss Red Dot and uncle of driver Kip Brown. “But we’ve also emerged this season as one of the teams to beat.”
Villwock goes into Qatar putting together another impressive season capturing three races (David has won two) and becoming the sport’s all-time winningest driver. Villwock surpassed the late Bill Muncey with 65 career race victories. Being sponsored by the country of Qatar, Villwock is a favorite for the hometown fans.
“We’re definitely playing in the stadium for us,” Villwock said. “I’m going to try and treat it as any other race but I would like to win it again for the fans.”
Liddycoat in the Valken.com boat will be racing in Qatar and for the first time and will be seeking some advice from teammate Bernard on how to race the 2-mile course in the Corniche. Liddycoat would not only like to cap his season with his first race victory but he would also like to finish high in the national high points championship.
“I don’t want to say that I’m shocked that I could finish second in the point standings,” Liddycoat said. “But it’s kind of shocking.”
As the drivers and crew chiefs will share, the key to winning the Oryx Cup is setup. This year you might add luck to that list. H1 Unlimited changed its starting procedures prior the Air National Guard Championships in San Diego in an effort to preserve equipment at the saltwater races.
Rather than fight for lanes, drivers now pick lanes for their heat based on the order in a blind draw. The tour also implemented a 10-length overlap rule and requires drivers to maintain their lanes through the first turn.
David is not a fan of the late-season rule change but he understands the tour is trying to keep the expensive turbine engines from being badly damaged or destroyed.
“The luck of the draw kind of takes some of the racing out of it,” said David, whose team has won the last three national high points championships. “In our case, we’re going to run it like we stole it in Qatar. We’re fighting for second and I want to put us in a position to get that.”
Twelve boats will be taking part in next week’s Oryx Cup World Championships that is being staged by the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), under the presidency of His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani.
In the past two years just 10 boats raced in the championship. This year two additional boats, owned by Ken Muscatel, and Steve and Sue Webster, will be joining the fleet after an appearance at the Union Internationale Motonatique meeting last month in Abu Dhabi.
H1 Chairman Sam Cole sees the race in Doha as part of a larger expansion of racing internationally. He foresees a day when the H1 Unlimited circuit has a domestic and international circuit.
“We’ve proven that we can race abroad,” Cole said. “We want to take the sport global. And obviously Doha is at the top of that.”
Racing starts Thursday with a qualifying session followed by preliminary heats on Friday and Saturday. The final for the Oryx Cup will take place at approximately 2 a.m. PST on Saturday. (Note: Qatar is 11 hours ahead of the West Coast.)
The heats and the final will be streamed live on www.h1unlimited.com. The race from Doha will be televised on the Versus Network on Christmas Day.
2011 Titles On The Line In Doha
Two H1 boats on Doha Bay in 2010
Spirit of Qatar driver Dave Villwock is looking to finish a record-breaking season with an unprecedented tenth national high points driver championship when the H1 Unlimited hydroplane series takes to the water in Doha for the Oryx Cup World Championships.
Barring a major mechanical problem or a mishap, Villwock should be able to lock up the driver championship within his first two heats and turn his full attention to winning a second consecutive Oryx Cup.
In a testament to how balanced the racing has been this season, just 20 points separate teammates Scott Liddycoat and Jeff Bernard for the runner-up spot in the national high points championship. Lurking just 300 points behind is three-time national high points driver Steve David, who had to sit out the Detroit race because of an injury.
The race for second place in the high points championship is just one of several storylines going into the season finale in Doha. The Miss Red Dot team is hoping to cap a remarkable season with a second-place showing in the boat high points championship. (The sport keeps separate point totals for the drivers and the boats.) In that race, Oh Boy! Oberto trails Miss Red Dot by 55 points.
“We’re the first to admit that we’ve had some luck go our way,” said Nate Brown, owner of Miss Red Dot and uncle of driver Kip Brown. “But we’ve also emerged this season as one of the teams to beat.”
Villwock goes into Qatar putting together another impressive season capturing three races (David has won two) and becoming the sport’s all-time winningest driver. Villwock surpassed the late Bill Muncey with 65 career race victories. Being sponsored by the country of Qatar, Villwock is a favorite for the hometown fans.
“We’re definitely playing in the stadium for us,” Villwock said. “I’m going to try and treat it as any other race but I would like to win it again for the fans.”
Liddycoat in the Valken.com boat will be racing in Qatar and for the first time and will be seeking some advice from teammate Bernard on how to race the 2-mile course in the Corniche. Liddycoat would not only like to cap his season with his first race victory but he would also like to finish high in the national high points championship.
“I don’t want to say that I’m shocked that I could finish second in the point standings,” Liddycoat said. “But it’s kind of shocking.”
As the drivers and crew chiefs will share, the key to winning the Oryx Cup is setup. This year you might add luck to that list. H1 Unlimited changed its starting procedures prior the Air National Guard Championships in San Diego in an effort to preserve equipment at the saltwater races.
Rather than fight for lanes, drivers now pick lanes for their heat based on the order in a blind draw. The tour also implemented a 10-length overlap rule and requires drivers to maintain their lanes through the first turn.
David is not a fan of the late-season rule change but he understands the tour is trying to keep the expensive turbine engines from being badly damaged or destroyed.
“The luck of the draw kind of takes some of the racing out of it,” said David, whose team has won the last three national high points championships. “In our case, we’re going to run it like we stole it in Qatar. We’re fighting for second and I want to put us in a position to get that.”
Twelve boats will be taking part in next week’s Oryx Cup World Championships that is being staged by the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), under the presidency of His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani.
In the past two years just 10 boats raced in the championship. This year two additional boats, owned by Ken Muscatel, and Steve and Sue Webster, will be joining the fleet after an appearance at the Union Internationale Motonatique meeting last month in Abu Dhabi.
H1 Chairman Sam Cole sees the race in Doha as part of a larger expansion of racing internationally. He foresees a day when the H1 Unlimited circuit has a domestic and international circuit.
“We’ve proven that we can race abroad,” Cole said. “We want to take the sport global. And obviously Doha is at the top of that.”
Racing starts Thursday with a qualifying session followed by preliminary heats on Friday and Saturday. The final for the Oryx Cup will take place at approximately 2 a.m. PST on Saturday. (Note: Qatar is 11 hours ahead of the West Coast.)
The heats and the final will be streamed live on www.h1unlimited.com. The race from Doha will be televised on the Versus Network on Christmas Day.