Shane Plans For A Grand Send Off For Oberto
Jimmy Shane wins Heat 1B in San Diego
SAN DIEGO—Jimmy Shane wants to give the Oberto Beef Jerky unlimited hydroplane team a great send off for the sponsor’s final race, and Saturday he got off to a great start to accomplishing that goal.
Shane took lane three and was able to outrun his main competition J. Michael Kelly in the Graham Trucking to take preliminary Heat 1B with an average speed of 154.504, cementing his H1 Unlimited Hydroplane National High Points lead and making him one of the favorites to capture the 51st running of the San Diego Bayfair Regatta Sunday afternoon.
Shane and his team also have a 766 point lead over Kelly with three heats of racing remaining as he tries to capture his second consecutive H1 Unlimited Hydroplane National High Points Championship.
“We weren’t going to take it easy, but we sure did not want to make any mistakes,” said Shane. “We came out here to race, put on a great show for the fans and make it a grand send off for the Oberto family and their sponsorship.”
The Oberto sponsorship will end this year after a 40-year run in unlimited hydroplanes, 16 of those years with the Madison, Indiana community owned team now being piloted by Shane. During that 16-year sponsorship run, Oberto hydros have won 19 races, including two Gold Cup titles, five H1 Unlimited Hydroplane National High Points boat championships and seven driver’s titles. Oberto has sponsored ten unlimited hydroplanes going back to 1975 and is the longest continuous sponsor in the history of H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Racing.
Scott Liddycoat (l) & Cal Phipps in Heat 1B
Heat 1A was filled with questions as the final results were not confirmed until well after Heat 1B had been completed. But there was no question as to who won. Cal Phipps in the Dalton Industries hydroplane decisively captured Heat 1A.
“It was real tough in there at the start with the boats almost bumping each other, it was like an old five-liter race,” said Phipps. “I found myself tucked in on the inside and found some space and then took off.”
Race officials had to look at the video to sort out the final results.
The first unlimited heat starts Sunday at 1:40 PM with the championship final scheduled for 4:10 PM. Check http://www.sandiegobayfair.org/ for the full schedule of the day’s activities.
SAN DIEGO BAYFAIR SATURDAY PRELIMINARY HEATS
Heat 1A
1-Cal Phipps, U-27 Dalton Industries, 149.564
2-Jesse Robertson, U-7 Graham Trucking II, 135.068
3-Scott Liddycoat, U-9 811 / Red Dot, 133.237
4-Jimmy King, U-3 Home Street Bank, 127.280
5-Brian Perkins, U-21 All Access Rentals, 137.738
Heat 1B
1-Jimmy Shane, U-1 Oberto Beef Jerky, 154.504
2-J. Michael Kelly, U-5 Graham Trucking, 151.184
3-Kevin Eacret, U-100 Miss CARSTAR, 128.709
4- Tom Thompson, U-11 Peters & May, 130.222
Shane Plans For A Grand Send Off For Oberto
Jimmy Shane wins Heat 1B in San Diego
SAN DIEGO—Jimmy Shane wants to give the Oberto Beef Jerky unlimited hydroplane team a great send off for the sponsor’s final race, and Saturday he got off to a great start to accomplishing that goal.
Shane took lane three and was able to outrun his main competition J. Michael Kelly in the Graham Trucking to take preliminary Heat 1B with an average speed of 154.504, cementing his H1 Unlimited Hydroplane National High Points lead and making him one of the favorites to capture the 51st running of the San Diego Bayfair Regatta Sunday afternoon.
Shane and his team also have a 766 point lead over Kelly with three heats of racing remaining as he tries to capture his second consecutive H1 Unlimited Hydroplane National High Points Championship.
“We weren’t going to take it easy, but we sure did not want to make any mistakes,” said Shane. “We came out here to race, put on a great show for the fans and make it a grand send off for the Oberto family and their sponsorship.”
The Oberto sponsorship will end this year after a 40-year run in unlimited hydroplanes, 16 of those years with the Madison, Indiana community owned team now being piloted by Shane. During that 16-year sponsorship run, Oberto hydros have won 19 races, including two Gold Cup titles, five H1 Unlimited Hydroplane National High Points boat championships and seven driver’s titles. Oberto has sponsored ten unlimited hydroplanes going back to 1975 and is the longest continuous sponsor in the history of H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Racing.
Scott Liddycoat (l) & Cal Phipps in Heat 1B
Heat 1A was filled with questions as the final results were not confirmed until well after Heat 1B had been completed. But there was no question as to who won. Cal Phipps in the Dalton Industries hydroplane decisively captured Heat 1A.
“It was real tough in there at the start with the boats almost bumping each other, it was like an old five-liter race,” said Phipps. “I found myself tucked in on the inside and found some space and then took off.”
Race officials had to look at the video to sort out the final results.
The first unlimited heat starts Sunday at 1:40 PM with the championship final scheduled for 4:10 PM. Check http://www.sandiegobayfair.org/ for the full schedule of the day’s activities.
SAN DIEGO BAYFAIR SATURDAY PRELIMINARY HEATS
Heat 1A
1-Cal Phipps, U-27 Dalton Industries, 149.564
2-Jesse Robertson, U-7 Graham Trucking II, 135.068
3-Scott Liddycoat, U-9 811 / Red Dot, 133.237
4-Jimmy King, U-3 Home Street Bank, 127.280
5-Brian Perkins, U-21 All Access Rentals, 137.738
Heat 1B
1-Jimmy Shane, U-1 Oberto Beef Jerky, 154.504
2-J. Michael Kelly, U-5 Graham Trucking, 151.184
3-Kevin Eacret, U-100 Miss CARSTAR, 128.709
4- Tom Thompson, U-11 Peters & May, 130.222