Defending Champ Rides Again
Looking for his fourth consecutive victory in Tri-Cities, Wash., driver Steve David returns to the Air National Guard Hydroplane Series this weekend after sitting out a race because of a rib injury he sustained in a crash in the season opener.
David said he expects to be “100 percent” by the time the Air National Guard hydroplanes take to the Columbia River on Friday. He is being fitted with a special rib protector after suffering non-displaced radial fractures in his ribs in the accident three weeks ago in Madison, Ind.
David will get his boat back after the Oh Boy! Oberto team made $100,000 in repairs to the hydroplane. The team replaced the left sponson, skid fin, the main spar and large sections of fiberglass that were damaged in the crash with Dave Villwock’s Spirit of Qatar. David was declared the winner of the race.
“The boat will look a little bruised but it will be as fast as it always was,” said David of the hydroplane that will be sporting gray primer.
Villwock comes into Tri-Cities, Wash., as the sport’s all-time winningest driver after capturing the APBA Gold Cup in Detroit. He surpassed the great Bill Muncey’s record and now has 63 career wins.
The Tri-Cities race has been boom or bust for Villwock, although he’s won the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup seven times, the most of any active driver. Last year, Villwock appeared to have the race won but was called for an infraction on the final turn of the last lap in the final. He had to run an extra lap and took fifth place.
Villwock said his approach to racing isn’t going to change now that he’s secured the record.
“There was a lot of media attention and that had been going on for some time,” Villwock said. “Now that (the record run) is over we look at it as that we can set a record every time we run.”
Leaving Detroit, the Spirit of Qatar team was down to just one turbine engine, a gear box and a rear wing that it borrowed from the Miss Red Dot team. Villwock said this weekend the team will have two engines, an additional gear box and a wing they built during the two weeks off between races.
The Air National Guard Hydroplane Series high points leader going into Tri-Cities isn’t Spirit of Qatar or Oh Boy! Oberto. Instead, it’s the five-year-old Miss Red Dot team owned by Nate Brown. The team holds a narrow 82 point lead and is eager to show the tour’s other teams it’s for real.
Driver Kip Brown won his first two heats of his career in Madison. Then Cal Phipps slipped into the driver’s seat to win two more heats in Detroit. Brown will be back behind the wheel in Tri-Cities but Phipps could see some action depending on the heat draw, Nate Brown said.
“Kip and Cal work well together,” Brown said. “We don’t have to declare who’s going to jump into the boat. This is a total team deal.”
Brown acknowledges his team has had favorable heat draws in the first two races but they’ve also taken advantage of some misfortune by the top teams. But driver Kip Brown likes the character of the all-volunteer team.
“Last year we had every problem known to man and still came out with our heads held high,” Kip Brown said. “Last year was a transitional year for us. This year we came out hitting the ground running and you can see the results of that.”
Also in the mix are the two Decatur, Indiana-based boats owned by Ted Porter. The Graham Trucking boat driven by Jeff Bernard and the Valken.com boat driven by rookie Scott Liddycoat are third and fourth, respectively, in the Air National Guard Hydroplane Series high points championship.
If the Oh Boy! Oberto wants to win its fourth consecutive high points championship, the team will have little room for error. Currently fifth overall and nearly 700 points off the leader, the team has few races and lots of points to make up before the season finale in Doha, Qatar. The team rented a boat for Detroit and fill-in driver Jon Zimmerman kept the team in the points hunt.
David will be pushing hard to keep the streak going and keep the coveted U-1 designation for the boat owned by the citizens of Madison, Indiana.
“We know that we’re in a big deficit,” David said. “We’re going to try to be top qualifier and pick up as many points as possible. At this point we have to treat every heat as if it’s the final.”
Thirteen boats will be in the pits for the start of the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup starting Friday. Qualifying takes place Friday afternoon with heat races on Saturday and Sunday. The final is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Defending Champ Rides Again
Looking for his fourth consecutive victory in Tri-Cities, Wash., driver Steve David returns to the Air National Guard Hydroplane Series this weekend after sitting out a race because of a rib injury he sustained in a crash in the season opener.
David said he expects to be “100 percent” by the time the Air National Guard hydroplanes take to the Columbia River on Friday. He is being fitted with a special rib protector after suffering non-displaced radial fractures in his ribs in the accident three weeks ago in Madison, Ind.
David will get his boat back after the Oh Boy! Oberto team made $100,000 in repairs to the hydroplane. The team replaced the left sponson, skid fin, the main spar and large sections of fiberglass that were damaged in the crash with Dave Villwock’s Spirit of Qatar. David was declared the winner of the race.
“The boat will look a little bruised but it will be as fast as it always was,” said David of the hydroplane that will be sporting gray primer.
Villwock comes into Tri-Cities, Wash., as the sport’s all-time winningest driver after capturing the APBA Gold Cup in Detroit. He surpassed the great Bill Muncey’s record and now has 63 career wins.
The Tri-Cities race has been boom or bust for Villwock, although he’s won the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup seven times, the most of any active driver. Last year, Villwock appeared to have the race won but was called for an infraction on the final turn of the last lap in the final. He had to run an extra lap and took fifth place.
Villwock said his approach to racing isn’t going to change now that he’s secured the record.
“There was a lot of media attention and that had been going on for some time,” Villwock said. “Now that (the record run) is over we look at it as that we can set a record every time we run.”
Leaving Detroit, the Spirit of Qatar team was down to just one turbine engine, a gear box and a rear wing that it borrowed from the Miss Red Dot team. Villwock said this weekend the team will have two engines, an additional gear box and a wing they built during the two weeks off between races.
The Air National Guard Hydroplane Series high points leader going into Tri-Cities isn’t Spirit of Qatar or Oh Boy! Oberto. Instead, it’s the five-year-old Miss Red Dot team owned by Nate Brown. The team holds a narrow 82 point lead and is eager to show the tour’s other teams it’s for real.
Driver Kip Brown won his first two heats of his career in Madison. Then Cal Phipps slipped into the driver’s seat to win two more heats in Detroit. Brown will be back behind the wheel in Tri-Cities but Phipps could see some action depending on the heat draw, Nate Brown said.
“Kip and Cal work well together,” Brown said. “We don’t have to declare who’s going to jump into the boat. This is a total team deal.”
Brown acknowledges his team has had favorable heat draws in the first two races but they’ve also taken advantage of some misfortune by the top teams. But driver Kip Brown likes the character of the all-volunteer team.
“Last year we had every problem known to man and still came out with our heads held high,” Kip Brown said. “Last year was a transitional year for us. This year we came out hitting the ground running and you can see the results of that.”
Also in the mix are the two Decatur, Indiana-based boats owned by Ted Porter. The Graham Trucking boat driven by Jeff Bernard and the Valken.com boat driven by rookie Scott Liddycoat are third and fourth, respectively, in the Air National Guard Hydroplane Series high points championship.
If the Oh Boy! Oberto wants to win its fourth consecutive high points championship, the team will have little room for error. Currently fifth overall and nearly 700 points off the leader, the team has few races and lots of points to make up before the season finale in Doha, Qatar. The team rented a boat for Detroit and fill-in driver Jon Zimmerman kept the team in the points hunt.
David will be pushing hard to keep the streak going and keep the coveted U-1 designation for the boat owned by the citizens of Madison, Indiana.
“We know that we’re in a big deficit,” David said. “We’re going to try to be top qualifier and pick up as many points as possible. At this point we have to treat every heat as if it’s the final.”
Thirteen boats will be in the pits for the start of the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup starting Friday. Qualifying takes place Friday afternoon with heat races on Saturday and Sunday. The final is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.