David & Villwock Win Saturday Prelims
Steve David and Dave Villwock look to be heading for another Sunday afternoon showdown as the duo won their respective heats Saturday at the Air National Guard Championship at San Diego Bayfair.
Villwock and Valken.com driver Scott Liddycoat ran one of the best heat races of the season. Liddycoat had the lead for most of the three-lap race when Villwock ran him down just before the finish line and slipped past him.
“If I could have had a little bigger lead going into that last turn, I probably could have held him off,” Liddycoat said. “He kept me kind of tight and my boat is not real fast coming off the turn in the inside lanes.”
Villwock stayed close for the first two laps on the 2.5-mile racecourse and felt he could catch Liddycoat on the back stretch.
“I just had to take my time,” said Villwock, who has won on San Diego’s Mission Bay eight times. “We were just running as hard as I could. It’s only three laps not five laps so you have to get it done a little quicker.”
David left no doubt who was going to win his heat. The Oh Boy! Oberto driver led from start to finish, easily putting some distance between himself and second-place finisher driver Kip Brown.
“I ran hard for a lap and was able to kind of conserve stuff,” David said. “But I don’t think we’ve seen everything the other teams have to offer this weekend.”
Saturday’s heats were the first time the Air National Guard Hydroplane Series went to a new starting procedure because of the saltwater. Heats were drawn at random but drivers could pick their lanes based on the order they were drawn.
David said luck of the draw will be needed Sunday for the winner of the Air National Guard Championship. It’s the last regular-season race in the United States before the tour goes to Doha, Qatar, for the world championships.
“It’s going to be luck and don’t screw up the start is going a long way in determining the winner,” he said.
For more on the Air National Guard Hydroplane Series, visit www.h1unlimited.com.
Heat Results for the Air National Guard Championships at San Diego Bayfair
Heat 1A
Place, Driver, Boat, Speed
1. Steve David, Oh Boy! Oberto, 150.929 mph
2. Kip Brown, Miss Red Dot, 145.882 mph
3. Greg Hopp, Mirage Boats, 140.327 mph
4. J. Michael Kelly, Degree Men, 131.346 mph
DNF N. Mark Evans, Formulaboats.com, NA
Heat 1B
1. Dave Villwock, Spirit of Qatar, 149.791 mph
2. Scott Liddycoat, Valken.com, 149.455 mph
3. Jeff Bernard, Graham Trucking, 141.096 mph
4. Brian Perkins, TapouT, 134.958 mph
DNF JW Myers, Peters & May, NA
David & Villwock Win Saturday Prelims
Steve David and Dave Villwock look to be heading for another Sunday afternoon showdown as the duo won their respective heats Saturday at the Air National Guard Championship at San Diego Bayfair.
Villwock and Valken.com driver Scott Liddycoat ran one of the best heat races of the season. Liddycoat had the lead for most of the three-lap race when Villwock ran him down just before the finish line and slipped past him.
“If I could have had a little bigger lead going into that last turn, I probably could have held him off,” Liddycoat said. “He kept me kind of tight and my boat is not real fast coming off the turn in the inside lanes.”
Villwock stayed close for the first two laps on the 2.5-mile racecourse and felt he could catch Liddycoat on the back stretch.
“I just had to take my time,” said Villwock, who has won on San Diego’s Mission Bay eight times. “We were just running as hard as I could. It’s only three laps not five laps so you have to get it done a little quicker.”
David left no doubt who was going to win his heat. The Oh Boy! Oberto driver led from start to finish, easily putting some distance between himself and second-place finisher driver Kip Brown.
“I ran hard for a lap and was able to kind of conserve stuff,” David said. “But I don’t think we’ve seen everything the other teams have to offer this weekend.”
Saturday’s heats were the first time the Air National Guard Hydroplane Series went to a new starting procedure because of the saltwater. Heats were drawn at random but drivers could pick their lanes based on the order they were drawn.
David said luck of the draw will be needed Sunday for the winner of the Air National Guard Championship. It’s the last regular-season race in the United States before the tour goes to Doha, Qatar, for the world championships.
“It’s going to be luck and don’t screw up the start is going a long way in determining the winner,” he said.
For more on the Air National Guard Hydroplane Series, visit www.h1unlimited.com.
Heat Results for the Air National Guard Championships at San Diego Bayfair
Heat 1A
Place, Driver, Boat, Speed
1. Steve David, Oh Boy! Oberto, 150.929 mph
2. Kip Brown, Miss Red Dot, 145.882 mph
3. Greg Hopp, Mirage Boats, 140.327 mph
4. J. Michael Kelly, Degree Men, 131.346 mph
DNF N. Mark Evans, Formulaboats.com, NA
Heat 1B
1. Dave Villwock, Spirit of Qatar, 149.791 mph
2. Scott Liddycoat, Valken.com, 149.455 mph
3. Jeff Bernard, Graham Trucking, 141.096 mph
4. Brian Perkins, TapouT, 134.958 mph
DNF JW Myers, Peters & May, NA