Sunday 4:00 PM update Valleyfield Final
UL-38 and the UL-72 had a great deck-to-deck race for the fans although they jumped the gun. Randy Haas in the UL-110 was right behind them and would have taken home the victory had it not been for two broken rocker arms in the last turn of the white flag lap. This left the door open for a newcomer to the Unlimited Light ranks. Pingree Conflitti and the UL-58 Hard Hat Racing/Union Does wins his second race as an Unlimited Light! In Valleyfield there is a winners circle at the start finish line. The driver steps out onto a checkerboard area and is then interviewed by the public address announcer. First, officials had to argue with Ping to convince him that he should go to that area. Ping pulls his boat over to the area, misses and almost hits the sea wall. There are no crew or team members there to help catch the boat so this was an adventure for Ping. His crew chief comes running up and proceeds to push Ping into the water. A soaking wet Ping climbs out of the water with a huge smile and is interviewed by the announcer. Announcer - "Do know what's happening?" Ping - "Uh. Not sure." He interviews him in English and translates it into French. Ping gets two ovations from the crowd. Sunday 12:51 AM update There will be a nine boat final with six on the front row and three trailers two roostertails back. Your front row will be the UL-72, the UL-110, the UL-58, the UL-40, the UL-37, the UL-38 and the trailers are UL-929, the UL-25 and the UL-19. Pat Haworth will not be driving in the final. Sunday 12:15 AM update Valleyfield Semi-Final
The UL-40 Thunder Valley Racing is getting more attention than the front runners this weekend due to their blower engine. The noise is simply drawing in the crowds and the press. The UL-19 just had no luck this time out. It appeared that the hull kept finding the holes on the course and eventually went down. No word yet on how serious the final break in the water was on the hull. Sunday 10:00 AM update We are pleased to share
fifteen new photos from Saturday in Valleyfield taken by the ULHRA's own Bo Darling! Saturday 5:36 PM update Valleyfield Heat E
The UL-929 has a hole in the boat and the UL-23 crew is helping him repair it. Since they can't get an engine, they have joined up with Vince Xaudaro for the weekend. Jerry Hopp and the UL-15 lost a motor and is now done for the weekend. Greg Hopp's moan in Madison was said to be heard in Valleyfield. We've learned a bit more about Pat Haworth (who's piloting the the UL-110 in Heat E and the UL-72 in Heat F) is getting some seat time in anticipation of joining the Lights with a team in 2003. Talking with the Voice of the Lights, John Lynch, his option is "this guy can drive"! Valleyfield Heat F
This heat was a barn burner. The UL-72 climbed from fifth all the way to second, but could not catch Randy Haas in the UL-110. There were calls that effected the finish of this heat. The UL-37 and the UL-72 were called for being at the one minute pin too early so results from Heat F are not final and may change. On a very positive note, the UL-25 Patten Racing completed it's first heat of competition as an Unlimited Light. Congratulations to Jody Patten and Mike McLellan! Saturday 4:15 PM update Here's your line-up for heats E and F... Heat E - UL15, UL58, UL929,
UL72, UL110, UL38 UL72 will run for points in Heat E and UL110 will run for no points in Heat F. Saturday 3:19 PM update Pat Hayward, a Canadian, ended up driving the UL-72 Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic for a couple laps. We've heard that he did a great job and we believe they were able to be hooked up with local radio which went out to area stations. The race committee and the fans are really happy with what they have seen today. In Heat C, we've learned that the UL-929 Xaudaro Racing and the UL-58 Hard Hat Racing/Union Does put on an amazing fight for second during the race. The two were deck-to-deck right up to the checkered flag. Saturday 2:35 PM update Valleyfield Heat C
Valleyfield Heat D
Details on these two heats are still to come (hopefully with the next call from Valleyfield). Saturday 12:19 PM update During the driver's meeting, Bo Darling presented the 2001 Race Site of the Year award to the Valleyfield race committee. They were unable to attend the banquet where ULHRA Commissioner Patricia Darling originally presented the award in French. In Valleyfield, Bo presented the award in fluent English. Saturday 11:38 AM update Here's your line-up for Heat C. In this heat we will see the UL-25 Patten Racing, the UL-38 Security Race Products, the UL-72 Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic and the UL-58 Hard Hat Racing/Union Dooz. The UL-58 will have to start on the outside, but he does not have to start back form the field. He can mix it up this weekend! Heat C is set to run at noon. In Heat D we will see the UL-15 Happy-Go-Lucky, the UL-19 Spirit of Coeur d'Alene, the UL-37 Hogan Racing, the UL-40 Thundervally Racing and the UL-110 Haas Racing. That heat will start immediately following Heat C. Saturday 10:57 AM update The UL-40 Thundervalley has been trailer firing this morning. It is a beautiful day, but it is a bit windier on the course than it is in the pits. Saturday 8:14 AM update We are pleased to share
fifteen new photos from Valleyfield taken by the ULHRA's own Bo Darling! Friday 4:55 PM update Following a quick call from Bo Darling we've learned that J.W. and the No Fear team threw a rod and is out for the weekend "barring a miracle". Friday 4:22 PM update Valleyfield Heat B
Another crowd pleasing duel between the UL-72 and the UL-15 with strong showings by the UL-58 and the UL-37. The UL-15 Happy-Go-Lucky is being sponsored by Michigan based Bill and Happy Rands, long time friends of the Hopp team and the series. Dave Bender's UL-38 made it out onto the course, but went down prior to the finish and had to limp back to the dock. In these two exhibition heats, the teams were running five laps on a one mile course. In Valleyfield, we have 11 teams in attendance at this time and anticipate additional entries before it is all said and done. Friday 2:28 PM update We've just received word that Randy and Carl Haas' fuel system has been fixed. Pat Haworth is the individual who may jump into the driver's seat for the UL-110 team As for J.W., we've learned that he had a new engine ready to roll and, prior to the race weekend, was having it delivered to Detroit. We're betting he's trying to shift delivery to Valleyfield at this time. The weather (aka wind) is calming down in Canada. Good news! Friday 1:32 PM update Just a note before we get to the update, there will be no points awarded for heats run today. Okay, in Heat A it was the UL-72 Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic running side-by-side with the UL-15 Happy-Go-Lucky. Both the UL-110 Haas Racing and the UL-23 J.W. Myers' NoFear.com Extreme Racing Team made it out onto the water, but did not finish. The UL-110 encountered fuel problems and J.W. Myers' UL-23 blew a motor. J.W. is already making arrangements to try and get a new motor on site. Wind conditions are gusty as the racing gets underway in Canada. Valleyfield Heat A
Friday 10:45 AM update Nine boats are now in the
pits of Valleyfield including the UL-72 Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic, the
UL-23 J.W. Myers' A driver's meeting is scheduled for 12:00 PM. Heat A is at 1:00 PM. Heat B is at 4:00 PM. The UL-110 will run as a Valleyfield entry and will see a local driver behind the wheel for a couple heats this weekend. Friday 10:27 AM update
Friday 8:14 AM update Hope everyone had a great Fourth! Joe and Marie Frauenheim, the UL 72 Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic team, the UL-15 Hopp Racing Team, Bo Darling and Pat and Cheri Malara made it safely across the border and checked into their hotels at about 11:30 PM last night. The group flew to Burlington, VT and drove cross country to make the event. Last night, Valleyfield was clearly coming to life on a beautiful, warm summer evening, with boats arriving, lighted fountains, bands playing, fans milling and the parties starting. Thursday 4:00 PM update We just received our first update from Valleyfield. Patricia Darling, who normally is on site tracking down all the details is home in Seattle this weekend due to family commitments. Tracey Morgan, Bo Darling, Pat Malara and others will be working with us to help keep you up to date on all the latest from this weekend's action packed race weekend. If early expectations hold, Valleyfiled may just see the series field our largest fleet of teams to date this season. Thanks to a quick call from Tracey, we've learned that the UL-72 Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic team and the UL-23 J.W. Myers' NoFear.com Extreme Racing Team have arrived. Talking with the UL-72 team, it appears that their eagerness to race extends beyond the course. "We were racing with the UL-15 Hopp Racing Team down the highway, but I'm not sure they realized it." The UL-72 team is in the pits. There is still no sign of Jerry Hopp and the UL-15 at this time. Who do we hope to see this weekend?
One name we haven't heard in a while may be back with the series as soon as this weekend. We were extremely pleased to hear from Patricia Darling that the UL-10 Wiggins Racing team may soon be back with the series!!! Having retired in July of 2000, Charley Wiggins formed the Chase Building Group to pursue commercial construction projects as a General Contractor. Along with the commitments to his new company, Charley has continued working on the UL-10 hull with father Milt Wiggins and the entire team. No word yet on who will drive for the team. Until our next update, au revoir, mon ami...
Questions, comments? E-mail the
site's webmaster. |
