News from June, 2003! 100% extreme races and shows
- Régates Molson Dry de Valleyfield
In addition, for the third year in a row, well-know actor and dauntless thrill seeker Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge will act as spokesperson for this large-scale North-American motorboat racing event. Valleyfield!!! The unlimited light fleet
will return to the water July 4th - 6th in Quebec, Canada. For additional
details, visit the race on the web at http://www.regates.ca/. Haas returns. Watch out for the 110! Haas Racing of Toledo OH has announced they will compete in the Unlimited Lights series at the Molson Dry Les Regates De Valleyfield, July 4, 5 & 6. In addition, they will contest the Detroit River-River Cruise July 12 & 13th. The UL110 team of owner Carl Haas and driver-son Randy Haas has been a potent combination in the Unlimited Light series, dating back to the series' roots in 1995. From 1997 through 2001, Haas Racing finished in the top 3 in the season points standings, and Randy Haas scored 3 victories. His most recent win came at the end of the 2001 season when UL110 scored a thrilling victory in San Diego CA over Phil Bononcini in the UL72 Budweiser-Pocket Mechanic, after dueling with Bononcini for nearly 5 miles of deck to deck racing. In 2002 the team scaled back their racing schedule to just two events: Valleyfield & Detroit. And they came close to winning both. The most disappointing had to be last year's Regates De Valleyfield where Randy held the lead up till the final turn, only to suffer a mechanical breakdown and fail to finish. At Detroit, the team again ran strong, but sustained final heat hull damage which later prevented the 110 team from defending their 2001 victory at San Diego. But now, fully repaired, Haas Racing returns to the ULHRA series, at least for Valleyfield and Detroit. Sponsorship of the Haas Racing Team at Valleyfield and Detroit will be announced the week of June 30th.
The ULHRA teams will be on the water during all 3 days at Les Regates De Valleyfield, leading up to a very exciting, and full, final heat. With 100,000 screaming fans lining both shorelines, the Valleyfield event is the largest powerboat event of it's kind in North America. While it's a long drive for most of the Unlimited Lights teams, those that have raced there before eagerly look forward to returning to the friendly Canadian city in the Province of Quebec. Despite not racing for a year, don't be surprised to see Randy Haas and the UL110 dueling for the win come Sunday afternoon, July 6th. Complete coverage will be available right here, from Valleyfield, throughout the event. Check in here frequently for the latest news & results. John Lynch Looking ahead to
Valleyfield! On the Valleyfield course, quickness is more important than speed. Quickness; as in turning and accelerating on the tight one mile course that features short straightaways and narrow turns. The narrow bay where the race course is situated lends itself to rough water conditions, but also ideal race watching vantage points on both sides.
After Tastin & Racin at Issaquah on June 7th & 8th, the father & son team of Jerry & Greg Hopp and the UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky hold the series points lead. Their 1440 points included victory in the final plus a first & two second place finishes in the preliminary heats, and 40 points for being the fastest qualifier at "Tastin & Racin". Combined with the close of the 2002 racing season, the Hopp UL15 team has won the last 4 ULHRA events and goes for their 5th straight at Regates De Valleyfield. Meanwhile the driver's standings are led by Phil Bononcini in the UL72 Budweiser with 1130 points, just 17 points in front of the UL19 Windows SharePoint Services entry of Steve Hook. Neither Jerry nor Greg Hopp is expected to be at the top of the driver's standings because they alternate driving assignments. Greg picked up his 3rd ever ULHRA victory at Issaquah, while Jerry will have sole driving responsibilities at Valleyfield with Greg driving an Unlimited hydroplane the same weekend. But the Hopp Racing team is off to an excellent start in their quest to secure their first ever team series points title. Phil Bononcini and the UL72 have combined to win the past 3 season championships. They are off to a good start in quest of number 4, although a cracked strut forced them to withdraw from the Issaquah final. The surprise in the standings after the first event is Steve Hook, who nabbed two firsts and a second in preliminary competition and stands second in the drivers' points race. Interestingly, the UL19 is the first boat that Phil Bononcini drove in ULHRA competition, and this mid 80's vintage Ron Jones hydroplane is off to it's best start ever in Unlimited Light competition. Only a disqualification for an infield infraction prior to the start of the final heat kept Hook from holding the driver's points lead after the 2003 season opener.
Making the trek to Valleyfield for the first time in two years is the oldest hydroplane in the Unlimited Light fleet. The 32 year old UL14, owned by Hopp Racing had a surprisingly good start to the season, taking 4th place with rookie Paul Becker driving, and is fifth in the standings. But whom will drive at Valleyfield? Becker won't be making the trip. One possibility is Cal Phipps, the regular driver for Milton & Charley Wiggins UL10. For the Valleyfield race only, hometown favorite Patrick Haworth will be at the controls of the Wiggins entry. Phipps becomes a possibility for the UL14 ride since he's scheduled to race at Valleyfield in other classes. Other drivers with previous UL experience that will be attending Les Regates De Valleyfield include Dennis "The Menace" Macy and Wally Johnston. Macy actually drove the UL14 for a couple of races in 2001 when the boat was campaigned by the late Doug McIntosh. It was also just announced that the UL14, along with the UL51 of Impact Racing will be sporting new sponsorship for the "eastern swing". Tenrox, The Enterprise Optimization Company, with offices in Laval, Quebec and Livonia, Michigan, and a major Microsoft Certified Solution Developer, will be on board the UL14 with Tenrox Time and Expense. The supercharged UL51, with George Woods behind the wheel, will compete as Tenrox Time and Billing. For complete details on the Tenrox firm and their outstanding product line of business software solutions, visit their website at www.tenrox.com The UL51 Tenrox Time and Billing is a 22 year old former Grand Prix hydroplane that earned 3 victories on the GP circuit. But till this year, when it was acquired as a second boat for Phil Bononcini and Joe Frauenheim, it hadn't been raced in over a decade, nor did it have an enclosed cockpit. The one time "Thundercraft" is now driven by former 3 time Unlimited hydroplane race winner George Woods, who is also the "tuner" for the supercharged engine, and he was originally involved in setting up this Ron Jones hydroplane for its original owner, more than 20 years ago. Woods returned to hydroplane racing after a 10 year injury forced layoff and took third at Issaquah, despite being unable to start either of the Saturday preliminary heats. Woods currently ranks 6th in the points standings. The talented engine builder-race driver returned to racing with the Unlimited Lights because he's particularly fond of supercharged engines; having built, tuned and raced "blower" motors for the past 30 years. His goal is to make the UL51 "competitive", and he showed at Issaquah that he & the Tenrox Time and Billing UL51 will be a force to be reckoned with in 2003. Two big challenges face Woods. One, the 51 is over 20 years old, and weighs several hundred pounds more than other UL hulls. It also is narrower than today's designs. Finally, the restrictions imposed on UL supercharged engines have this boat racing with about 500 horsepower less than it was designed to run when it raced as a Grand Prix hydroplane.
Several supercharged Unlimited Lights will compete in Quebec. In addition to the Hopp Racing's UL15 and Impact Racing's UL51, the "blower" motor contingent includes the UL5 Freedom Racing entry of Kevin Aylesworth from San Diego CA, the UL17 Miss Ted's Red Apple Markets of Rick Bridgeman from Olympia WA, and the Issaquah WA based UL40 Front Page 2003 driven by Kelly Stocklin who took 5th place at the season opener. Ten teams that competed at Issaquah are slated to compete at Valleyfield. Only the UL38 will miss the event, but adding the UL10 from Alabama keeps the field at 11. The one team that scored no points at Issaquah due to multiple hull problems will be at Valleyfield. The UL929 Microsoft Project Driver of owner-driver Vince "The X-Man" Xaudaro will be there and plans on no more hull problems. That's because the venerable Karelson 929 hull that was built over a decade ago, has been retired from racing. In its place, Xaudaro has acquired the 2002 GNH World Champion hull, and occasional UL competitor, UL37 from John Hogan Racing. Doug Brow drove this boat to the GNH World Championship in Hampton VA and ended the season with a strong third place finish at San Diego. If you've scanned the photos on this site from the spring appearances at the Microsoft Developers Conference, you noticed the UL37 was on hand for the display, as the Microsoft Project Driver. Fortunately for Xaudaro, that's his sponsorship, so all Xaudaro has to do is get the mechanicals right with his new boat; it's already painted in his sponsor's name. The Unlimited Light Hydroplane series is the one racing program that is successfully merging supercharged and non supercharged race engines. Superchargers are well liked by fans for their sound, and by teams that can actually build a "blower" motor for less money than a competitive "normally aspirated" or carburetor motor. But there are restrictions on the size and output levels of the superchargers in ULHRA competition in order to promote a competitive balance with the non supercharged entries that originally launched this series. The ULHRA continues to grow, with this year more than 20 race teams competing in the 3rd year of it's existence. By working to maintain a competitive opportunity for both "blown" and "non blown" entries, the ULHRA is striving to maintain growth and not, in effect, make any existing motor combination competitively "obsolete" thereby cutting into the racing fleet numbers. Despite winning the past 4 races, Jerry Hopp of the UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade team has been a leader in developing the new restrictions. He recalls 20 years ago when he was racing a heavy WWII piston engine Unlimited hydroplane. It was then that the turbine power plant was admitted into that series with no restrictions. Hopp's program, and others similarly powered, quickly became competitively obsolete. The circuit's boat count numbers dropped dramatically, ultimately leading to a loss of sponsorships, race sites, and teams. Hopp doesn't want Unlimited hydroplane history to repeat itself in the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association. Numerical roster of teams competing at Valleyfield UL 5 Freedom Racing Kevin Aylesworth John Lynch Our thanks are offered to Tracy Morgan for the great 2002 Valleyfield shots shared above! UL-14 welcomes a new
sponsor! "Hopp Racing Team is sending 2 boats to the Valleyfield race July 4-6. The UL-15 will run as Happy Go Lucky/Mike's Hard Lemonade and the UL-14 will run as a Microsoft software supplier from Canada: Tenrox. The boat will be named "TIME and EXPENSE" a fitting name for a race boat. Tenrox is a business-ware program for your computer. The UL 14 Time and Expense will be driven by a mystery driver. We are busy packing both boats for the trip back east. Our good friends Bill and Happy Rands our Detroit sponsor, will be at both races helping out as usual. Taking the boats back east will be Nick Ehli, David Dodge, and Dean Hendrickson. The 14 will run a carbureted big block Chevy and the 15 will run the Ed Trihey blown motor. Let's get ready to RUMBLE!" This team release is just part of the fun you
will find on the Hopp Racing Team website, http://www.seanet.com/~hoppracing/.
A quick stop by their news page will lead you to a never before seen set of
Tastin' n Racin' photos. Just look for their Sunday, June 22nd
update. While you are there, be sure to bookmark the site... it's updated
regularly! Patricia Darling offers another great set of Tastin' n Racin' photos!
Guess who was seen racing this past weekend in the State of Washington? Father's Day weekend, Seattle Drag & Ski Association conducted an event on Lake Washington at Renton. That's the same group that conducted the racing part of Tastin & Racin a week earlier. This time, who shows up but Cal Phipps? Yes, the Detroit based driver for Wiggins Racing of Alabama was in the State of Washington. Why? The expert painter was flown in by Justin Schaller to assist in the completion of Schaller's new Ron Jones jr. Grand Prix hydroplane. But Phipps took a break on Sunday and took a turn on the Lake Washington course in Seattleite Russ Dodge's 1 Liter "Polecat". Cal is one of those, "have suit, will race" types and stepping in to the enclosed (aka "cramped") cockpit of the Polecat was to him, just like racing the UL10. Both boats are among the best in the country in their respective divisions, and while Phipps had never before even sat in the Polecat, he showed on the water why he's one of the most respected "shoes" in hydroplane racing. Remember last year he never so much had sat in the UL10 Wiggins Racing entry, and promptly scored second place finishes in the two events they entered at Detroit and San Diego. Phipps also noted that he will again drive for the Wiggins team in Detroit, Seattle, Olympia and San Diego as the Alabama based team will contest most of the events on the ULHRA circuit in 2003. Phipps won't be behind the wheel in Valleyfield, as native son Patrick Haworth will drive in Canada for the Wiggins team. It was at Valleyfield last year that Haworth debuted in Unlimited Light competition, taking both the UL72 and UL110 for competitive laps. Later, the UL72 team invited Haworth to attend the Tri Cities and Seattle events. Haworth was behind wheel of the UL72 in the final at Tri Cities and took first place. Also attending was another racer, who doubles as journalist. Tracy Morgan of Boston MA who's written for this website and other publications including Skid Fin and Propeller, is researching material for future stories. When she has time, she's a 1 Liter hydroplane driver but who knows....maybe she'll be behind the wheel of an Unlimited Light in the future. From the northwest side, past National Champion in 2.5 Modified hydroplane Harold Mills was on hand. He raced at Issaquah a week ago but there was no 2.5 modified class at this event. Harold has nearly completed qualifying requirements for Unlimited Hydroplane drivers, but he's also intrigued by the possibilities and growth represented by the ULHRA series. This talented racer would be a welcome addition to the Unlimited Lights, should an opportunity present itself. But Mills, like any sharp racer in today's world who wants an opportunity to compete with the best, isn't waiting for the phone to ring. He's actively working to create that kind of opportunity. Finally a name synonymous with hydroplane racing is the name Muncey. Wil Muncey, son of the legendary Bill Muncey, has been around racing all of his life; growing up in the Seattle area, driving limiiteds and unlimiteds, publishing a magazine titled Boat Racing, and promoting a series of racing events in the northwest. But Wil's been away from racing for over a decade. The past two weekends Wil returned at the wheel of a 5 liter hydroplane he acquired in the off season. Muncey admitted he has lots of re-learning due to inactivity, particularly since till now, he'd never driven or raced a hydroplane with an enclosed cockpit. But he's committed to his return, and we can expect to see Muncey, along with a fleet of swift 5 liter hydroplanes, at future ULHRA events in Olympia and Port Angeles WA. John Lynch A second set of Tastin' n Racin' photos from Alan Lagervall!
Photographer Mark Sharley serves up an outstanding mix of Tastin' n Racin' action shots!
John Lynch
looks back on Tastin' & Racin'
95 degrees in Seattle?! in early June no less?!! It's more likely to rain 9.5 inches in early June out here, but it sure beats the alternative for our season opener. And what a season opener! Alan Lagervall offers fans our first post-race look at the sights of Tastin' n Racin'!
Thanks Alan! Spring Training Video ... A
look back on the Tri-Cities event through video. Our
final pre-race update
... It's almost time for Tastin' n Racin'!! The out of state teams are on the road, while the Washington State teams are completing final preparations. The long anticipated season opener for the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association is at hand. It's Tastin' n Racin', the 7th annual edition, promises to be the biggest and best yet. First of all, the weather forecasters are rolling a lucky 7. The weather in the Seattle area this week has been fabulous ... not at all like we might expect in early June. They say the conditions will hold through the weekend with temperatures in the 80's, bright sunshine and, hopefully, little wind. Eliminating weather as a factor, those fans hundreds of miles from Issaquah, WA know this is the week to travel to the Seattle suburb and Lake Sammamish State Park, just north of Interstate 90. In June, or any time of the year, when you're talking Seattle weather it doesn't get any better than what we're experiencing right now. So, how about the racing? It should be like the weather ... hot and exciting! Heading into the 2003 lid lifter, all signs point to the top three teams from 2002 as favorites, but with a stronger and deeper corps of challengers than have raced the UL circuit previously. Of the 12 teams expected to challenge for the win this weekend, you first point to the potent team of driver Phil Bononcini and the UL72 Budweiser - Pocket Mechanic. The talented group with the bright red Ron Jones hydroplane have taken the series championship 3 straight years. They had an insurmountable points lead with two races to go last season. It was a good thing because after a blowover wreck following the exciting Seattle final heat, the UL72 was a shadow of its former self. It still looked good and ran fast, but reliability was lost and the team has spent the offseason building reliability back into their program. Based on Spring Training tests one month ago, it looks like the team is back on track. The UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade father & son team of Jerry & Greg Hopp was the late season champion. Teething problems early in the 2002 season kept the Hopp team from reaching their potential with their new supercharged engine program. But by Seattle, the problems were history and the Hopp's swept to victory in the final three races of the year. Of those three wins, two were by "Grandpa" Jerry Hopp, and they were the senior Hopp's first two victories in Unlimited Light or Unlimited Hydro competition since his career in the big boats began in 1981. Jerry Hopp also accepted a leadership role with election to the board of directors of the ULHRA. He led the way with a committee formed to review the supercharger engine specs. In the end, with Hopp's endorsement, what's occurred is the performance curve of supercharged Unlimited Light engines has been reduced. Why would Hopp, after winning three straight races go along with a rules change that could negatively affect his team? You have to know where he's been in order to understand. When Jerry Hopp got into Unlimited Hydroplane racing, he was running a heavy, WWII engine hydroplane. When the turbines were allowed into the sport with no restrictions, Hopp's team was quickly made obsolete, although he soldiered on at the back of the pack for a few years. Hopp didn't want history repeating itself 20 years later in the ULHRA series. So to keep a relative parity and opportunity to compete amongst the various UL approved engine choices, Hopp supported the reduced supercharger performance specs. Essentially, teams that were allowed to run superchargers 10% faster than crankshaft speeds, now must run 20% slower than crankshaft speed, thereby reducing horsepower & torque. As a result, the ULHRA will welcome the largest number of teams ever to the season opener, and will again surpass its all time record of participating teams this season.
Coming back to hydroplane racing, and joining the ULHRA for the first time, is a driver & boat combination that will have fans watching closely all year long. First the driver: 3 time winner in Unlimited hydroplanes and a renowned driver of "blown" K-Boat (KRR) runabouts, George Woods is back in the cockpit after a 10 year absence. Also returning to racing is Woods' mount, the Ron Jones 1981 vintage ex Grand Prix UL51 Security Race Products hydroplane. Woods says he's coming back because he misses the competition, and he's always enjoyed supercharged engines. After all he's built, tuned and raced "blower" motors for 30 years. He views the new engine specs as a tuner's challenge. Says Woods, with the current engine design it's relatively simple to produce 1200 horsepower. It's getting these motors to perform well at around 900 hp that's tough. His boat is one of the heavier hulls on the circuit, and is also narrower with a bit higher crown than the more recent designs. So Woods' isn't expecting miracles; he's merely hoping to make the 51 "competitive". But he's a racer, and you can be sure that if there's any way George can get to the front, he won't wait for an invitation. The UL51 is a team entry from the tandem of Phil Bononcini & Joe Frauenheim and the UL72. Of the rest, the one team that's already drawing attention is the UL17 Miss Ted's Red Apple Market of Rick & Shawn Bridgeman, and driven by Rick. At Spring Training last month this ex GP hull, built by Jon Staudacher, showed the rest of the UL brigade that it will be a team to be reckoned. The Bridgeman's have been west coast only competitors previously in UL competition. They were the owners of what's now the UL58 of Ping Conflitti. They acquired this hull in early 2002. It made a brief appearance last year at the Olympia race, which the Bridgeman's helped to create. But after a winter's worth of hull updates directed by Ron Jones sr. and a chance to dial-in their supercharged engine program, the UL17 cut an impressive swath on the Columbia River last month. And with their commitment to race the entire UL season in 2003, don't be surprised to see this team among the leaders. Now, how about a wildcard entry. Wildcard only because, no one really knows what to expect from this team. But if spirit counts, the UL5 Team Freedom from San Diego will be at the front of the pack. Extensive offseason modifications were done, including lengthening this Jones tandem wing kit boat, assembled by original owner Howie Labrie in the mid 90's. For Labrie, he raced in UL competition with a normally aspirated engine. But now, the Southern California group enters their first full season of competition (they joined the series at Seattle last year) with supercharged power. And not just any motor. Their power comes from the engine designed by Glen Davis and built by George Woods that became the test engine for this year's supercharged engine specs. In a note sent on Thursday (6-5) the team had left their San Diego home port and expected to arrive at the Tastin & Racin pits on Friday afternoon. They also noted that their new engine "sure is loud!". The UL5 is driven by co-owner Kevin Aylesworth. Friday afternoon & evening at Tastin & Racin is "Hydro Happy Hour". The band "Crossfire" will perform live with their tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughn. Many of the teams will pit their boats Friday night in preparation for a weekend's racing action. Check in here often for frequent updates from the Unlimited Lights season opener. The long winter is over. The sun is shining in Seattle (surprise!) as well as suburban Issaquah, and Lake Sammamish State Park is alive with excitement for the 7th Annual Tastin & Racin Festival. Now we can once again heed those simple, memorable words of departed friend and former UL team owner Doug MacIntosh. This Saturday and Sunday........."Let's Go Boat Racing!" John Lynch Both photos used in this story were taken by Mark Sharley during the 2002 Tastin & Racin event! John Lynch
offers fans this week's second This weekend's 7th Annual Tastin & Racin Festival in Issaquah WA is excited to have four of the top eight teams in the 2002 standings sporting the colors of nearby Microsoft. The Unlimited Lights boats of Steve Hook, Kelly Stocklin, Pingree Conflitti and Vince Xaudaro, will be representing the "Accelerate with SharePoint Products and Technologies" campaign as part of the Microsoft Office System launch this summer. This unique arrangement isn't a traditional motorsports sponsorship. The 4 teams and the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association have joined with the Microsoft Corporation as "Launch Partners" for the company's introduction of the Microsoft Office System family of products. The ULHRA and Tastin' and Racin' are excited to welcome and host their neighbors this weekend to view the action at Lake Sammamish. What they'll see from the 4 teams is certain improvement from a year ago. First of all, the UL19 from Coeur D' Alene Idaho. Hull improvements designed to give driver Steve Hook more control of the quick, but somewhat erratic riding UL19 were implemented this past winter. As explained by co-owner Tom Eckenberg, what they've done is designed to keep the nose of the boat from getting too light. Without "burying the front end in the water" which would considerably slow the speed of the Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services entry, these adjustments hopefully will allow the aggressive driving Hook to track through the turns quicker, thus increasing lap speeds. With just a bit of lap time improvement, Steve Hook and the Windows SharePoint Services UL19 could be challenging for heat victories often in 2003.
The Microsoft Office Front Page 2003 from the Thunder Valley Racing team sports new colors this year in a dazzling paint job completed by team member and autobody shop owner John Speer of Auburn WA. The team has added a new cowling in the off-season to help with aerodynamics and airflow to the supercharged engine. Also a newly positioned front canard gives driver Stocklin more control over the attitude of the boat. In addition, to help the former Grand Prix hull track through the turns quicker, the team has added a new larger skid fin, and shifted the left side rudder to the far right side of the transom. Lead engine builder Chuck Dow has put two new "bullets" together for the UL40. Since the team will race only one boat this season, having two race ready "blower" motors for this weekend puts the host Thunder Valley Racing team in excellent mechanical position. Stocklin took Rookie of the Year honors in the ULHRA 2002 season. Thunder Valley was the team that brought supercharged power to the Unlimited Light series in 2001. Last year's fifth place finishing Stocklin hopes to build on the momentum from 2002, and wipe away a disappointment from the San Diego finale. There, in the last heat of the season, all Stocklin had to do was finish and he would've earned fourth place in the 2002 series. But his self named "ham & egger" motor, that had been quite reliable all season long, expired 500 feet from the finish line. Meantime the still quick UL21, which finished third at Issaquah a year ago with Nick Badolato at the wheel, remains in a backup role to the UL40, and will be on display at Tastin & Racin. The Thunder Valley team is hopeful of finding a new owner for the UL21, preferably in time for the new owner to race at Valleyfield one month from now. The 21 hull is race ready; just add engine. Who knows, maybe a deal will be struck this weekend. Interested? Bring your checkbook!
Then there's the "X-Man": Vince Xaudaro, owner-driver of the UL929 Microsoft Office Project. In 2002, Xaudaro broke through for his first ever UL heat victory, at San Diego. He was unable to compete at Tastin & Racin a year ago, and experienced early season engine woes. But after getting a normally aspirated engine from Gary Pugh of Tacoma WA, who also builds engines for the championship team of Joe Frauenheim and Phil Bononcini, Xaudaro had the power and reliability he was previously lacking. Then it became a matter of keeping his boat together. One of the thrilling sites for his team was the X-Man briefly leading the final heat out of the Belle Isle turn at Detroit. In 2002, fixing this, re-gluing that, and replacing rear wings became a regular activity for Xaudaro's team, yet they persevered and wound up 6th in the final standings. After an off-season of strengthening this boat, originally built as a Grand National Hydro, Xaudaro hopes for fewer problems and better finishes in 2003, including more heat victories. For the future, the X-Man has already launched plans for a new hull in 2004. Testing begins at 10am Saturday morning. A full two days of exciting racing action will take place featuring the Unlimited Lights, plus other classes including the always entertaining 5 liter hydros. This should be the largest fleet of race boats seen at Issaquah in many years. If you can't be there in person, check in here for regular updates on the season opener for the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association, this Saturday & Sunday, June 7th & 8th. John Lynch All three photos used in this story were taken by Mark Sharley during the 2002 Tastin & Racin event! In 2003 it's all about
video, audio and bringing fans into the action! The ULHRA is proud to announce that we will be bringing you streaming video and audio content on the web that will put you right in the heart of the 2003 Unlimited Light racing season. Through delay broadcast video and audio content, brought to you by the power of Microsoft, we will share the sights and sounds of our racers, our competition and our series. Our plan is to allow you, the fan, to see the action of an Unlimited Light event in a way you may not have been able to enjoy it before today. Never been to one of our races? We're going to show you why they're so much fun. Starting today and continuing over the next three days, we will look back on our Spring Training session in Tri-Cities, Washington and gear up for an action packed Tastin' n Racin' weekend. Join us throughout the season as we strive to take your racing experience to the next level. What can you do to get ready? Make sure you have upgraded to the latest version of Windows Media Player (you can download the latest version by visiting http://windowsmedia.com/9series/download/download.asp). Once you've updated your player we invite you to visit our 2003 Spring Training Highlights video by clicking the link below. If you see video and hear audio, you are ready! Sit back, relax and enjoy...
John Lynch has this week's first preview of the 2003 Season
Opener
As I look over my list of 11 confirmed entries for the season opener this week, I'm struck by whom we will see, and whom we won't see, as well as whom we might see. Let's take a look first at who won't be racing. The most noticeable absentees will be J.W. Myers UL23 Extreme Racing, John Hogan's UL37 Hogan Racing Team with driver Doug Brow, and the father & son team of Carl & Randy Haas. Unfortunately, Myers and the UL23 won't be able to build on their progress from 2002. After sustaining numerous mechanical woes with the program that was acquired from former UL owner-driver Bob Larimore of Springfield OH, Myers' team turned things around starting at Seattle where a strong qualifying run was coupled with a solid 4th place finish in the outstanding heat of the year......the Seattle UL final. The following week Myers added a 2nd place finish at Olympia, and finished the season 7th in the final standings including the 3rd fastest qualifying run at San Diego.
For Carl Haas of Toledo OH, owner of the swift UL110, the 2002 season was an abbreviated campaign. They could've won both of the races they entered last year. Particularly galling was losing at Valleyfield when the boat succumbed to engine problems while in the lead about a third of a mile from the finish line. They also competed strongly at Detroit, and in only two events scored enough points to finish 10th for the season. The senior Haas announced in a letter to the ULHRA in early spring that he's retiring and won't be competing. The future of the UL110 program is currently up in the air. It remains in Haas' possession and is race ready with 4 engines. It's a quality program for someone looking to make a strong move into Unlimited Light competition. One team we will see often in 2002, but won't see at Issaquah WA for Tastin & Racin, is the Alabama based team of Milton & Charley Wiggins. That team is expected to compete at most of the UL events this year, including Valleyfield, Detroit, Seattle, Olympia and San Diego. The team showed great promise with Detroiter Cal Phipps at the wheel. The UL10 took 2nd place in both events they competed in 2002, Detroit & San Diego, after being off the circuit for nearly 2 years.
They will initially compete as qualifying drivers. That means they are required to start their first few heats of UL competition to the outside, or behind, or outside & behind the front line. This requirement is maintained until qualifying drivers have demonstrated the necessary skill in competition water while at the wheel of these larger and more powerful hydroplanes. Whom will we see? Well that list of those who've confirmed they will compete at Tastin & Racin include..........
* Microsoft entry
Two others have not reported in the past few days, but earlier this spring had said they intended to be at Tastin & Racin. They would be occasional UL competitor, Wilsey Hamilton of Kent WA and his UL20 Overtime Racing team. The other would be a new team with a rejuvenated Ron Jones boat; the UL85 of Bill
The 2003 season is destined to be the best ever for Unlimited Light Hydroplane racing. More than 20 teams are expected to compete on the 7 race schedule which stretches from the Canadian Province of Quebec to Southern California. Plus, the future for the UL series looks very bright with active interest being generated from new potential race sites, and more new craft under construction. See you at the races.......starting this weekend in Issaquah WA. John Lynch The first three photos used in this
story were taken by Mark Sharley. The later two Mark Sharley offers a new mix of Spring
Training photos...
Looking for more Spring
Training photos? Click here for updates from May, 2003
Questions, comments? E-mail the
site's webmaster. |
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100%
Extreme Show Rundown...
Well, you can cancel that thought of 11 Unlimited Lights at Valleyfield. Because now, it'll be an even DOZEN! 
With 12 boats scheduled to compete, this may add more racing to the Valleyfield event. A decision could be made to race 4 boat preliminary heats instead of 6 boat preliminaries. If chosen, this would give the 26 foot long Unlimited Lights more racing room in the early heats on the tight one mile Valleyfield oval. 
Eleven quick Unlimited Light Hydroplanes will challenge a short race course in front of a huge throng of enthusiastic fans. The annual Molson Dry Les Regates De Valleyfield in Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada takes place July 4th through the 6th and is the second stop on the seven race 2003 ULHRA series. 
Defending 2002 Valleyfield champion Pingree Conflitti returns at the wheel of his UL58 SharePoint Portal Services entry. Conflitti is looking forward to returning to the site of his "finest hour" in ULHRA racing, after a disappointing season opener left Ping in 10th place in the 2003 standings. 
Second place at Issaquah went to Dave Bender in the UL38 Golden Nugget Casino, which was a surprise only because of the performance the team gave in the Saturday preliminaries at Issaquah. Make that lack of performance as the UL38 didn't start either heat on the first day. But they turned that around and wound up winning a Sunday preliminary and the Sunday "B" main before taking second place in the final, putting the team and driver Bender in 4th place in both points standings. Unfortunately, Bender and the UL38 from El Dorado CA will be unable to maintain or advance their points position at Valleyfield and Detroit as the team won't be able to attend.
The UL10 did not make the trip from Gadsden AL to Issaquah WA for the season opener. Valleyfield native Patrick Haworth debuted in UL competition at Regates De Valleyfield last year, and later drove the UL72 to victory at Tri Cities WA as an invitee of team owners Phil Bononcini and Joe Frauenheim. The UL10 competed twice last year, both times with the aformentioned Cal Phipps at the controls, and took second at Detroit and at San Diego. The powerful combination of Wiggins Racing and the popular & talented Patrick Haworth should be well worth watching on the 4th of July weekend. 
Jerry Hopp
contacted the series this afternoon letting everyone know that the
UL-14 team has picked up a new sponsor! Why sum it up when Jerry's recent
website update can explain it best...
The 3rd member of that terrific 3 boat final heat at Seattle remains one of the ULHRA's toughest competitors. Dave Bender and the UL38 Golden Nugget Casino nearly came from well back to oust Phil Bononcini from the driver's title in 2002. This strong running team had a series of engine problems in 2002. Otherwise they'd have been closer in the title chase. Smooth out those mechanical rough edges from 2002 and this is another championship contending team. In spite of their difficulties, and because of Dave Bender's career the team was forced to miss one race in 2002, the UL38 team went into the last race of the season at San Diego with very long odds to take the driver's championship. Even so, had one last motor failure in the 2nd heat not occurred, Bender would've entered the final heat with the driver's title on the line. Look for this team to be in the hunt all year, especially if Bender's career allows the team to be in all
seven events. 
When you see the UL40, there will be some easy to spot cosmetic changes, and some harder to spot hull improvements for driver Kelly
Stocklin. 
On the road as of midnight Sunday, is the UL58 Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 entry of owner-driver, Pingree Conflitti of Detroit. Conflitti was one of many great stories in the 2002 Unlimited Light season. Due to mechanical woes on his tow rig, the UL58 team barely made it to their first race of the season, in Kamsack, Saskatchewan. Kamsack was the second race of the 2002 season. Conflitti, as a rookie driver, had to compete with qualifying driver restrictions at Kamsack, and in the beginning of the team's second race at Valleyfield, Quebec. The lessons were well learned as Conflitti took advantage of other teams "jumping the gun" and cruised to victory in only his second ever Unlimited Light race. The win was as shocking to Conflitti as it was to the 100,000 fans at Regates De Valleyfield. Despite missing 3 events on the schedule and having prop shaft woes in Seattle, Conflitti still earned 8th place in the final standings. Look for more consistency in the UL58 team's performance in 2003 after an off-season of upgrades and a year's experience. 
After winning the 2002 GNH World Championship and finishing 9th overall in an abbreviated 2002 Unlimited Light campaign, John Hogan's race team will be inactive this year. The UL3-GNH37 was put up for sale in the off-season but so far has not found a new home. Owner Hogan came to the conclusion at the end of last season that the hull was a terrific GNH hydroplane, but insufficient to be able to really compete at the Unlimited Light level. They hope to resume UL competition in 2004. Anyone interested in a championship GNH hull should contact John Hogan. 
The "new boat" entries unfortunately won't make the first race of the season. The Washington State based teams, UL9 of Paul Droullard, the UL32 of Ray West, and the UL57 of Gary & Barbara Michael will debut later this year, bringing 3 new teams to the series, all with supercharged power. Droullard's is a self assembled boat from Ron Jones jr. components. Ray West's entry is being assembled by a longtime veteran of Unlimited hydroplane competition, Dale Van Wierengen from components built by Ron Jones jr. The Michael's boat is the latest UL creation from the all time victory leader among UL and Unlimited hydroplane builders, Ron Jones sr. Each of these teams plan to use drivers not currently qualified under UL rules, in this case the owners, Paul Droullard, Ray West and Barbara Michael. All have raced hydroplanes previously. Michaels is a current 5 litre hydroplane racer. Ray West formerly competed in the old 6 litre class, and Droullard raced in UL competition but has been inactive since the formation of the ULHRA Inc. 
In the "may be" column are three northwest teams. One is a new team in 2002, the UL18 "Mo Jo" of Joe & Jackie Turner of Allyn WA. When contacted the weekend prior to Tastin & Racin, Joe Turner said he was working hard to finish the off-season work on the UL18, formerly owned & raced in 2000 by Steve Hook. Turner said he was "this close" to being done, so hopefully the UL18 will be ready to run. Turner did make a brief appearance at Seattle in 2002. 
Nootenboom out of Canby OR. Bill, a veteran 5 litre hydroplane driver, had said their "deadline" for being ready for Tastin & Racin was May 27th. With no confirmation since the 27th it would appear as of this writing that the UL85 may not appear till later in the season. This boat was originally built in the early 70's. If the UL85 does get to Issaquah it would make an interesting tandem with the UL5 of San Diego. Both boats, at different times, were owned and raced by retired UL competitor Howie Labrie of Tacoma WA. In fact, Labrie assembled the current UL5 from a Ron Jones sr. kit back in the mid 90's. 
