"X-Man" on Fast, Wet & Wild.

 

Story.  Owner-Driver Vince "X-Man" Xaudaro is Steve Cowin's guest on this week's edition of "Fast, Wet & Wild".  Xaudaro and his team are completing a major upgrade of his UL-929 hull, including widening and lengthening the hull that Vince drove to a career best 3rd place in the final Unlimited Lights standings in 2004.  Xaudaro's season included 3 consecutive second place finishes.

 

This season Xaudaro Racing aims for the top of the UL ladder, and seeks their first ever Unlimited Lights race victory.  While any win is special, Xaudaro's own goal is to be the first native of the Tri Cities WA area to win at the HAPO Community Thunder Cup, on the Columbia River, July 29-31. 

 

Fast, Wet & Wild can be heard at www.rsbn.net, and viewed at www.rsbn.tv  Log on for show times.

Kevin Braun shares more pictures of the progress on the UL-5.
 

Lee painting the bottom of the boat.	We replaced the bad wood on the bottom of the sponsons.	We finally got the boat shiny side up, only it wasn't very shiny.

Scott Raney sends some pictures of the new cockpit going onto the S-35 Baker Equipment Lighter than Lights boat.
 

Good news from "down under".

 

Champion Grand Prix driver Grant Harrison is back at work part time following his nearly disastrous crash last month.  Thanks to ULHRA contributors Marc Perrier and Skip Young, we've learned that our Aussie friend needs about 6 more weeks for his cracked vertebrae to heal and he'll again be in excellent shape.  He's still sore from the crash, but notes that the Jamie Auld capsule did its job on his GP101 hydroplane.  It saved his life.

 

Harrison is expected to be on hand to watch the forthcoming Griffith Cup in May and the GP World Championships in June.  He had expressed the desire to be come to North America this summer for Regates De Valleyfield in July, but since the accident those plans are on hold. 

 

His team has a new Rollason GP hull just about ready.  However, any further racing plans for the remainder of 2005 are also on hold.  Of the hull that crashed, reports indicate that only the sponsons and some hardware may be salvageable. 

The Lynch Line, April 2005

 

Next month, the 2005 season gets underway with Spring Training.  The 3rd annual ULHRA Pre-Season test session is scheduled for Columbia Park in Kennewick WA, on the Tri Cities Columbia  Cup race course. The test session is open to the public free of charge, and will take place on Saturday, May 14th. 

 

Why Spring Training?  ULHRA, Inc devised this open test session for ULHRA teams for one key reason.  Private tests by individual Unlimited Light or ACCS teams can be very expensive.  Finding available water, arranging for onsite rescue personnel, contracting for a crane to launch a hydroplane all are quite costly and time consuming.  These hydroplanes are much too large to "beach launch" off of a trailer.  So ULHRA, Inc. put the concept together in 2003.  Not only do the race teams get to test prior to the season opener; Tastin n Racin at Issaquah WA June 10-12, so do ULHRA Rescue, ULHRA Officials and Administration, and of course, "The Voice".  Yes, we all need "Spring Training".  You can expect about 11 Unlimited Lights and up to 4 of the brand new Thunderboats ACCS series teams to test on the Columbia River.  See you at Tri Cities next month.

 

So, that begs the question; how many "G boats" will compete in the inaugural season of Thunderboats ACCS?  For a series that has never existed before, the total number of teams will be close to the number of Unlimited teams competing, and that class dates back more than 6 decades.  Not all of the ACCS teams will be ready for the season opener, but indications are by the time the series reaches Seafair in Seattle in August, as many as 7 ACCS teams could be on the circuit.   In fact, with the Unlimited Lights and Thunderboats ACCS both competing at Columbia Cup and Seafair, ULHRA alone may be responsible for 20 or more race entries at those two venues. When you talk with fans, three things they always want to see are, more boats, new boats, and more racing heats.  That's exactly what ULHRA Inc. provides its race site partners and race fans across North America.

 

One of the most exciting aspects of this new G-Class is, of those 7 teams expected in 2005, four of those teams are brand new construction .  A fifth entry (G-17) is virtually all new for ACCS and the other two (G-329 and a second boat to be announced soon) represent upgraded and updated hulls from the 80's.   With a single 575 cubic inch supercharged engine developing 1500 horsepower in a 3500 pound hull measuring up to 28 feet long and 13 feet wide, this is the affordable new premiere class of hydroplane racing.  And it's going to grow and grow, just like the Unlimited Lights!

 

Next month will also be the debut of the 2005 edition of Thunder & LIGHTS magazine; the official publication of ULHRA, Inc.  The first edition, a 64 page color program, was very popular last year. This year's edition will be 50% larger; 96 color pages encompassing the 3 ULHRA racing series and 8 race sites.  Thunder & LIGHTS will be available at all ULHRA events beginning with Spring Training, and it will also be available on select newsstands around North America.

 

Inside Thunder & LIGHTS 2005 you'll find the roster of Unlimited Lights and Thunderboats ACCS, or "G Boats" that will be competing in 2005.  The roster of UL's is our largest ever.  Plus, the Washington State based Lighter than LIGHTS series will feature 18 racing teams in 3 limited inboard classes involving stock and modified engines.  ULHRA Historian Fred Farley recaps the 2004 Year in Review and also contributes a column on 2 longtime veteran racers:  Jerry Hopp and George Woods.  Those two put on an outstanding display of talent in the Final Heat at Seattle's Seafair race in 2004.  In fact that's become a UL tradition in Seattle; a great Final Heat. Fans recall the 4 boat duel in 2003 won by Hopp, and the 2 boat side by side battle in 2004 where Cal Phipps overcame Dave Bender in the final 300 yards.  It was Bender's final drive in an excellent Unlimited Lights career that began in 1995 by winning the first ever Unlimited Lights event.  

 

John Lynch

"Voice" of ULHRA, Inc.

Another success on ULHRA For Sale.

 

Story:  Kent Brodie II reports that his GNH44 has been sold. If you have a UL or G,  or LTL (2.5 stock, 5 Liter or National Mod) caliber hull for sale, you can use this service to attract buyers.  Contact John Lynch with your listing at the email address on this site. 

Aussie racer Grant Harrison returning home after near tragedy.

 

Thanks to Hal Littlewood, Skip Young, and others, we now have some additional information on the crash that seriously injured Grant Harrison, reigning GP champion of Australia and a good friend of ULHRA.  The story has a positive result we like to relate.

 

First, unfortunately the boat is likely beyond repair.  Reports indicate it may have struck debris in the water which broke off the rudder and a portion of the rear of the boat, sending it into a blowover accident.  Harrison suffered a serious neck injury, but there is no paralysis and he's about to return to his home in Melbourne. 

 

The wreck occurred on a test run.  Because of the outstanding work of the Taree Rescue Team, Harrison was removed from the wreck and transported to the hospital with no further injury.  It was an extremely delicate rescue, as reports indicate Harrison's neck fracture came within 1.5 millimeters of his spinal cord which would've resulted in permanent disability or possibly even death.  We're told that the Taree Rescue Team is highly regarded in Australia.  We highly regard our own ULHRA Rescue Team and salute those members of Taree Rescue for a job well done.  Rescue is one of those required elements at a hydroplane race that we all hope never has to be used.  But because of groups like Taree Rescue in Australia, and ULHRA Rescue in the USA, hydroplane racers feel much more comfortable at speed knowing that if trouble occurs, the best in the business are only seconds away.

 

John Lynch

"Voice" of ULHRA.

HAPO Community Thunder Cup coming to Tri Cities WA this July. 

HAPO Community Credit Union has signed on as Title Sponsor for the Unlimited Lights event at the annual Columbia Cup, July 29-31.  Tri Cities Water Follies President Todd Blackwell announced the sponsorship as part of Eastern Washington's largest weekend event. 

BELFAIR, Wash. – Gigi McKay, co-owner and co-driver of Belfair’s Namron Racing Team’s 5-Litre hydroplane, is one of 40 women selected from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia to take part in "Changing Gears – The Global Run." McKay will ride in the United States’ leg in Southern California in late September.

The goal of this unique event is to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer support programs in all three countries. All official riders and support van drivers selected in Changing Gears are all young breast cancer survivors.

"Riding was the thing that kept me from feeling sorry for myself and giving in to cancer," McKay said. "I knew that as long as I could ride I could kick cancer’s butt. I was strong because I rode."

Changing Gears is a global motorcycle relay where young breast cancer survivors from across the world will take part in one-week rides in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia. Participants arrive three days early for practice rides before setting out on the adventure of a lifetime.

Applications for the ride were recruited through publicity and email campaigns and women’s motorcycling groups. The standard of applications was very high, and the personal experiences shared were all compelling, said Changing Gears officials. Final selections were based on motorcycling experience, geographic distribution and diversity of participants and logistical considerations.

"To be able to be a part of Changing Gears is a dream come true," McKay said. "It is so important to educate young women about breast cancer and that life does go on after a diagnosis."

No one knows that better than McKay. Besides surviving surgeries and treatments for breast cancer – twice – McKay has also survived melanoma, cervical and endometrial cancers.

"Today I feel great," McKay said, "and look forward to heading to California to take part in the United States leg of this unique global run."

The United States leg is Sept. 24 - Oct. 1 from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Each day along the route will include major media events and promotional stops to bring awareness to breast cancer issues among young women.

The other rides are:

United Kingdom: Aug. 20-27 – London to Edinburgh

Australia: Oct. 23-30 2005 – Sydney to Brisbane

Harley-Davidson loans brand new motorcycles for the ride in the United States and Australia. Negotiations are underway with motorcycle manufacturers in the United Kingdom, according to Changing Gears officials. But McKay plans to ride her own motorcycle – a customized 1998 Harley-Davidson Road King Classic.

"This is the bike my Uncle Floyd Burks rode when he set out on an 11,000-mile adventure across America when he first learned that he had inoperable brain cancer," McKay said. "He passed away in the summer of 2003. He left me his bike, as he knew I would cherish it and keep it in the wind in his honor. Each time I pull the throttle and hear the roar of the engine, I know Uncle is riding along with me."

On the Changing Gears 2005 official website – www.changinggears.org/gigimckay.htm – donations can be made directly toward McKay’s contribution online. Donations through this site are fully tax-deductible, made through Amazon Heart, a nonprofit project of The National Heritage Foundation. Also, McKay said that she would look for sponsors to help pay for the cost of travel and shipping her bike to Los Angeles and then back home from San Francisco.

This isn’t McKay’s only quest in raising money for cancer awareness. Along with her husband Bud McKay and their Namron Racing Team 5-Litre hydroplane, the McKay’s donate all prize money and show money to cancer research.

"When you’ve been impacted with cancer like I have, it changes your life and your outlook," she said. "That’s why it’s so important that we as survivors go out and educate people about prevention, treatment and hope.

"I was told years ago that I couldn’t have any more children because of all of the chemotherapy and radiation treatment. But in 2003, my husband and I found out we were going to be parents again. Our baby, Harley Amber McKay just turned one last month -- never lose hope."