Dozen drivers to compete for APBA Gold Cup | Hydros

Published 12:09 pm Thursday, July 23, 2015

Staff reports

For the ReporterA field of 12 H1 unlimited hydroplane drivers will vie for the prestigious HAPO APBA Gold Cup at this weekend’s Tri-City Water Follies race card on the Columbia River.

Action begins Friday, with testing and qualifying. Racing is Saturday with the championship final on Sunday.

It will be the first time the APBA Gold Cup has been raced outside of Detroit since 1989.”The Gold Cup is the oldest active trophy in motorsports, and to have it in Tri-Cities on the 50th anniversary of its unlimited history is exciting for the fans and all of us in the sport,” said Steve David, H1 unlimited series chairman.

Covington’s Jimmy Shane, driving the U-1 Oberto, is the defending APBA Gold Cup champion.

The Gold Cup race, first contested in 1904, was America’s answer to the highly touted International Harmsworth Trophy. Since ’04, the Gold Cup has been run each year except during World War II and when weather conditions forced a cancellation.

This weekend’s race is the 106th running of the Gold Cup and the fifth time Tri-Cities has hosted the prestigious race.

The only piston-powered Allison boat, the U-3 Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware piloted by Jimmy King, will battle 11 racing turbine-powered hydroplanes for the title.

Theoret is back

In addition to Shane, Jean Theoret is the only other driver in the field who has won the Gold Cup. Theoret, who won the 2006 race for Billy and Jane Schumacher, returns to the H1 series full-time this year in the U-96 Elam Plus. The new U-96 hull, christened last year at this race, is one of the front-runners for this year’s Gold Cup.

Shane drove the Oberto/Miss Madison to victory last year in the APBA Gold Cup in Detroit. The victory gave the City of Madison community-owned boat its first win since 1971 in boat racing’s marquee event.

Shane’s job was made easier when his main competitor, Bonney Lake’s J. Michael Kelly in the Graham Trucking, was assessed a one-lap penalty prior to the start of the championship heat.

Shane and the Oberto team also scored their only other victory at last year’s HAPO Columbia Cup in Tri-Cities.

First high-point race

This weekend’s APBA Gold Cup race will be the first national high-point race of the season. High-water levels on the Ohio River forced H1 series officials to put on a non-high point shootout event in Madison, Ind., on July 5. In the shootout, Kelly and U-5 Graham Trucking hydro edged Shane and the Oberto in the final heat, setting the up Shane and Kelly as the favorites for the 2015 Gold Cup.

The Grand Prix West automotive-powered boats, the APBA one-litre class and vintage unlimited hydroplanes also will take to the Columbia River this weekend.

For ticket and more information on this week’s Gold Cup, go to www.waterfollies.com.

Seafair showdown on deck

The series turns to Seattle and the challenging Lake Washington waters on July 31-Aug. 2.

Testing and qualifying for the Albert Lee Appliance Seafair Cup begin on that Friday, with heat action on Saturday and final racing on Sunday.

KIRO 7 will air the action throughout the day.

For more on the hydro series, visit www.h1unlimited.com.