For the Reporter
Jimmy Shane wants to give the Oberto Beef Jerky unlimited hydroplane team a great sendoff for the sponsor’s final race, and Saturday he got off to a great start in accomplishing that goal.
The Covington driver outran his main competition, Bonney Lake’s J. Michael Kelly in the Graham Trucking, to take a preliminary heat with an average speed of 154.504 mph and cement his H1 Unlimited Hydroplane National High Points lead.
It also makes Shane one of the favorites to capture the 51st running of the San Diego Bayfair Regatta on Sunday afternoon.
Shane and his team also have a 766-point lead over Kelly with three heat races remaining as he tries to capture his second consecutive championship.
“We weren’t going to take it easy, but we sure did not want to make any mistakes,” Shane said. “We came out here to race, put on a great show for the fans and make it a grand sendoff for the Oberto family and their sponsorship.”
The Kent-based Oberto sponsorship will end this year after a 40-year run in unlimited hydroplanes, 16 of those years with the Madison, Ind., community-owned team now being piloted by Shane.
During that 16-year sponsorship run, Oberto hydros have won 19 races, including two Gold Cup titles, five H1 high points boat championships and seven driver’s titles. Oberto has sponsored 10 unlimited hydroplanes going back to 1975 and is the longest continuous sponsor in the history of H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Racing.
On Saturday, Heat 1A was filled with questions as the final results were not confirmed until well after heat 1B had been completed. But there was no question as to who won the heat – Cal Phipps in the Dalton Industries hydroplane, decisively.
“It was real tough in there at the start with the boats almost bumping each other. It was like an old five-litre race,” Phipps said. “I found myself tucked in on the inside and found some space and then took off.”
Race officials had to look at the video to sort out the final results.
The first unlimited heat starts Sunday at 1:40 p.m. with the championship final scheduled for 4:10.
Check www.sandiegobayfair.org for the full schedule of the day’s activities.
SAN DIEGO BAYFAIR SATURDAY PRELIMINARY HEATS
HEAT 1A
1, Cal Phipps, Dalton Industries, 149.564 mph
2, Jesse Robertson, Graham Trucking II, 135.068
3, Scott Liddycoat, 811 / Red Dot, 133.237
4, Jimmy King, Home Street Bank, 127.280
5, Brian Perkins All Access Rentals, 137.738
HEAT 1B
1, Jimmy Shane, Oberto Beef Jerky, 154.504
2, J. Michael Kelly, Graham Trucking, 151.184
3, Kevin Eacret, Miss CARSTAR, 128.709
4, Tom Thompson, Peters & May, 130.222
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