HydroInsider.com Editor: Paul Dughi
Detroit, MICH - Unlimited Hydroplane racing continued on Sunday in the hunt for the Gold Cup. Sunday racing saw the first heat win ever for a rookie, Scott Liddycoat. Defending champion Dave Villwock needed to win every heat to get into the finals and he made it a clean sweep on Sunday to get there.
Villwock was trying to become the winningest Unlimited Hydroplane driver of all time.
GOLD CUP FINALS
In the milling period before the start, Jeff Bernard tried to leap-frog everyone and grab an inside lane. Dave Villwock took the inside lane, but wound up in lane three when J. Michael Kelly slid inside and Bernard in lane two.
At the start, Villwock was in fourth place. Kelly took the early lead at the start and held the inside. Villwock was able to go wide and outrun Kelly. Going into turn four, Villwock tightened up and Kelly went a little wide. Bernard went through the rooster tail, got washed down, and lost some parts.
Villwock was able to take the lead when Kelly slowed. Kelly was assessed a one lap penalty for bearing out, causing Bernard to get washed down. Bernard was able to keep the boat together and move into second place.
But wait a minute... the front canard split off the U-5. He'd already lost the rear stabilizer and some other parts. The wing was straight up on the boat, but he kept the boat running and on the course and managed to finish despite losing a lot of control.
Villwock was able to keep the boat under control and ran to victory. It was his 9th Gold Cup win and his 63rd career win, passing up Bill Muncey for the all-time career record. A great weekend for Liddycoat, finishing second in only his second weekend of Unlimited racing.
Gold Cup Final Results
- U-96 Dave Villwock
- U-7 Scott Liddycoat
- U-5 Jeff Bernard
- U-17 Cal Phipps
- U-88 J. Michael Kelly - ONE LAP PENALTY
Sunday Heat Races
Heat 4A
Rookie Scott Liddycoat continues to impress in the U-7 and he continued that streak in Heat 4A. It was a two boat race, deck-to-deck throughout the entire first lap. Kelly grabbed the lead by a couple of boat laps, but Liddycoat grabbed it back. What a great race! In the final turn of lap three, Kelly went inside and went back into first place.
Kelly was first out of the exit pin on the last turn, but Liddycoat showed great boat speed in the U-7 and took the lead back coming off the final turn on the outside of lap four to win. The margin of victory for Liddycoat was about six feet (half a sponson).
It was Liddycoat's first ever win in an Unlimited Hydroplane.
Heat 4A Results
- U-7 Scott Liddycoat
- U-88 J. Michael Kelly
- U-17 Cal Phipps
- U-21 Brian Perkins
- U-11 JW Myers - ONE LAP PENALTY/JUMPED THE GUN
Heat 4B
Defending champion Dave Villwock needed to put up some serious points to get into the final. He was a few points short due to a mechanical issue which forced him to sit out the first heat on Saturday.
Villwock took the inside lane and the lead at the start line. Villwock simply outran everybody, opening up a huge lead at the end of the first lap.
Villwock was assessed a monetary penalty for momentarily entering the DMZ prior to the start, but it did not affect his finish.
Heat 4B Results
- U-96 Dave Villwock
- U-5 Jeff Bernard
- U-100 Greg Hopp
- U-1 Jon Zimmerman
DNS. U-22 Mike Webster
Heat 3A Results
- U-17 Cal Phipps
- U-88 J. Michael Kelly
- U-7 Scott Liddycoat
- U-57 Mark Evans
- U-21 Brian Perkins
DNS. U-22 Mike Webster
Heat 3B Results
- U-96 Dave Villwock
- U-5 Jeff Bernard
- U-100 Greg Hopp
- U-1 Jon Zimmerman
- U-11 JW Myers
Saturday Heat Races
Heat 1A Results
- U-88 J. Michael Kelly
- U-7 Scott Liddycoat
- U-100 Greg Hopp
- U-1 Jon Zimmerman
Heat 1B Results
- U-17 Cal Phipps
- U-21 Brian Perkins
- U-5 Jeff Bernard - ONE LAP PENALTY / HIT BUOY
DNS. U-96 Dave Villwock
Heat 1C Results
- U-11 JW Myers
DNF. U-57
DNS. U-22 Mike Webster
Heat 2A Results
- U-96 Dave Villwock
- U-17 Cal Phipps
- U-57 Mark Evans
DNF. U-22 Mike Webster
Heat 2B Results
- U-5 Jeff Bernard
- U-88 J. Michael Kelly
- U-11 JW Myers
- U-1 Jon Zimmerman - ONE LAP PENALTY / HIT BUOY
Heat 2C Results
- U-100 Greg Hopp
- U-7 Scott Liddycoat - ONE LAP PENALTY / BEARING OUT
- U-21 Brian Perkins - ONE LAP PENALTY / JUMPED THE GUN
