Two H1 boats on Doha Bay in 2010

Spirit of Qatar driver Dave Villwock is looking to finish a record-breaking season with an unprecedented tenth national high points driver championship when the H1 Unlimited hydroplane series takes to the water in Doha for the Oryx Cup World Championships.

Barring a major mechanical problem or a mishap, Villwock should be able to lock up the driver championship within his first two heats and turn his full attention to winning a second consecutive Oryx Cup.

 In a testament to how balanced the racing has been this season, just 20 points separate teammates Scott Liddycoat and Jeff Bernard for the runner-up spot in the national high points championship. Lurking just 300 points behind is three-time national high points driver Steve David, who had to sit out the Detroit race because of an injury.

 The race for second place in the high points championship is just one of several storylines going into the season finale in Doha. The Miss Red Dot team is hoping to cap a remarkable season with a second-place showing in the boat high points championship. (The sport keeps separate point totals for the drivers and the boats.) In that race, Oh Boy! Oberto trails Miss Red Dot by 55 points.

 “We’re the first to admit that we’ve had some luck go our way,” said Nate Brown, owner of Miss Red Dot and uncle of driver Kip Brown. “But we’ve also emerged this season as one of the teams to beat.”

 Villwock goes into Qatar putting together another impressive season capturing three races (David has won two) and becoming the sport’s all-time winningest driver. Villwock surpassed the late Bill Muncey with 65 career race victories. Being sponsored by the country of Qatar, Villwock is a favorite for the hometown fans.

 “We’re definitely playing in the stadium for us,” Villwock said. “I’m going to try and treat it as any other race but I would like to win it again for the fans.”

 Liddycoat in the Valken.com boat will be racing in Qatar and for the first time and will be seeking some advice from teammate Bernard on how to race the 2-mile course in the Corniche. Liddycoat would not only like to cap his season with his first race victory but he would also like to finish high in the national high points championship.

 “I don’t want to say that I’m shocked that I could finish second in the point standings,” Liddycoat said. “But it’s kind of shocking.”

 As the drivers and crew chiefs will share, the key to winning the Oryx Cup is setup. This year you might add luck to that list. H1 Unlimited changed its starting procedures prior the Air National Guard Championships in San Diego in an effort to preserve equipment at the saltwater races.

 Rather than fight for lanes, drivers now pick lanes for their heat based on the order in a blind draw. The tour also implemented a 10-length overlap rule and requires drivers to maintain their lanes through the first turn.

 David is not a fan of the late-season rule change but he understands the tour is trying to keep the expensive turbine engines from being badly damaged or destroyed.

 “The luck of the draw kind of takes some of the racing out of it,” said David, whose team has won the last three national high points championships. “In our case, we’re going to run it like we stole it in Qatar. We’re fighting for second and I want to put us in a position to get that.”

 Twelve boats will be taking part in next week’s Oryx Cup World Championships that is being staged by the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), under the presidency of His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani.

 In the past two years just 10 boats raced in the championship. This year two additional boats, owned by Ken Muscatel, and Steve and Sue Webster, will be joining the fleet after an appearance at the Union Internationale Motonatique meeting last month in Abu Dhabi. 

 H1 Chairman Sam Cole sees the race in Doha as part of a larger expansion of racing internationally. He foresees a day when the H1 Unlimited circuit has a domestic and international circuit.

 “We’ve proven that we can race abroad,” Cole said. “We want to take the sport global. And obviously Doha is at the top of that.”

 Racing starts Thursday with a qualifying session followed by preliminary heats on Friday and Saturday. The final for the Oryx Cup will take place at approximately 2 a.m. PST on Saturday. (Note: Qatar is 11 hours ahead of the West Coast.)

 The heats and the final will be streamed live on www.h1unlimited.com. The race from Doha will be televised on the Versus Network on Christmas Day.

Times shown are local at the race site.

Qatar is 8 hours ahead of Eastern Time.  11 hours ahead of Pacific Time

Thursday, November 17^th

 8:00AM – 9:00 AM      Driver’s Meeting

9:30 AM – 12:00 PM   Unlimited Testing

1:00 PM – 4:00 PM     Unlimited Qualifying

4:15 PM                       Podium Event for Top Three Qualifiers, Draw for Heats 1A and 1B

4:30 PM – 6:00 PM     Pit Area Open to Public

 Friday, November 18^th

 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM   Unlimited Testing

11:15 AM                    Driver’s Meeting

1:00 PM                       Heat 1A

1:30 PM                       Heat 1B

1:50 PM                       Podium Event for Winners 1A and 1B, Draw for 2A and 2B

2:45 PM                       Heat 2A

3:15 PM                       Heat 2B

3:35 PM                       Podium Event for Winners 2A and 2B, Draw for 3A and 3B

3:40 PM – 5:00 PM     Pit Area Open to Public + VIP Tours

 Saturday, November 19^th

 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM     Unlimited Testing

11:00 AM                    Heat 3A

11:20 AM                    Heat 3B

11:35 AM                    Podium Event for Winners 3A and 3B, Draw for 4A and 4B

12:45 PM                     Heat 4A

1:05 PM                       Heat 4B

3:00 PM                       Oryx Cup World Championship

3:30 PM                       Podium Awards Presentation

8:00 PM                       Gala Dinner and Awards Presentation

Steve Montgomery

Fans in the US who want to ignore the time zone differences and see the Oryx Cup UIM World Championships LIVE November 18 & 19 should see a major upgrade in the quality of the live stream for this year’s event.

H1’s Steve Montgomery, host of the live streaming programs, says, “The Qatar Marine Sports Federation has worked with us and Tampa Digital to address the issues we have had in the past with our ability to get a quality video stream onto the internet from the Middle East.  We will be using a new 3G router from Q-Tel, the local provider in Doha,  that will give us a minimum of 8 times the upload speed we have had in the past.”

Because of the time zone differences, racing in Doha takes place in the middle of the night in the continental US, with the final heat taking place at approximately 7am Eastern and 4am Pacific time on Saturday November 19, 2011.

In the past, all-night viewing parties in Madison, Indiana and at the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum in Kent, Washington have been well attended and are planned again for the upcoming Oryx Cup.

“We want to send special thanks to Mohammed A. Al-Qaryouti, technical support for the QMSF, for his help in getting us the facilities we need to provide our fans with a quality viewing experience for this year’s race,” added Montgomery.

Dr Raffaele Chiulli

Raffaele Chiulli has been re-elected with a clear majority in the first round of voting as President of
the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM), the International Powerboating Federation and world
governing body for all Powerboating activities, at the 84th annual General Assembly staged at the
astonishing Yas Island – Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.

During his first mandate Dr. Chiulli fully accomplished all the UIM strategic plan projects and delivered on his promises. The UIM
President soon after the election stated “I am very proud and honoured to have been confirmed by
the General Assembly as leader of the International Powerboating Federation for a further four years
term and I will continue the strengthening the UIM position as the world’s governing body and the
driving force behind powerboating.”

H1 Unlimited Chairman Sam Cole, who attended the 84th General Assembly of the UIM in Abu Dhabi, added, “We look forward to working with Raffaele and building a strong relationship between H1 Unlimited and U.I.M.”

Since 1992, Dave Villwock has won a total of 65 first-place trophies (through San Diego 2011). Among Unlimited hydroplane drivers, only the late Bill Muncey (with 62) and the retired Chip Hanauer (with 61) are even close to Villwock’s record.

Dave won the very first Unlimited race that he ever drove (San Diego 1992). No one had done this since Howie Benns in 1974.
 
Villwock has won ten High Point Driver Championships and nine APBA Gold Cups, in addition to ten Seattle Seafair Regattas, nine Evansville Freedom Festivals, eight Indiana Governor’s Cups, and eight Tri-Cities Columbia Cups.

Dave has scored his victories driving for the COORS DRY, PICO AMERICAN DREAM, MISS BUDWEISER, and MISS E-LAM PLUS/SPIRIT OF QATAR teams.

Records are made to be broken, or they cease to have meaning.

Muncey won his first race in 1956 and took over the lead in total victories in 1962, when he surpassed Danny Foster who won 14 races between 1946 and 1955.

Hanauer won his first race in 1979 and retired in 1999 when he was one victory short of Muncey’s total. Chip would have equaled Bill’s accomplishment if he hadn’t jumped the gun (by less than one second) in the Final Heat at Evansville, Indiana, in 1999.
 
Villwock also leads in another important category. And that is winning percentage. He has 65 wins in 130 races. That’s a percentage of .500, the highest of any driver in the post-World War II era, as indicated below:

1-DAVE VILLWOCK - 65 wins in 130 races – .500
1992-2011

2-CHIP HANAUER – 61 wins in 160 races – .381
1976-1999

3-GEORGE HENLEY – 12 wins in 34 races – .353
1970-1975

4-RON MUSSON – 16 wins in 47 races – .340
1959-1966

5-DEAN CHENOWETH – 25 wins in 75 races – .333
1968-1982

6-JIM KROPFELD – 22 wins in 66 races – .333
1982-1990

7-BILL MUNCEY – 62 wins in 191 races – .325
1950-1981

8-JACK REGAS – 9 wins in 28 races – .321
1954-1968

9-DANNY FOSTER – 14 wins in 45 races – .311
1946-1965

10-BILL STEAD – 9 wins in 30 races – .300
1953-1959

The above statistics reflect only those drivers with 20 or more major race appearances. A major race is defined as one being scheduled for a minimum of two heats with at least four Unlimited hydroplanes making a legal start. Not included are secondary races, exhibition races, and races conducted elsewhere than the United States, Canada, Mexico, or Qatar.

By Fred Farley  – H1 Unlimited Historian