Scott Liddycoat with Mr. Sami Abu Shaika of the UIM and Qatar Marine Sports Federation

H1 Unlimited driver Scott Liddycoat admits he could get use to the pomp and circumstance that comes with winning a UIM World Championship. A trip to Monte Carlo, Monaco, red carpet entry to the UIM Award Giving Gala and adulation from the world’s top boat racers was just part of being a champion.

“It’s definitely the lifestyles of the rich and famous,” said Liddycoat with a laugh.
“I plan on going back next year.”

Liddycoat earned the trip to the gala by winning the Oryx Cup UIM World Championship last year in Doha, Qatar. Also representing H1 Unlimited was Dave Holley, CEO of Peters & May, and a sponsor of the hydroplane series. Peters & May Peters is also the official logistics provider of the UIM, founding partner of the UIM youth foundation and a sponsor of the gala dinner for the past two years.

More than 400 people attended the UIM Award Giving Gala that honored 60 racers from 28 countries. The Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) is the world’s governing body for powerboat racing and recognizes classes from small outboards to unlimited hydroplane racing.

Liddycoat and his wife, Kim, not only attended the event in Monte Carlo to accept the award but to promote the sport to the international dignitaries. H1 Unlimited has been working on an international expansion and in 2011 sent two hydroplanes to the UIM conference in Abu Dhabi. The series is also actively looking to stage a race in China.

“The people we spoke with would really like to see them race internationally,” Liddycoat said. “They’re impressed that the boats run 200 mph on an oval track. It’s not something they see overseas.”

At the February 11th gala, the UIM showed video highlights of his Valken.com boat running on the water before giving the Suffolk, Va., resident his award. The win in Doha was the first Unlimited hydroplane career victory for the rookie driver. Liddycoat is expected to collect another honor (Rookie of the Year) next week when H1 Unlimited has its awards banquet in Seattle.

While there may have been a language barrier with some of the fellow racers, Liddycoat said they all have a strong passion for boat racing.

“We’re all motorheads and boat guys, that’s for sure,” he said. “Sometimes we may not have understood what we were talking about but when it came to the boats, we all understood.”

Peters & May’s Holley said Liddycoat was a fine representative for the sport.

“It was great to see H1 so well represented at the awards, Scott was a great ambassador and this combined with the brief video clip made sure that H1 was well and truly put on the world map,” Holley said.

Added H1 Unlimited Chairman Sam Cole, “I’m proud that Scott went to Monaco to represent the world’s fastest boats. He’s a fine example of the future of our sport.”

In his first season, Liddycoat finished third in the 2011 National High Points Championship. In addition to winning the season-ending Oryx Cup, Liddycoat had two second-place finishes and a third-place showing.

Global boat shipping and logistics provider Peters & May is returning to the H1 Air National Guard Hydroplane Series in 2012 with the inaugural team assembled for the 2011 season and hopes for a “Happy New Year.” In its first season as an independent team running under the Peters & May Racing banner, the Edmonds, Washington-based Unlimited Racing Group (URG) finished a disappointing but encouraging ninth place overall. “We are not happy with that finish at all,” said team URG team owner Scott Raney, “2011 was a discovery year with the new boat and we now feel like we have a pretty good idea how the boat will run and what we need to do.”

Last year, the team made its debut in a new 30-foot hydro, powered by a T-55 Lycoming helicopter turbine producing more than 2600 h.p. and was encouraged by a heat win at the fabled Detroit Gold Cup; growing pains and mechanical gremlins prevented the team from realizing its full potential, with only a consolation heat victory in San Diego near the end of the season to bolster its hopes. “We’ve used this winter to improve our equipment depth, which will give us the ability to run quite a bit harder in 2012,” Raney said. “We are excited that Peters & May will continue to support our program, because none of this would be possible without that relationship. Peters & May is extremely supportive not only of our program, but many other programs in boat racing as well.”

Peters & May CEO David Holley said it was an easy decision to continue working with URG and driver JW Myers despite the 2011 finish. “Obviously, we all would have preferred a winning season in 2011, but it was never a realistic expectation with a relatively new team,” Holley said. “If your team’s not winning, you look for the factors that make a winner: hard work, determination and heart. The URG team from top to bottom has a ‘do what needs to be done attitude’ which fits perfectly with the Peters & May philosophy of business and customer service. We look forward to the coming race season.”

The team has plenty of time to get the 2012 Peters & May unlimited hydroplane dialed-in and ready for the July 1 “Lucas Oil Indiana Governor’s Cup” in Madison, Indiana. The team will campaign under the same U-11 number with “J-Dub” Myers at the helm and as an ownership partner with Scott Raney and his wife Shannon; Peters & May will continue as the transportation sponsor for the Air National Guard Hydroplane series.

 The UK-headquartered Peters & May, an international yacht transport leader, has transportation and logistics arrangements with racing classes in several race series, as well as team sponsorships in a variety of race classes in the US and abroad.

Pictures and video of the 2011 SBI World Championships are available on the  

Peters & May Racing Facebook Page.

For more information on Peters & May visit www.petersandmay.com.

The 2012 Madison Regatta will be featured at three major Mid-West boat shows in January and February.

Cincinnati Travel, Sports & Boat Show: January 20 – 22 & January 25 – 29, 2012. Miss Madison Display Boat will be onsite at location B6 in the Duke Energy Convention Center. website: http://www.hartproductions.com/travel-sport-and-boat-show/

Louisville Boat, RV & Sportshow Show: January 25 – 29, 2012. Madison Regatta will have a booth onsite. website: http://www.louisvilleboatshow.com/

Indianapolis Boat, Sport & Travel Show: February 17 – 26, 2012. Miss Madison Display Boat will be onsite at location C143-C146 in the Pepsi Coliseum. website: http://indianapolisboatsportandtravelshow.com/

The field for the 2011 Vic Nelawake Unlimited Spirit Award has been narrowed to five.

The Vic Nelawake Unlimited Spirit Award recognizes an individual whose voluntary contributions to the sport of Unlimited Hydroplane Racing stand out among all volunteers, and have demonstrated the same selfless dedication and inspiring spirit that Vic was known for.

Any person who makes an on-going, beyond a single season, and outstanding voluntary, non-salaried contribution of time and talent is eligible to receive the Award.

To cast your vote CLICK HERE.