Villwock Wins 2025 APBA Gold Cup – Ties Hanauer for Most Titles in Trophy’s History

Owner Bruce Ratchford and Dave Villwock savor the victory at the 2025 Apollo APBA Gold Cup

The 115th running of the APBA Gold Cup, the most prestigious trophy in hydroplane racing, concluded Sunday in Tri-Cities, WA with a landmark victory by Dave Villwock, driver of the U-27 Miss Apollo. With this win, Villwock ties Chip Hanauer for the most Gold Cup titles in history and secures his 68th career victory, moving ahead of both Bill Muncey (62 wins) and Hanauer (61 wins) on the all-time leaderboard.

More than just a personal achievement, the win fulfilled Villwock’s wish to offer Bruce Ratchford, owner of the U-27 and sponsor through Apollo Mechanical, his first-ever Gold Cup victory in front of a hometown crowd. The win in Tri-Cities, where Apollo Mechanical is based, made the moment all the more meaningful.

Sunday Heats Recap – Tight Matchups and Penalty Calls

The day featured six heats, during which the U-8 Beacon Electric (J. Michael Kelly), U-9 Beacon Plumbing (Corey Peabody), and U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate (Andrew Tate) competed in three heats each—putting drivers and crews to the test.

Heat 3A

  • 1st: U-9 Beacon Plumbing – Corey Peabody
  • 2nd: U-8 Beacon Electric – J. Michael Kelly
  • DNS: U-11 FLAV-R-PAC – Jamie Nilsen
  • DSQ: U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate – Andrew Tate (N2 violation: exceeding 110% RPM for more than 3 seconds, three times)

Penalties:

  • U-8 Beacon Electric – Encroachment on U-91 (Rule 5-C1) – 1-minute penalty
  • U-9 Beacon Plumbing – Bearing out on U-91 (Rule 5-G) – 1-minute penalty

Heat 3B

  • 1st: U-27 Miss Apollo – Dave Villwock
  • 2nd: U-21 Spirit of America – Gunnar O’Farrell

Heat 4A

  • 1st: U-27 Miss Apollo – Dave Villwock
  • 2nd: U-11 FLAV-R-PAC – Jamie Nilsen
  • 3rd: U-21 Spirit of America – Gunnar O’Farrell

Heat 4B

  • 1st: U-9 Beacon Plumbing – Corey Peabody
  • 2nd: U-8 Beacon Electric – J. Michael Kelly
  • 3rd: U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate – Andrew Tate

Final Heat – 2025 APBA Gold Cup

Following heat points and standings, six boats qualified for the final, including the trailer:

  • U-8 Beacon Electric – J. Michael Kelly
  • U-9 Beacon Plumbing – Corey Peabody
  • U-11 FLAV-R-PAC – Jamie Nilsen
  • U-21 Spirit of America – Gunnar O’Farrell
  • U-27 Miss Apollo – Dave Villwock
  • U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate – Andrew Tate (qualified as the trailer)

At the start, U-8, U-9, and U-21 jumped the gun, each incurring a 1-minute penalty. That cleared the way for Villwock in U-27 to maintain the lead throughout the race and secure the Gold Cup title.

Final Results:
1st: U-27 Miss Apollo – Dave Villwock
2nd: U-11 FLAV-R-PAC – Jamie Nilsen
3rd: U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate – Andrew Tate

Mechanical Trouble for U-12 Graham Trucking

Earlier in the day, the U-12 Graham Trucking – Jeff Bernard sustained significant damage when a propeller blade broke off and punctured the bottom of the boat. The team was forced to withdraw from further competition. A full damage assessment is underway, and H1 Unlimited will provide updates. We hope to see the U-12 back on the water next weekend.

Thank You to All Involved

H1 Unlimited congratulates Dave Villwock, the U-27 Miss Apollo team, and BWR Racing on this historic performance. We also extend our sincere thanks to the sponsors, volunteers, officials, and fans who made the 2025 Gold Cup possible.

See you next week in Seattle for Seafair.

Published On: July 28th, 2025Categories: Featured Content, Tri-Cities

Villwock Wins 2025 APBA Gold Cup – Ties Hanauer for Most Titles in Trophy’s History

Owner Bruce Ratchford and Dave Villwock savor the victory at the 2025 Apollo APBA Gold Cup

The 115th running of the APBA Gold Cup, the most prestigious trophy in hydroplane racing, concluded Sunday in Tri-Cities, WA with a landmark victory by Dave Villwock, driver of the U-27 Miss Apollo. With this win, Villwock ties Chip Hanauer for the most Gold Cup titles in history and secures his 68th career victory, moving ahead of both Bill Muncey (62 wins) and Hanauer (61 wins) on the all-time leaderboard.

More than just a personal achievement, the win fulfilled Villwock’s wish to offer Bruce Ratchford, owner of the U-27 and sponsor through Apollo Mechanical, his first-ever Gold Cup victory in front of a hometown crowd. The win in Tri-Cities, where Apollo Mechanical is based, made the moment all the more meaningful.

Sunday Heats Recap – Tight Matchups and Penalty Calls

The day featured six heats, during which the U-8 Beacon Electric (J. Michael Kelly), U-9 Beacon Plumbing (Corey Peabody), and U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate (Andrew Tate) competed in three heats each—putting drivers and crews to the test.

Heat 3A

  • 1st: U-9 Beacon Plumbing – Corey Peabody
  • 2nd: U-8 Beacon Electric – J. Michael Kelly
  • DNS: U-11 FLAV-R-PAC – Jamie Nilsen
  • DSQ: U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate – Andrew Tate (N2 violation: exceeding 110% RPM for more than 3 seconds, three times)

Penalties:

  • U-8 Beacon Electric – Encroachment on U-91 (Rule 5-C1) – 1-minute penalty
  • U-9 Beacon Plumbing – Bearing out on U-91 (Rule 5-G) – 1-minute penalty

Heat 3B

  • 1st: U-27 Miss Apollo – Dave Villwock
  • 2nd: U-21 Spirit of America – Gunnar O’Farrell

Heat 4A

  • 1st: U-27 Miss Apollo – Dave Villwock
  • 2nd: U-11 FLAV-R-PAC – Jamie Nilsen
  • 3rd: U-21 Spirit of America – Gunnar O’Farrell

Heat 4B

  • 1st: U-9 Beacon Plumbing – Corey Peabody
  • 2nd: U-8 Beacon Electric – J. Michael Kelly
  • 3rd: U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate – Andrew Tate

Final Heat – 2025 APBA Gold Cup

Following heat points and standings, six boats qualified for the final, including the trailer:

  • U-8 Beacon Electric – J. Michael Kelly
  • U-9 Beacon Plumbing – Corey Peabody
  • U-11 FLAV-R-PAC – Jamie Nilsen
  • U-21 Spirit of America – Gunnar O’Farrell
  • U-27 Miss Apollo – Dave Villwock
  • U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate – Andrew Tate (qualified as the trailer)

At the start, U-8, U-9, and U-21 jumped the gun, each incurring a 1-minute penalty. That cleared the way for Villwock in U-27 to maintain the lead throughout the race and secure the Gold Cup title.

Final Results:
1st: U-27 Miss Apollo – Dave Villwock
2nd: U-11 FLAV-R-PAC – Jamie Nilsen
3rd: U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate – Andrew Tate

Mechanical Trouble for U-12 Graham Trucking

Earlier in the day, the U-12 Graham Trucking – Jeff Bernard sustained significant damage when a propeller blade broke off and punctured the bottom of the boat. The team was forced to withdraw from further competition. A full damage assessment is underway, and H1 Unlimited will provide updates. We hope to see the U-12 back on the water next weekend.

Thank You to All Involved

H1 Unlimited congratulates Dave Villwock, the U-27 Miss Apollo team, and BWR Racing on this historic performance. We also extend our sincere thanks to the sponsors, volunteers, officials, and fans who made the 2025 Gold Cup possible.

See you next week in Seattle for Seafair.

Published On: July 28th, 2025Categories: Featured Content, Tri-Cities