GO FAST TURN LEFT RACING
U-21 Spirit of America
GO FAST TURN LEFT RACING
U-21 Spirit of America
Gunnar O’ Farrell took the wheel of an Unlimited hydroplane in racing action for the first time in 2023, but he is no stranger to the sport or to the seat of the U-21. Gunnar began going to races at the age 6 with his family. By 8 years old he was in the hydroplane museum building an outboard boat. He started in outboard (Stock and pro classes) when he was 9 years old and drove for 6 years.
At 20, he decided to make the next step and move to the inboard class and drove in the 2.5 mod and stock classes. His career really accelerated in the inboard class, where in 2021 he won summer nationals.
In 2022, the O’Farrell family bought a 2.5 mod and has been restoring it. In 2022, Gunnar was given the opportunity to drive an Unlimited Hydroplane. He completed his 15 laps going over 130 mph and became a qualified Unlimited hydroplane driver. His fastest lap was 145.175 mph. Gunnar’s first race was at the 2023 APBA Gold Cup in Seattle, where he qualified at 145.572 MPH and competed in all four qualifying heats, but did not make the Final Heat.
Greg and Brian O’Farrell were born with boat racing in their genes. The father-son team represent the second and third generation within the family to have such a strong connection to hydroplane racing.
As a kid, Greg attended every Seafair, except for the year he was in boot camp. “I got hooked early. My father was friends with Willard Rhodes who owned the Thriftway team. Bill Muncey gave me a ride in Thriftway Too and there was no turning back!” As he built the very successful Lakeridge Paving Company, Greg couldn’t escape the lure of hydroplaning. In 2005, Lakeridge Paving sponsored a Fred Leland hull which was driven by Jeff Bernard. In front of a huge Seafair audience and on live television Miss Lakeridge Paving made news by passing Jeff’s uncle Terry Troxell who had just won the APBA Gold Cup.
Encouraged by the success of sponsoring a boat, Greg stepped up and bought two Leland hulls including “Lucky.” With Brian Perkins behind the wheel, the U-50 “Spirit of the Navy” made every final heat on the eastern circuit and the team garnered the respect of everyone in boat racing. The next move for Greg and Brian was to step up to a more competitive ride for 2010, so they purchased the U-21 from Kevin Aylesworth and Jeff Johnson. After a winter of tuning, the U-21 became a contender on the H1 Unlimited circuit.
Not content to sit back, Greg and Brian O’Farrell commissioned Dale Van Wierengen to build a “state-of-the-art” unlimited, debuting in 2012. While unlimited racing is a family activity for Greg and Brian O’Farrell, make no mistake, these two are intent on making it to the top of the sport.
Each year, Go Fast Turn Left Racing has improved, and finished 2nd place in the 2014 Detroit Gold Cup. But the next stop on the circuit proved to be a huge setback. While racing to make it into the Final Heat in Tri-Cities, driver Jamie Nielsen blew over the U-21, suffering major structural damage and retiring the boat for the remainder of the 2014 season. Go Fast Turn Left finished the season garnering points from the Schumacher Racing U-37 hull, renamed the U-21 for San Diego and Doha.
2024 sees the O’Farrells keeping it “all in the Family”, with Brian’s son Gunnar taking over the wheel from long-time driver Brian Perkins.
- Home Port: Maple Valley, WA
- Founded: 2007
- Primary Sponsor: Lakeridge Paving
- Engine: Lycoming T-55/L-7 Turbine
- Hull Built: 2019
- Length: 29′
- Width: 14′
- Weight: 6,500 lbs.
Brian O’Farrell has been working on Unlimited Hydroplanes most of his adult life, and has been the Crew Chief of the U-60 operation since they began with their own boat is 2007.
The current U-35 was built in 2018 by the Go Fast, Turn Left team and carries hull number 2019-99.9.