For immediate release
Saturday, June 19th, 2010
QMSF SPONSORS ELLSTROM RACING TO RUN U-96
SPIRIT OF QATAR IN H1 UNLIMITED CHAMPIONSHIP
- H1 legend Dave Villwock set to race in U-96 Spirit of Qatar
- Qatar’s new H1 Unlimited set for debut in Madison on July 2-4
DOHA (Qatar): His Excellency Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani announced today (Saturday) that the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) will support Ellstrom Racing in the 2010 H1 Unlimited Championship through the backing of the hydroplane, U-96 Spirit of Qatar.
Sheikh Hassan is the President of the QMSF and has already taken back-to-back victories himself in the Supercat category of the 2010 OPA Offshore Racing Series this year.
The new hydroplane will run in full Spirit of Qatar team colours and is set to make its racing debut at the Lucas Oil Indiana Governor’s Cup on the Ohio River in Madison, Indiana, on July 2-4.
Erick Ellstrom, President of 5 Axis Industries and Marine Technologies of Seattle, Washington, confirmed that Qatar’s new boat will be driven by H1 racing legend Dave Villwock. U-96 Spirit of Qatar will replace U-16 Ellstrom’s Elam Plus, which has been ever-present on the H1 Unlimited Hydroplane circuit since 1994.
“We at the QMSF have always been looking forward to becoming involved in almost all forms of power boat racing and the Unlimited Hydroplanes are no different,” said Sheikh Hassan. “After the great show the H1 teams put on for us in November last year in Doha, we looked to partner with a team that can represent Qatar through the QMSF and the Ellstrom team was selected.
“We have had an excellent business relationship with 5 Axis over the past few years and I believe this partnership will grow even more in the future.”
5 Axis Industries and Marine Technology own the race team and are owned by Erick and Sven Ellstrom. 5 Axis supplies propellers to many teams in offshore and other forms of boat racing, including the Spirit of Qatar Team.
“We are very happy to have the opportunity to represent our friends from Qatar on the hydro racing circuit here in the USA and abroad,” enthused Sven Ellstrom.
“As Sheikh Hassan pointed out, we have had a close working relationship with the QMSF for some time,” added Erick Ellstrom. “Having them involved in our race team is another step in our growing relationship, which will find us working together in the future on projects involving boat racing as well as other areas.”
Sam Cole, Chairman of H1 Unlimited, was delighted with the news. “We are honoured to welcome the Spirit of Qatar and QMSF as a new team sponsor. This extends the involvement of Sheikh Hassan and Qatar in our sport and can only continue to broaden the scope of our future.”
The Ellstrom family entered the sport of Unlimited Hydroplane Racing in 1994 as sponsors of an experimental four-point Unlimited. In 1995, they built their own conventional turbine-powered Unlimited and scored the first of 20 victories in the 2000 season at the Tri-Cities with Mark Evans driving.
The team won the 2005 and 2007 National High Point championships and the 2007 and 2009 Gold Cups with current driver Dave Villwock in the cockpit. Villwock is the most successful active driver in the H1 Unlimited series with 59 career victories, including 15 in U-16 Ellstrom Elam Plus.
Ends
For further information on the QMSF:
Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Mobile: + 44 7831 123153, E-mail: ndppublicity@googlemail.com and www.ndp-publicity.com (press releases)
Or
Steve Montgomery, H1 Unlimited Media Officer, Tel: + 1 206 618 8382, E-mail: Steve@H1Unlimited.com
www.h1unlimited.com
www.qmsf.org