2014 H1 Unlimited World Championship, round four
Albert Lee Appliance Cup, Seattle Seafair – August 1-3, 2014
For immediate release
Monday, August 4th, 2014
96 SPIRIT OF QATAR’S BROWN FLIPS OUT OF SECOND
HEAT AND MISSES SEATTLE’S ALBERT LEE APPLIANCE CUP
· Albert Lee Appliance Cup victory for J. Michael Kelly in 1 Graham Trucking
· 96 Spirit of Qatar takes second in heat 1B; Villwock suspended after racing collision
SEATTLE (USA): 96 Spirit of Qatar’s Kip Brown caught the edge of another hydroplane’s rooster tail and flipped his boat out of the initial running of heat 2A at the Albert Lee Appliance Cup at the Seattle Seafair on Lake Washington on Sunday.
The accident meant that the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF)-backed driver was not able to take part in the Albert Lee Appliance Cup final and add to his points’ tally at the fourth round of the 2014 H1 Unlimited Championship, having taken second place in heat 1B on Saturday. He was not injured in the accident, but the damage to the boat meant there was not enough time to make emergency repairs before the third heat and the final.
Brown’s demise paved the way for J. Michael Kelly to win a thrilling Albert Lee Appliance Cup final after a video review deemed that he had not encroached upon Jimmy Shane’s lane in a final that he led from start-to-finish. Jon Zimmerman finished second and Shane completed the five-lap race in third with a broken front wing. Jeff Bernard and Cal Phipps were fourth and fifth.
Shane topped the qualifying times on Friday with a speed of 156.243mph after racing had been delayed over an hour because of string winds and rain showers. Villwock had been the first driver on the water in the repaired 37 Beacon Plumbing and laid down the gauntlet with a speed of 144.138mph before the time was thrown out because of an N2 violation. Kip Brown qualified 96 Spirit of Qatar in fourth position – behind Shane, Zimmerman and J. Michael Kelly – with a speed of 148.883 mph.
Zimmerman and Kelly won the first of the two heats on Saturday, but there was a fair share of drama out on the course and a collision between Villwock and Shane resulted in the former being suspended from the rest of the weekend’s action.
Zimmerman was the only driver in the top five of the National High Points standings to be drawn in heat 1A and he controlled the race from the inside line after runner-up Jeff Bernard had sneaked ahead at the start. Cal Phipps pipped Mike Webster to third place.
The drama unfolded in heat 1B when Shane and Villwock – jostling for position before the start – both turned into the infield to gain the advantage and the 37 Beacon Plumbing boat struck Shane’s 6 Oberto. He was not able to catch Kelly and Brown and the 96 Spirit of Qatar boat took second with Shane in third and Villwock suspended for dangerous driving.
Heat 2A featured Kelly, Zimmerman, Dave Warren, Tom Thompson, Mike Webster and Brown, but the 96 Spirit of Qatar driver caught Zimmerman’s rooster tail and flipped his new boat out of the original heat. Damage was minimal, but it meant that Brown was forced to miss the third heats and the Albert Lee Appliance Cup final. Kelly beat Zimmerman to the chequered flag in the re-run of 2A and Shane got the better of Phipps, Greg Hopp, Kelly Stocklin and Bernard to win heat 2B.
Zimmerman managed to fend off a strong challenge from Tom Thompson to take the spoils in heat 3A and Shane beat Kelly to the tape in 3B, with Mike Webster in third. The results meant that Kelly, Shane and Zimmerman were joined by Thompson, Phipps and Bernard in the final.
Following the cancellation of the round at Coeur d’Alene in Idaho at the end of August, the fifth round of the series will now be the San Diego Bayfair on September 12-14.
H1 Unlimited – National High Points after round 4 (unofficial):
1. 6 Oberto/Miss Madison Jimmy Shane 6119 pts
2. 1 Graham Trucking J. Michael Kelly 5196 pts
3. 7 Graham Trucking Cal Phipps 4571 pts
4. 95 Red Dot/Spirit of Qatar Jon Zimmerman 4287 pts
5. 21 Go Fast Turn Left Racing Brian Perkins/Jamie Nilsen/Jeff Bernard 4047 pts
6. 22 Webster Racing Mike Webster 2268 pts
7. 11 Peters & May Tom Thompson 2194 pts
8. 96 Spirit of Qatar Kip Brown 1215 pts
9. 12 Miss DiJulio Greg Hopp 891 pts
10. 18 Bucket List Racing Kelly Stocklin 759 pts
11. 100 Miss Sahara Pizza Dave Warren 394 pts
12. 37 Miss Beacon Plumbing Dave Villwock 375 pts
13. 17 Our Gang Racing Jeff Bernard 209 pts
Ends
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Steve Montgomery, Tel: + 1 206 618 8382, E-mail: steve@h1unlimited.com.
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