2011 Air National Guard H1 Unlimited Championship
Lamb-Weston Columbia Cup, round 3 – July 29-31
For immediate release
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
U-96 SPIRIT OF QATAR’S DAVE VILLWOCK AIMS
FOR THE TOP OF NATIONAL HIGH POINTS STANDINGS
· Record-breaking Villwock set for Tri-Cities showdown
· Defending champion Steve David returns to U-1 hot seat
TRI-CITIES (USA): Record-breaking U-96 Spirit of Qatar driver Dave Villwock returns to action in the 2011 Air National Guard H1 Unlimited Championship at the Lamb-Weston Columbia Cup on the Columbia River in Tri-Cities, Washington State, USA, this weekend.
Villwock, who overtook the legendary Bill Muncey in terms of his number of race wins to become the most successful hydroplane racer of all time in Detroit at the start of the month, will be hoping to overhaul Kip Brown and Cal Phipps at the top of the 2011 National High Points leader board. The Washington State driver trails the U-17 Miss Red Dot duo by just 82 points heading into this weekend’s Lamb-Weston Columbia Cup.
U-96 Spirit of Qatar is backed by the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), which runs under the presidency of His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani.
Villwock is confident that he can chase down the surprise early season leaders and attempt to snatch the National High Points title from Steve David and his U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto operation. David’s Madison-based team has been triumphant for the last three years and David returns to his trusty boat this weekend after missing the last race with a rib injury sustained in a collision with Villwock during the season’s opener in Indiana.
Tri-Cities is a metropolitan area in the southeast of Washington State, consisting of the three neighbouring cities of Kennewick, Pasco and Richland. The cities are situated at the confluence of the Yakima, Snake and Colombia rivers.
Timed trials start on Friday (July 29), with race heats taking place on Saturday and Sunday and the final heat running on Sunday afternoon. This will be the 46th time that hydroplanes have raced on the high-speed, 2.5-mile Colombia River course.
The Tri-Cities race has attracted 13 teams to the Water Follies and will be the first of two events on the west coast of America in as many weekends. The H1 community travels to Seattle for the Albert Lee Cup at the Seattle Seafair on August 5-7.
National High Points Leaders after round 2:
1. U-17 Miss Red Dot Kip Brown/Cal Phipps 2,682 points
2. U-96 Spirit of Qatar Dave Villwock 2,600 points
3. U-5 Graham Trucking Jeff Bernard 2,349 points
4. U-7 Valken Sports Scott Liddycoat 2,330 points
5. U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto Steve David 2,006 points, etc
Ends
For further information:
Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Mobile: + 44 7831 123153, E-mail: ndppublicity@googlemail.com and www.ndp-publicity.com (press releases).
Or
Steve Montgomery, Tel: + 1 206 618 8382, E-mail: scm@montgomerymarketing.com and Gregg Mansfield, E-mail: gregg.m@h1unlimited.com.
www.qmsf.org
www.h1unlimited.com
The 2011 Lamb Weston Columbia Cup will mark the 46th time