2013 H1 Unlimited World Championship, round 7
Diamond Cup, Idaho, Lake Coeur d’Alene – August 31/September 1, 2013
For immediate release
Monday, September 2nd, 2013
PODIUM FINISH FOR 95 SPIRIT OF QATAR’S KIP
BROWN IN COEUR D’ALENE DIAMOND CUP
· Jimmy Shane wins second successive H1 Unlimited race at Diamond Cup
· David leads Shane by just 43 points heading into final race of the season
COEUR D-ALENE, IDAHO (USA): 95 Spirit of Qatar’s Kip Brown claimed the final podium place in a thrilling Coeur d’Alene Diamond Cup in Idaho, the race returning to the H1 Unlimited calendar on Lake Coeur d’Alene after an absence of 45 years.
Running with the backing of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) and His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani, Brown looked set to miss out on the podium in a race where Jimmy Shane claimed the inside lane after a fierce challenge from J. Michael Kelly.
But Kelly was deemed to have jumped the start and was demoted to fifth. His demise promoted Steve David to second position in 1 Oh Boy! Oberto and Brown to third. Tom Thompson finished fourth in 11 Peters & May, but a fuel violation cost him dearly and promoted rookie Jessie Robertson to fourth in 57 FEDCO.
Adverse weather conditions disrupted and delayed Friday’s qualifying session on North Idaho’s Lake Coeur d’Alene, but it failed to prevent 5 Graham Trucking’s Jimmy Shane from claiming the maximum 100 points for a top qualifying lap of 147.124mph. Steve David qualified second and Brown slotted into third position with 95 Spirit of Qatar.
There was disappointment for Jon Zimmerman, who had entered the two-mile course as the fifth boat. His hull lost a blade off the propeller before completing a lap and the vibration created by the broken prop caused severe damage to the boat and forced the team out of the weekend’s racing.
Kip Brown finished third in heat 1B behind the duelling Steve David and J. Michael Kelly, after Jimmy Shane had held off a strong challenge from Tom Thompson in 11 Peters & May to win heat 1A. Steve David also won the Knight El Dock Dash for Cash after a good race against Jeff Bernard at the helm of Spirit of Qatar.
J. Michael Kelly managed to fend off Steve David to win heat 2A on Saturday and Kip Brown reached the finish in third position. Only winner Shane and Tom Thompson managed to finish heat 2B.
Kelly continued his run of good form in 37 Miss Beacon Plumbing to win heat 3A from Greg Hopp and Dave Warren and Shane beat Brown to the chequered flag to win heat 3B.
Shane, David, Brown, Kelly, Thompson and Evans lined up for the Coeur d’Alene Diamond Cup final and it was Shane who reached the chequered flag first to claim Diamond Cup glory. The Maryland driver made it two wins in a row after securing the inside lane for the final to hold off the challenge from J. Michael Kelly, who was ruled to have jumped the start clock.
That pushed Kelly back to fifth and promoted David to second and Brown to third. Shane marked a perfect weekend by claiming 1700 points and closed to within 43 points of David’s National High Points total heading into the final race of the season – a propeller issue costing the Florida driver dearly in heat 3A. We go to the final race with one of the closest margins in history,” said David.
The final round of the H1 Unlimited series takes place in Mission Bay, San Diego, California, on September 13-15.
Ends
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