For the Reporter
Bonney Lake’s J. Michael Kelly captured San Diego’s Bayfair on Mission Bay unlimited hydroplane showdown Sunday after Covington’s Jimmy Shane, the top qualifier, was penalized in the final heat.
Kelly was declared the winner after officials penalized Shane a lap for bearing out on Kelly entering the first turn on lap four of the five-lap, six-boat final heat.
Kelly grabbed the inside lane and the early lead and raced deck to deck with Shane throughout the final. After five laps, Shane crossed the finish line first but was told to run an extra lap while officials reviewed the heat.
The penalty dropped Shane and the U-6 Oberto boat to fourth place and declared Kelly and the U-1 Graham Trucking hydro the winner of the H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Tour stop on the Bill Muncey Race Course.
Kelly’s teammate, Cal Phipps (U-7 Graham Trucking II), was second and Mike Webster (U-22 Big 5 Sporting Goods) finished third. Tom Thompson (U-11 Peters & May) was fifth.
Shane had won two preliminaries, losing one to Kelly.
Phipps and Black Diamond’s Kip Brown (U-96 Spirit of Qatar) also were Saturday heat winners.
The H1 unlimited fleet will set sail for the Middle East and the Oryx Cup UIM World Championship in Doha, Qatar on Nov. 20-22, the final event on the 2014 racing calendar.
Notes
H1 officials announced that Schumacher Racing’s U-21 Miss Beacon Plumbing (driver Scott Liddycoat) had incurred a technical violation Saturday, leading to a disqualification from the event. The team filed an appeal and was told it could continue competing while the appeal was resolved. The team chose instead to leave the pit area and did not compete Sunday. …
The missing boat from the top four of Sunday’s racing card was Jones Racing’s U-9 Team RedDOT/Les Schwab Tires (driver Jon Zimmerman of Maple Valley). The hydro was on the trailer with damage suffered in a violent spin Saturday. …
The H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Series announced Saturday the return of one of the winningest drivers of all time – Steve David – naming him the interim chairman. David, 60, retired at the conclusion of the 2013 season after a 25-year racing career. He was a past American Power Boat Association (APBA) president from 1996-98, and vice president from 1992-96. Outgoing chairman Sam Cole informed the H1 executive committee he was stepping down from his position earlier this week. Cole said he will remain active in the sport. As a driver, David amassed 18 wins, six drivers championships and four national high points championships while racing for the Oberto/Miss Madison team (2001-2013), T-Plus Engine Treatment (1992-99) and ARC Construction (1988-91). He is a six-time inductee into the APBA’s Hall of Champions and an inductee into the APBA Honor Squadron.
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