HydroFile Nov/Dec 2010
Lon Erickson
U-1. Some of the Oberto team has had discussions about possibly running a second boat for a portion of the 2011 season. The team has their back-up hull #8806, which competed through 2006 until the present hull went into service in 2007.
U-3. The Go3 Racing team is continuing to work on their racing operation. Ed Cooper and the team have maintained the boat, are building motors and gearboxes, and the boat is prepped / race-ready for whenever the opportunity arises. They have also been approached about running exhibitions in 2011. Stay tuned, the only piston boat on the circuit has not gone away.
U-5. Ted Porter’s PPE, LLC team listed two of its Lycoming T-55 L7 turbine engines for sale on eBay in December. One was priced with a minimum opening bid at $50K & the other at $100K (reserves unknown). It will be interesting to see if anyone takes advantage of these
eBay deals.
U-7. PPE, LLC has announced Bob Catipovic as the new crew chief for Ted Porter’s U-7 Graham Trucking team in 2011, replacing John Rice. Bob has been with the team since 2008 serving as turbine specialist and filled in as acting crew chief in Doha this year.
U-9. Despite rumors concerning the Jones Racing Team and two boats, indications are prep work is planned to possibly have one hull ready for the 2011 season. As in years past, odds are 50/50 of the team seeing the water, most likely at Seafair.
U-13. The Spirit of Detroit team had three team members assist the U-25 team in Doha. The U-13 hull is under-going off season evaluation and upgrades while the team work on building up their equipment inventory.
U-17. Kip Brown and the Our Gang Racing team ran well at times in Doha but also experienced salt water gremlins and fuel flow issues. Without the full resources and time to solve the fuel issues they had to withdraw during the second day of racing. To get a jump on diagnosis of the engine problems, they air-freighted their turbine home in lieu of shipping it back with the rest of the team’s equipment.
U-22. Mike Webster and Al Carstensen split driving duties in Doha for. Scott Carson continued his support of that team, keeping the “Great Scott!” name on the boat for the Oryx Cup.
U-25. For the Oryx Cup, Jon Zimmerman and Ken Muscatel shared driving duties in the U-25 Superior Racing/Spirit of Detroit. Jon Zimmerman also served as Driver’s Rep in Doha.
U-37. Work continues on the new Schumacher Racing hull for 2011. Between San Diego and Doha, Scott Raney and the team worked on the center section of the hull, construction and layout of the safety capsule, and other hardware for the new boat. Before leaving for Doha, the team started assembly of a new turbine. That work has resumed now. The wrecked T-4 hull remains at the Schumacher Racing shop. No official word on sponsorship for 2011 yet.
H1 Unlimited News. Chairman Sam Cole has made an early announcement of the 2011 season schedule. The season opener is the usual Madison Regatta July 1-3, followed by the Detroit APBA Gold Cup July 8-10, Tri-Cities Columbia Cup July 29-31, Seattle Seafair August 5-7, San Diego Sept. 16-18, and concludes in Doha-Qatar December 1-3.
Also in the announcement is a date reserved for August 26-28, with a location “to be determined” Though H1 stated it was a tentative schedule at this point, it does bring up a few questions. Obviously the date in Aug. “TBD” is curious. Missing is any mention of updates on
previously speculated races in China and other race sites in the Middle East. From other media reports and quotes from Thunder on the Ohio’s Chairman Tom Sawyer, it sounds like Evansville is definitely out for 2011, as are any possibilities in Owensboro.
H1 Unlimited fleet return trip from Doha, Qatar. The H1 fleet and equipment was scheduled to leave Doha on Dec. 22, aboard the Peters & May-Hoegh Autoliner, Alliance St. Louis, on a direct voyage to Jacksonville, Fla. (not to a west coast port as discussed earlier) with an expected arrival date of January 9th. From Jacksonville, the teams pick up their boats and return to their home shops for the usual off-season maintenance, prep work, and upgrades for the 2011 season. *** See the latest updates on the H1 fleet return on the home page.
U-3. The Go3 Racing team is continuing to work on their racing operation. Ed Cooper and the team have maintained the boat, are building motors and gearboxes, and the boat is prepped / race-ready for whenever the opportunity arises. They have also been approached about running exhibitions in 2011. Stay tuned, the only piston boat on the circuit has not gone away.
U-5. Ted Porter’s PPE, LLC team listed two of its Lycoming T-55 L7 turbine engines for sale on eBay in December. One was priced with a minimum opening bid at $50K & the other at $100K (reserves unknown). It will be interesting to see if anyone takes advantage of these
eBay deals.
U-7. PPE, LLC has announced Bob Catipovic as the new crew chief for Ted Porter’s U-7 Graham Trucking team in 2011, replacing John Rice. Bob has been with the team since 2008 serving as turbine specialist and filled in as acting crew chief in Doha this year.
U-9. Despite rumors concerning the Jones Racing Team and two boats, indications are prep work is planned to possibly have one hull ready for the 2011 season. As in years past, odds are 50/50 of the team seeing the water, most likely at Seafair.
U-13. The Spirit of Detroit team had three team members assist the U-25 team in Doha. The U-13 hull is under-going off season evaluation and upgrades while the team work on building up their equipment inventory.
U-17. Kip Brown and the Our Gang Racing team ran well at times in Doha but also experienced salt water gremlins and fuel flow issues. Without the full resources and time to solve the fuel issues they had to withdraw during the second day of racing. To get a jump on diagnosis of the engine problems, they air-freighted their turbine home in lieu of shipping it back with the rest of the team’s equipment.
U-22. Mike Webster and Al Carstensen split driving duties in Doha for. Scott Carson continued his support of that team, keeping the “Great Scott!” name on the boat for the Oryx Cup.
U-25. For the Oryx Cup, Jon Zimmerman and Ken Muscatel shared driving duties in the U-25 Superior Racing/Spirit of Detroit. Jon Zimmerman also served as Driver’s Rep in Doha.
U-37. Work continues on the new Schumacher Racing hull for 2011. Between San Diego and Doha, Scott Raney and the team worked on the center section of the hull, construction and layout of the safety capsule, and other hardware for the new boat. Before leaving for Doha, the team started assembly of a new turbine. That work has resumed now. The wrecked T-4 hull remains at the Schumacher Racing shop. No official word on sponsorship for 2011 yet.
H1 Unlimited News. Chairman Sam Cole has made an early announcement of the 2011 season schedule. The season opener is the usual Madison Regatta July 1-3, followed by the Detroit APBA Gold Cup July 8-10, Tri-Cities Columbia Cup July 29-31, Seattle Seafair August 5-7, San Diego Sept. 16-18, and concludes in Doha-Qatar December 1-3.
Also in the announcement is a date reserved for August 26-28, with a location “to be determined” Though H1 stated it was a tentative schedule at this point, it does bring up a few questions. Obviously the date in Aug. “TBD” is curious. Missing is any mention of updates on
previously speculated races in China and other race sites in the Middle East. From other media reports and quotes from Thunder on the Ohio’s Chairman Tom Sawyer, it sounds like Evansville is definitely out for 2011, as are any possibilities in Owensboro.
H1 Unlimited fleet return trip from Doha, Qatar. The H1 fleet and equipment was scheduled to leave Doha on Dec. 22, aboard the Peters & May-Hoegh Autoliner, Alliance St. Louis, on a direct voyage to Jacksonville, Fla. (not to a west coast port as discussed earlier) with an expected arrival date of January 9th. From Jacksonville, the teams pick up their boats and return to their home shops for the usual off-season maintenance, prep work, and upgrades for the 2011 season. *** See the latest updates on the H1 fleet return on the home page.
U-37 Shop Update by Lon Erickson
Here are some recent shots taken at Schumacher Racing’s shop by HydroFile’s Lon Erickson. Work is progressing on the new boat to replace the wrecked U-37 Peter’s & May, the former Miss Budweiser T4 hull. Construction on the new boat started over a year ago but was put on hold last winter to concentrate on a major update to the T4. The status of the wrecked hull is undetermined; the plan is to use some of the hardware and components on the new boat. The new hull is currently in the process of having the center section components laid out and work continues on the canoe/sponsons. Behind the canopy in the shot below and at right are the remains of T4.
Past HydroFile Issues
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