U-5 hydroplane crashes out of Oryx Cup finals

A flip-up cost Redmond resident Tom Anderson and his U-5 Formulaboats.com hydroplane crew a shot at glory.

With the H1 Unlimited National Drivers’ Championship on the line during the high-speed finals of the Oryx Cup World Championship in Doha, Qatar, Anderson could only watch as the U-5 Formulaboats.com hydroplane boat crashed out of contention for the title.

U-5 driver Jeff Bernard raced very well in the qualifying heats to earn a spot in the final with the points-leading U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto, with the gap narrowed to a mere 106 points between the two boats.

Needing to win the race to have a chance to take the championship, Bernard turned too early in the first lap, directly into the tail of the leader Dave Villwock (U-16 Ellstrom Elam Plus) and barrel-flipped out of the race, handing the overall points title to the Oberto boat. Bernard suffered no major injuries during the crash.

Villwock held a sizable lead through most of the race, but a cruel engine flameout on the next-to-last lap relegated him to third place, with Steve David (U-1 Oberto) placing second and Puyallup’s J. Michael Kelly (U-7 Graham Trucking) earning the win with an upset victory.

The Oryx Cup marked the first time that H1 Unlimited Hydroplanes have ever raced outside the Americas and has led to plans for global expansion into 2010 and beyond. Large numbers of international visitors joined an impressive head count of local spectators to witness the thrilling race action.