President’s Message
President’s Message
Welcome
to the 2014 Oryx Cup
World Championship
for Unlimited Hydroplanes. We are enthused to
once again be the quests of Qatar and the Qatar
Marine Sports Federation. His honor Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al Thani and the staff of QMSF are
among the best in the world in the production of
marine events.
Ladies and Gentlemen colleagues
On
behalf of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation, I
am delighted to welcome
you to Qatar for the Oryx Cup and final
round of unlimited hydroplane series for
this season.
HE Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al- Thani
QMSF President
I wish you all success, good results and a
pleasant stay in Doha .
The QMSF has witnessed big improvements in its agenda through the organizing of many marine sports activities and
the addition of new activities every year.
I am proud to invite you to see the rapid
development taking place in every sector
of my country .
Finally, I would like to thank all the ministries, authorities, organizations, companies and individuals who helped us to
make this event happen.
I would like to congratulate the winners
and wish all good luck in the upcoming
championships.
This year represents the 6th Oryx Cup World Cup
Championship and our teams have never been
more excited to compete in Doha. Qatar has quickly taken it’s place as one of the World’s top Countries for sporting events of all types, and Doha is
the epicenter of that energy.
Steven David
HI UNLIMITED President
This race is more than a world class competition.
It’s an event that shows the world the very best in
humanity. We come together from different cultures
and backgrounds for three glorious days and share
the spirit of family, respect and trust.
While one of our teams will leave Doha as the
APBA/UIM World Champion, we will all leave with
a renewed appreciation for the goodness that is
fundamental to our mutual well being. As you have
opened your hearts to our sport, so too, have you
opened our eyes to the beauty and spirit of Qatar.
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT
QATAR
Location
The State of Qatar is a peninsula
located amid the western coast of
the Arabian Gulf. Of the islands
affiliated to Qatar, Halul, Shraouh
and Al-Asshat are the most important.
Major Cities
Doha, Al-Wakrah, Al-Khor, Dukhan, AlShamal, Msaieed, Ras Lafan and others.
Currency
Qatari Riyal (One Riyal = 100 Dirhams),
and one US Dollar = QAR 3.65 (as a
fixed rate).
Topography
The land mainly consists of a flat
rocky plain, covered with a range
of low limestone outcroppings
in Jebel Dukhan in the west and
Jebel Fuyart in the north. This
plain is mostly marked by its many
inland seas (Khors), bays and basins called (al-Riyadh) over the
northern and middle areas that
are considered to be the most fertile lands housing different natural
plants.
Official Holidays
Area
The holy Eid Al-Fitr, four days from Ramadan 28th to Shawwal 4th (as per the Hijri calendar).
Qatar occupies an area of 11,521
square kilometers.
National Day
December 18 every year to commemorate Sheikh Jassim Bin Mohammad AlThani, the founder of the State of Qatar.
The National Day: December 18 every year.
The holy Eid Al-Adha, five days from Dhul Hijjah 9th to 13th Dhul Hijjah (as per the Hijri calendar).
The Sports Day on Tuesday of the second week of February every year.
Population
Qatar has a population of about one
million and eight hundred thousand
(as per 2012 Population census).
About 83% of the population lives in
Doha and its major suburb Al-Rayyan.
Flag of the State of Qatar
The national flag of the State of Qatar is maroon with a broad white nine-point serrated
band breaking into the maroon side. The
Capital City
Qatar’s capital city is Doha.
Language
Arabic is the official language
of the country, but English is
also widely used.
Religion
Islam is the official religion of
the State of Qatar, and the
Islamic Law (Sharia) is a major source of legislation in the
country.
Climate
Qatar has a desert climate
with hot summers, warm winters and scarce rainfall.
meaning of Qatar’s flag is as follows:
The white colour denotes the internationally recognized symbol of peace.
The maroon symbolizes the blood that
was shed during the several wars Qatar has
undergone, particularly in the second half of
the 19th century.
The nine-point serrated line obviously indicates that Qatar is the 9th member of the
(Reconciled Emirates) on the Arabian Gulf
in the wake of concluding the Qatari-British
treaty in 1916. This is recorded by the British
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1931 regarding
Qatar’s national flag’s layout and colouring.
WHAT ARE
UNLIMITED
HYDROPLANES
QMSF
Unlimited
hydroplanes running in excess of 200 mph have fans
and drivers on the edge of their seats. Few motorsports allow spectators to get as close to the action
as H1 Unlimited.
Drivers racing side by side pilot these 3,000-horsepower turbine-powered monsters with only one
goal—capturing the checkered
flag. During their race around the course, drivers
face walls of water spray, rogue waves and stomach-wrenching G-forces in
turns (fi ghter pilots have nothing on these guys).
sponsorshiP
FAST FACTS
• Unlimited Hydroplanes are the fastest racing boats
in the world
• More than 600,000 fans attend H1 Unlimited
events annually
• Existing venues have hosted races for an average
of 40 years
• 2.5 million fans, from 32 countries, visit www.
H1Unlimited.com each year
• The H1 Unlimited series will be televised by Versus
Network
• Eight hours of “live internet streaming” are produced for each event
• The H1 Unlimited series title sponsorship generates more than 30 million impressions; a value of
more than $4.4 million
HYDROPLANES BY
THE NUMBERS
Average Length: 30 feet
Width: 13 feet
Weight: 6575-7000 pounds
Power: T-55/L-7 turbine
Horsepower: 3,000
A hydroplane is built using state-of-the-art
materials such as carbon-fi ber hulls for
greater strength and speed. The boat’s
safety equipment is unsurpassed with reinforced cockpits built using canopies from
fi ghter jets. Drivers have self-contained
air systems and wear a HANS head and
neck support device as an added layer of
safety.
Hydroplane racing has a rich history. The
sport’s fi rst Gold Cup occurred in 1904
and the winning boat averaged just 23
mph. The Gold Cup is still run today in
Detroit, and in fact, the APBA Gold Cup is
the oldest motorsports trophy in America.
Unlimited hydroplanes have evolved from
open cockpits to today’s fully enclosed
capsules.
Top Speed: 200-plus mph
Lap Speed Record: 173 mph on a 2.5-mile course
World Record: 354.868 kmh
Historians and race fans will debate who is the sport’s greatest driver whether it’s Bill Muncey, Chip Hanauer, Dean
Chenoweth or active driver Dave Villwock, who is tied for
the most career race victories.
The sport is thriving thanks to a growing international following. Teams have raced in recent years in Doha, Qatar,
which was picked to host the 2022 World Cup for soccer. H1
Unlimited competes during the summer months in Madison,
Ind., Tri-Cities and Seattle, Wash., San Diego, Calif., and
Detroit, Mich.
DRIVER PROFILE
J.
Michael Kelly returns to the
Porter family’s race team where
he won the first of Team Porter’s four
Oryx Cup UIM World Championships
in November of 2009, claiming the inaugural Doha, Qatar race with the 7
Graham Trucking.
Kelly comes to the 2014 Oryx Cup with
three victories in the 2014 season and
is in second place in H1 Series High
Points. He drove the 1 Graham Trucking to wins in the season opener at
Madison, Indiana as well as the races
in Seattle, Washington and San Diego,
California.
1 GRAHAM
TRUCKING
The 2014 season is Kelly’s 27th season of boat racing. During his career,
he has set 23 world records in various
classes, six of which are still current,
and is a three-time American Power
Boat Association Hall of Champions
inductee.
Kelly was the 2004 unlimited class
Rookie of the Year. He lives in Bonney
Lake, Washington with his wife Angela
and two sons, Brennan and Carson.
DRIVER PROFILE
After
driving the 5 Graham
Trucking to the 2013
H1 Series High Point Championship,
Jimmy Shane was chosen by The Miss
Madison Racing Team to replace retiring driver Steve David in the 6 Oberto
Beef Jerky boat.
6 Oberto
Beef Jerky
2013 was also a big year for Shane
away from the race course, as he
married fiancé Bianca Bononcini and
became a new dad with the birth of
son Colton. He also relocated from
Havre de Grace, Maryland to Covington, Washington where the family now
makes their home.
Shane is the only two-time winner of
the Oryx Cup, having won the 2012
and 2013 races while driving for the
Porter family. In 2014, he has won the
Detroit APBA Gold Cup and the TriCities Columbia Cup and has put his
new team at the top of the H1 Series
High Point ladder.
The 28 year old Shane has been a
boat racer for 20 years. From a racing family, he started as soon as he
made the eight year old minimum for
the J Hydro outboard class. He began
winning immediately and moved up to
the 1.5 Liter Stock inboard class when
he was 14. Jimmy’s father, mother and
older sister Kelly have all won national
championships in various APBA inboard classes.
Before qualifying as an Unlimited driver in 2007, he won three National High
Point Championships, three World
Championships, two Canadian High
Point Championships and won four
times in the tough Gran Prix class. He
also set seven Closed Course UIM
World Records, and one Kilo Straightaway UIM World Record and was inducted into the APBA Hall of Champions three times.
DRIVER PROFILE
Since
becoming a boat racer
in 1992, Cal Phipps
has been a winner in nearly every class
of inboard hydroplanes in the American Powerboat Association. He has set
world records in two classes and is one
of the top drivers in the Grand National
class where he has scored seven US
National Championships.
7 Graham
Trucking II
Phipps took his first laps in an Unlimited
in 2008 at Tri-Cities, recording a speed
in excess of 150 mph on his first lap.
In 2014 Cal got his first opportunity to
drive a full season in the Unlimited class
and has responded with consistent
strong finishes - including three podiums - and has the Porter family’s second entry in third place in season high
points.
A native of the Detroit area, Cal makes
his home in Sterling Heights, Michigan
and is a custom automotive painting
professional.
DRIVER PROFILE
Despite
a blow-over accident at the 2014
Detroit APBA Gold Cup in July and a
violent spin caused by a rudder failure
at Bayfair in San Diego which damaged
the boat for the second time in the season, Jon Zimmerman has Jones Racing’s 9 Team RedDOT in 4th place in
2014 H1 Series High Points leading into
the Oryx Cup.
9 Team RedDOT
Les Schwab Tires
Jon’s racing career began when he started racing scale electric hydroplanes in
1991. In 1994, one of his friends bought
a 2.5 Stock inboard which became Jon’s
first serious ride. After a year, he bought
a 2.5 Stock inboard which he turned into
one of the fastest boats in the country in
its class.
In 2004, Jon built himself a new 5 Liter
hydro. In his new boat, he set four world
records and missed a national high point
championship by just 13 points.
In 2012, Zimmerman made the most of
the opportunity to drive the entire season for Mike and Lori Jones. Jon and
the Jones Racing team were fast and
consistent, scoring an impressive 4th
place finish in H1 Series season high
points. He then repeated with a strong
season and another 4th place finish in
2013.
Jon and his wife Joanne live in Maple
Valley, Washington with their son Jack.
DRIVER PROFILE
Tom
Thompson was one of
the winningest drivers in
APBA Inboard classes for nearly three
decades before the opportunity to drive
in the prestigious Unlimited class presented itself.
11 Peters &
May
Thompson is known as one of the most
versatile drivers in the Inboard Categories, successfully driving boats of every hull design; hydroplane, flat-bottom
and Jersey Speed Skiff. As a part of
the Thompson and Thompson team he
joined his late father Tommy Thompson
in winning seven consecutive National
Championships with their Jersey Speed
Skiff, The Gambler.
The accomplishments of the veteran
driver from Cambridge, Maryland were
somewhat overlooked until mid-way
through the 2012 season when Scott
and Shannon Raney, owners of the
Unlimited Racing Group, chose the
three-time inductee into the APBA Hall
of Champions to replace JW Myers
who had been injured in a blow-over
accident at the Detroit APBA Gold Cup
in the 11 Peters and May.
Tom and his wife Chrissy have a
daughter Savana who is a senior at
Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland.
DRIVER PROFILE
34
year old Jesse Robertson got
his start racing radio-controlled
unlimited hydroplanes in the late 1990s.
After winning the model championship
each of his first four years, he decided
to move on to a hydroplane you can actually sit in.
He raced in numerous classes and
excelled in each class including the
fast and competitive Grand Prix Class
where he earned a reputation for getting an inside lane and timing starts perfectly.
12
Miss DiJulio
Jesse stayed in touch with unlimited
race teams for several years finally got
his first opportunity to drive one in a test
session at the 2013 Seattle Seafair in
Mark Evan’s 57 Fedco. He went
on to qualify as an Unlimited driver and
replaced Evans in the boat at the 2013
Ceur d’Alene Diamond cup where he
qualified for he final heat and finished
fourth.
Robertson lives in West Seattle.
DRIVER PROFILE
Dave
Villwock joined Schumacher Racing during the
2013 season as a consultant and became the team manager. This followed
a driving career that produced 67 wins,
the most by any driver in the history of
the sport, including 10 National Championships and 10 Gold Cup victories.
One of Villwock’s 67 victories came in
the second Oryx Cup in 2010 driving Ellstrom Racing’s 96 Spirit of Qatar.
21
Miss Seattle
In the summer of 2014, Villwock returned to the driver’s seat as pilot of the
37 Miss Beacon Plumbing which has
been renumbered and renamed 21 Miss
Seattle for the Oryx Cup.
Over the years, Villwock has driven
some of the sport’s greatest boats including Fred Leland’s PICO AMERICAN DREAM from 1994 to 1996, where
he claimed first-place in eight races,
including one Gold Cup and the National Championship. As pilot of Bernie
Little’s legendary MISS BUDWEISER
from 1997 to 2004, he won 37 races, four Gold Cups and six National
Championships.
And with SPIRIT OF QATAR (formerly
ELLSTROM E-LAM PLUS) from2005
to 2012, he won 23 races, five Gold
Cups, and two National Championships.
Dave and his wife Holly live in Monroe,
Washington – North of Seattle.
DRIVER PROFILE
Mike
Webster began racing
at the age of 10 in the J
stock outboard classes, driving both hydros and runabouts on the East Coast
of the US. In 1994 Mike moved to the
Inboard category and was the 1995
National High Point Champion in the Z
class at 15 years old.
22
Webster Racing
Through high school and college, he
continued racing and accumulated numerous regional titles. After college,
Webster moved up to the highly competitive National Modified class and won
the 2004 and 2005 National High Point
Championships and World Championships in that class.
2009 was Mike’s first season in an Unlimited. He drove his family’s newly acquired boat to 11th overall in National
points and earned Rookie of the Year
honors.
In 2010, Webster Racing improved to 7th
overall in National High points and the team
and driver continued to improve until a devastating accident at the Detroit APBA Gold Cup
ended the team’s 2012 season.
An extensive rebuild had the boat ready for
the 2013 H1 Unlimited domestic season opener in Sacramento, California and a season of
consistency and strong finishes was rewarded
with a Top 10 finish in season high points.
Mike is a school teacher in Reading, Pennsylvania where he and his wife Melissa live with
daughter Hailey and son Michael.
DRIVER PROFILE
52
year old Canadian Jean Theoret returns to the driver’s seat
of an unlimited hydroplane for the first
time since 2009. Prior to an unlimited
career that produced six wins from 2005
to 2008, Theoret spent over 25 years in
hydroplane racing as a crew member,
an engine builder, a driver and a team
owner and manager.
96
Spirit of Qatar
Jean was the most successful driver in
the history of the Grand Prix class, Canada’s premier inboard hydroplane class
with 43 wins and numerous Canadian,
American, North American and World
Championships and speed records.
Chosen by Bill Wurster to drive the U-8
in 2005, Theoret drove to victory in Seattle and Nashville and was the 2005
Unlimited Rookie of the Year at age 43.
Before the 2006 season, Wurster sold the U-8 to Billy
Schumacher who rechristened it the U-37, with sponsorship from Beacon Plumbing. Theoret’s sophomore season produced three impressive victories including the
APBA Gold Cup in Detroit and wins in Seattle and Nashville. Jean’s sixth win came in Evansville in 2008.
In 2011, Jean Theoret was inducted into the Canadian
Motorsports Hall of Fame and was hailed as, “Canada’s
most successful living hydroplane racer and one of the
greatest powerboat racers Canada has produced.”
Jean and his wife Danielle make their home in Maple
Grove, Quebec. They have two sons Pierre and Samuel.
DRIVER PROFILE
David
Warren is in his ninth
year as a driver, his second in the H1 Unlimited Series.
100
Sahara Pizza
Warren began his boat racing career
by volunteering to help out on a team
in the Unlimited Light Series. He soon
became a crew chief and was allowed to
take the boat out for a test drive. That
was when he realized he wanted to be
a driver.
Warren purchased the silver and green
GP-329 and became an owner/driver
and a regular in the Grand Prix West
Series. Since then, he has driven several Grand Prix boats and qualified as
an unlimited driver in 2013.
Dave Warren lives in Lake Stevens,
Washington.