KNDU.com - Here's the latest from the Oryx Cup UIM World Championship in Qatar.
STEVE DAVID AND JON ZIMMERMAN CLINCH VICTORIES IN
HEATS 4-A
AND 4-B AT THE ORYX CUP UIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
--David, Zimmerman, Shane,
Thompson and Perkins qualify for Oryx Cup final.
--U-1 Spirit of Qatar's Dave Villwock misses out; fire
damages U-1 Spirit of Qatar.
DOHA (Qatar) Jan. 11, 2013: U-6 Oh Boy!
Oberto's Steve David and No. 9 Jones Racing's Jon Zimmerman clinched victories
in the fourth set of heats at the Oryx Cup UIM World Championship in Doha Bay on
Friday afternoon.
"If someone told me that I was going to win two race
heats this weekend I wouldn't have believed them," said a delighted Zimmerman.
"Now bring on the final…"
Despite the threat of violent winds, weather
conditions improved markedly and Qatar Marine Sport Federation (QMSF) and H1
Unlimited officials were able to carry out a morning practice session and Heats
4-A and 4-B, much to the delight of the crowd who had gathered to watch the
world's fastest powerboats in action in Doha.
Florida resident David had
already clinched the 2012 H1 Unlimited National High Points Championship during
the three pairs of heats on Thursday afternoon and attention in Heats 4-A and
4-B turned to the battle to qualify for the prestigious six-boat Oryx Cup UIM
World Championship winner-take-all final on Saturday afternoon.
When the
points scored during qualifying and the four heats were totaled for each driver,
David, Zimmerman, Jimmy Shane, Tom Thompson, Brian Perkins and J. Michael Kelly
had done enough to make the six-boat final, but a final decision on whether
Kelly had automatically made the final as the sixth ‘trailer' boat was not made
immediately.
Not only did Villwock miss out on the final he won in 2010,
but his misery was compounded when a fire aboard U-1 Spirit of Qatar forced the
original Heat 4-B to be re-run after a 45-minute delay and gave him no chance of
getting closer to the runner-up in the National High Points Championship, Jimmy
Shane.
"We have had a dream weekend so far and now we can concentrate on
the final," said Steve David. "We know that the Qatar boat is one of the fastest
on the water and we know that they will be back at the next race to try and get
revenge."
Heat 4-A
With the National High Points title already wrapped
up during three glorious heats on Thursday afternoon, Steve David had no
pressure at the start of Heat 4-A, where he lined up alongside the in-form Brian
Perkins, Kip Brown, J. Michael Kelly and Mark Evans.
David made the
running from the start - which was under review by race officials - and the U-6
driver began to pull away from the pursuing Kelly, Brown, Perkins and Evans.
David continued to press home his advantage and the quintet held station to the
checkered flag. But Kelly was forced to run an extra lap for allegedly jumping
the start and that dropped him from second to fifth and promoted Brown to the
runner-up spot. It was David's fourth win in four starts, as he amassed a
perfect score of 1,600 points from the Doha heats.
Heat 4-B
With U-1
Spirit of Qatar repaired, Dave Villwock could set about making amends for a
miserable Thursday on Doha Bay, when he lined up with Jimmy Shane, Jon
Zimmerman, Tom Thompson and Ryan Mallow in Heat 4-B. Qualifying for the final
was impossible for the Washington State driver, who languished in 10th place in
the weekend's rankings.
The heat start was deemed legal and Villwock
surged through the first turn and began to extend his lead down the back
straight, as news filtered through from race officials that Shane had made a
lane infringement and would be forced to run a penalty lap. Villwock launched
the U-1 into the turn in front of the pits, but he was carrying far too much
speed at the same time as a gust of wind blew across Persian Gulf.
The
boat was launched into the air and crashed down heavily into the water. Villwock
managed to stay in control, but he ground to a halt as a small fire started. It
was quickly put out before massive damage was done to the U-1, but the race had
already been red flagged with Zimmerman leading from Shane and both Thompson and
Mallow struggling with engine problems.
Three boats had to be towed back
to the pit area and the heat was delayed for 45-minutes while repairs were made.
Only three drivers made the re-start and Shane's penalty lap carried over into
the repeat of the heat. He managed to overtake Zimmerman at the end of lap one
and use clean water to his advantage and run the extra lap, but there was no
pressure on Zimmerman to stop him taking the heat win and Thompson cruised round
with a slowing boat to take second, with Shane finishing third.
The Oryx
Cup UIM World Championship race is provisionally scheduled to take place at 3pm
Doha time on Saturday afternoon.
HEAT 4-A
1. U-6 Steve David/Oh Boy!
Oberto, 400 points
2. U-17 Kip Brown/Miss Red Dot, 300 points
3. No. 88
Brian Perkins/Snoqualmie Casino,225 points
4. U-57 Mark Evans/FEDCO, 169
points
5. No. 37 J. Michael Kelly/Miss Beacon Plumbing,127 points
HEAT
4-B
1. No.9 Jon Zimmerman/Jones Racing,400 points
2. U-11Tom
Thompson/Unlimited Hydroplane Group,300 points
3. No. 5 Jimmy Shane/Graham
Trucking-225 points
U-100 Ryan Mallow/Miss Fox Plumbing-DNS
U-1 Dave
Villwock/Spirit of Qatar-DQ
