1951 Seafair Trophy

Two Marks Bettered by Slo-mo-shun IV

Fageol Sets World Records in Heat, but Slo-mo-shun V Wins Seattle Trophy

1951 APBA Gold Cup Programme Guide
1951 APBA Gold Cup Programme Guide

SEATTLE. Aug. 12 (AP)--Lou Fageol drove the speed boat Slo-mo-shun IV to two new world speed records on Lake Washington, today but was beaten by the Slo-mo-shun V for the Seafair trophy.

Fageol logged 112.530 miles per hour in the second lap of the second heat and averaged 111.742 for the heat's two laps. The Slo-mo-shun IV, which last year hung up a new world record of 160 m.p.h.., thus wiped out two records formerly held by Miss Pepsi of Detroit. These were 107.654 for a lap of five nautical miles and 107.394 for a ten-mile heat in competition.

Fageol made his records in an event new to speed boat racing this year. Three smaller craft competed in the three-heat race but finished far back.

Ted Jones, who designed both Slo-mos, used the tighter turnability of the V to nip Fageol at the final corner in both the first and third heats.

Jones drove the IV last year to a victory in the Gold Cup race but Fageol pushed the V to a 1951 Gold Cup victory just a week ago. Both boats are owned by Stan Sayres of Seattle.

Trailing Fageol through the wild middle heat, Jones also bettered Miss Pepsi's record. He traveled one lap at 108.981 m.p.h. and averaged 108.524 for. the heat.

Fageol chalked up a new record the first time he rounded the course today, going the first lap at 109.268 miles an hour. Jones nipped him on the final turn of the heat when the IV had to swing wide to avoid hitting one of the smaller boats in the race.

He smashed the lap standard again with a time of 110.974 in the opening round of the second heat.

Jones won the third heat by three lengths. averaging 107.12. He earned 1,100 points in the race, compared to 1,000 for Fageol in the IV.

The crowd was possibly half as large as the estimated 250,000 who watched the Gold Cup races Aug. 4.

(Associated Press, August 12, 1951)