1967 San Diego Cup
Miss Bardahl Wins San Diego Cup
Miss Bardahl's domination on the unlimited circuit continued at the season's finale on Mission Bay in California, Sept. 24. The national champion outclassed a field of 13 contenders to win the fourth annual San Diego Cup before an estimated crowd of 55,000 with an average speed of 100.062 m.p.h. for the 45 miles.
Young Schumacher posted his sixth win of the eight-race circuit this year with such ease that he had a margin to spare even after jumping the gun in the final contest. The error cost the 24-year-old driver an extra lap and a perfect heat record in the regatta. Two preliminary heat wins plus a second in the final event gave Miss Bardahl the most impressive record in modern unlimited history.
Fred Alter driving the new Parco-O Ring Miss finished a surprising second in the regatta with Miss U.S. piloted by Bill Muncey taking third. Both boats tied on total points but the California-based O-Ring entry had the nod on total elapsed time.
Billy Schumacher showed his boat's capabilities in the opening heat. He steered Miss Bardahl into the lead at the start, powered to a record lap speed of 110.15 the first time around, then finished the contest 27.8 seconds ahead of second place Miss Budweiser. Twin hemi-powered Miss Chrysler Crew trailed by 3.5 seconds.
Savair's Probe jumped off to a good start to lead Parco O-Ring Miss, Atlas Van Lines and My Gypsy on the first lap of heat 1-B. At the beginning of lap two, Fred Alter steered around the Probe to take command with Ed O'Halloran moving My Gypsy from fourth to second on the same lap. California's newest entry maintained the advantage to finish 13.3 seconds ahead at an average of 99.870 m.p.h.
It was Miss U.S. all the way in Heat 1-C. Bill Muncey opened a nine-second lead on second place Wayfarers Club Lady on the first go-around, then continued to power ahead to post a 103.926 m.p.h. average for the six-lap heat.
In the re-draw for the second sections Miss U.S., My Gypsy, Miss Chrysler Crew and Atlas Van Lines were matched in heat 2-A. Again, it was George Simon's Miss U.S. the class of the match. It posted the winning average of 103.250 m.p.h.
A very slow start in heat 2-B which saw all boats throttled back to an idle to prevent jumping the gun gave the fans a thrill when suddenly all five contenders accelerated in a massive display of power on water as the starting gun sounded. Miss Bardahl led at the end of the first lap and had a winning speed of 105.551 m.p.h. five laps later. Back in third, rookie Thomas moved the Budweiser entry up to challenge for the runner-up spot on the second go-around. For the next lap a torrid duel was staged as Wayfarers Club Lady tried to turn back a vigorous challenge by the charging Miss Budweiser, but failed when "the Lady" developed a slight power loss. Parco O-Ring also moved up to drop the hapless contender to fourth. Savair's Mist followed in fifth place.
Going into the final heat the two top contenders, Miss Bardahl and Miss U.S., were tied with 800 points on the basis of two heat wins each.
Parco O-Ring Miss with 625 points, My Gypsy and Miss Budweiser with 600 points each and Miss Chrysler Crew with 450 points completed the field in the final heat. Again, the drivers were too restless, the two leaders plus My Gypsy and Miss Budweiser started too early, costing each a one-lap penalty.
Racing wildly to the first turn, Schumacher rounded the buoys just a boat length ahead of Miss U.S. From then on, the outcome was never in doubt. He increased his lead on each succeeding lap to finish his seven-lap heat 27 seconds in front of Miss U.S.
Back in the pack, the only legal starter left after Miss Chrysler Crew went out on lap three when an oil line failed, the O-Ring entry finished first as all the other boats were taking their penalty lap. Alter's victory in the final event moved him to second overall in the regatta.
| The summaries: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miss Bardahl | Billy Schumacher | 1,100 pts. |
| 2 | Parco O-Ring Miss | Fred Alter | 1,025 |
| 3 | Miss U.S. | Bill Muncey | 1,025 |
| 4 | My Gypsy | Ed O'Halloran | 769 |
| 5 | Miss Budweiser | Mike Thomas | 600 |
| 6 | Miss Chrysler Crew | Mira Slovak | 450 |
| 7 | Savair's Mist | Walt Kade | 427 |
| 8 | Wayfarers Club Lady | Jim McCormick | 394 |
| 9 | Atlas Van Lines | Bob Schroeder | 338 |
| 10 | Savair's Probe | Bob Miller | 225 |
| Miss Lapeer | Warner Gardner | 0 | |
| Miss Eagle Electric | Norm Evans | 0 | |
| Hilton Hy-Per-Lube | Bob Gilliam | 0 | |
| Final Standings: 1967 Unlimited Division American Power Boat Assn. Drivers: (official) |
||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Schumacher | 8,325 pts. |
| 2 | Bill Muncey | 5,038 |
| 3 | Jim McCormick | 4,991 |
| 4 | Mike Thomas | 4,904 |
| 5 | Walt Kade | 3,472 |
| 6 | Warner Gardner | 3,445 |
| 7 | Bob Schroeder | 3,230 |
| 8 | Ed O'Halloran | 3,071 |
| 9 | Jim Ranger | 3,038 |
| 10 | Bob Miller | 3,005 |
| 11 | Bill Sterett | 2.852 |
| 12 | Mira Slovak | 2,502 |
| 13 | Fred Alter | 1,625 |
| 14 | Chuck Hickling | 1,450 |
| 15 | Red Loomis | 1,159 |
| 16 | Bob Gilliam | 1,102 |
| 17 | Norm Evans | 994 |
| 18 | Jack Regas | 746 |
| 19 | Bob Fendler | 394 |
| 20 | Roy Duby | 225 |
| Final Standings: 1967 Unlimited Division American Power Boat Assn. Boats: (official) |
||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miss Bardahl | 8,325 pts. |
| 2 | Miss Chrysler Crew | 5,354 |
| 3 | Miss U.S. | 5,038 |
| 4 | My Gypsy | 4,959 |
| 5 | Miss Budweiser | 4,904 |
| 6 | Wayfarers Club Lady | 4,391 |
| 7 | Savair's Mist | 3,472 |
| 8 | Miss Lapeer | 3,445 |
| 9 | Atlas Van Lines | 3,230 |
| 10 | Savair's Probe | 3,005 |
| 11 | Notre Dame | 1,749 |
| 12 | Parco O-Ring Miss | 1.625 |
| 13 | Harrah's Club | 1,450 |
| 14 | Miss Wickman | 1,159 |
| 15 | Miss Madison | 1,150 |
| 16 | Hilton Hy-Per-Lube | 1,120 |
| 17 | Miss Eagle Electric | 525 |
| 18 | $ Bill | 469 |
| 19 | Smirnoff | 225 |
(Reprinted from Yachting, November, 1967, pp.171-172)