1988 Budweiser Unlimited Hydroplane Championship
Miami hydroplane races set for today
If last season is an indication of how temperamental aircraft turbine engines can be in the demanding saltwater environment, Alan Vordermeier could be looking at a win today in his first unlimited hydroplane race.
At today's 18th Annual City of Miami Unlimited Hydroplane Championship, the season opener for the 1988 American Hydroplane Series, the Vordermeier Racing Team goes against the toughest competition in inboard hydroplane racing.
Racing is from noon to 4:30 p.m. at Miami Marine Stadium.
The turbine-powered Miss Budweiser won last year's race with an average speed of 92.204 after the turbine-powered Miller American sputtered and failed.
Drivers Jim Kropfeld in the highly capitalized Miss Budweiser and Chip Hanauer in the equally well-funded Miller High Life (former Miller American) are the annual favorites in this race.
Miss Budweiser owner Bernie Little and Miller's Fran Muncey's crews have dominated the Miami race on Biscayne Bay for the past 17 years. Little's team has nine victories and the Muncey team has five.
Vordermeier's goal is to become a rookie member of the fraternity. The 48-year-old Fort Lauderdale real estate developer has the credentials to make it.
His 7-Liter Hydroplane Miss Prime Mover has been a dominant force in the Grand Prix class for the past 15 years.
Flip ends trip
A former American Power Boat Association National Champion, High Point Champion and World Record Holder, he retired from driving in 1979 after flipping his boat in Dayton, Ohio.
Two years ago Vordermeier hired former competitor Wheeler Baker to drive for him.
Running Vordermeier's renamed Miss Prime Mover under the banner Miss Stroh, Baker finished an undefeated season in 7-Liter-/Grand Prix with not only the national championship but two world closed course records.
Inducted into the APBA Hall of Champions, Baker and Vordermeier did what any winning team would do — they moved up to the next class.
Their racing philosophy for unlimited hydroplanes follows their strategy in the 7-Liter/Grand Prix series.
"Keep it simple," Vordermeier said.
In a race dominated by boats powered by turbine aircraft engines, Vordermeier's 200-mph Miss Stroh Light Unlimited Hydroplane is driven by twin V-8, high performance Ford Marine engines.
The 3,000 horsepower boat with 585 cubic-inch engines is one of only two piston-powered boats racing today in the 11-boat field.
The other is Doug Monroe and Mike Bancroft's U-21, which is powered by a pair of 557 cubic-inch, fuel injected Chevrolet engines.
The engines in the U-21 are 1,800 horsepower, but according to Chuck Ankrum, vice commodore of the sponsoring Florida Inboard Hydroplane Racing Club, piston-powered boats are lighter and by the nature of the engines, "develop more raw horsepower at the start while it takes the jet boats a lap and a half to build up their speed."
Ability in the long run
The big question, said Ankrum, is whether they can hold top speed over the length of the 6-mile course.
Another factor to consider, he said, is the lack the maneuverability of the piston-powered boats.
The turbine boats are all powered by two Lycoming T-55, L-7 engines. Hanauer, Little, and Bill Wurster in the Mr. Pringle, which finished third overall in Miami last year, all use turbines.
While turbine boats have been dominant since Hanauer chauffeured the first one onto the course in 1985, they also can be temperamental, especially in saltwater.
Last year Little and Hanauer started the season in brand new boats and finished it in old ones.
Racing the Miller American, Hanauer ran the first six races of the nine-event series with lap speeds as fast as 150.476, before beaching his boat with engine problems following a second-place finish at Seattle.
The old piston-powered Miller, which last raced in 1984 as Atlas Van Lines, was recalled and finished the series with a Gold Cup win at San Diego and Silver Cup victory at Las Vegas.
Miss Budweiser, driven by Kropfeld, won its third World High Point Championship trophy in four years.
Like the Miller team, they had to pull the 1986 backup boat from storage to finish the the series.
The 11-boat field is the largest in the history of the City of Miami Unlimited Hydroplane Championships, Ankrum said.
Between the featured unlimited racing heats, limited hydroplane heats will be run for the Jersey Speed Skiffs, Formula Ford Cobras, 5-Liter and 2.5-Liter Stock inboards.
Admission is $12 and parking is free. Take I-95 south to the Ricken-backer Causeway exit. The Miami Marine Stadium is just off the causeway.
(Reprinted from The Palm Beach Post, June 5, 1988)