1998 Virginia Is For Lovers Cup
Miss Budweiser and Villwock Win Again!!!
| Virginia Is For Lovers Cup | |
|---|---|
| Willoughby Bay, Norfolk, VA | July 18-19, 1998 |
Looking at the schedule one knew Norfolk would be a tough race to get a hill field of hydros. Scheduled between Detroit and Tri-Cities with no rest or breaks, brought a small six boat field to the naval base. The UHRA put on as good a show as possible (with what they had to work with) pulling out all the stops. We saw exhibition runs with Steve David in the Alamo and Mark Evans and Mike Weber taking the Unlimited Lights out for a spin. In the Unlimited Lights, Bo Schide in the Alamo won his second in a row, while Randy Haas finished a close second. George Stratton took home third while Thompson, Bender, and Steve Weber all failed to finish. The "J" stock hydros were there along with the popular Jersey Speed Skiffs. Plus the Unlimiteds had all boats together or at least they tried to put on six boat heats.
It was the first time the Miss Budweiser T-5 hull had been raced since last years accident in Tri-Cities and it came through with flying colors, taking wire-to-wire heat wins all day long. The "salt gremlins" bit everyone on the beach at one time or another except Miss Bud and the Master Tire ("Rice Krispies" snap, krackle and pop) boat of and Ed Cooper Jr. and Sr. Driven by Mark Weber, the Master Tire by virtue of staying alive in the final heat finished a well deserved second. In the final heat, Mark Evans hit a buoy. Even with PICO running better, something has seemed to bite this team this year. PICO and the Leland camp still can't seem to find the right stuff to beat the big red machine yet. Norfolk has aircraft carriers as a backdrop and a fan friendly race course that takes you closer than the average stop on the circuit. The local paper Monday morning talked of changing the date of the race next year. For all hydro fans, let's hope so! If you haven't seen this race site, it's one of the best.
| # | Driver | Boat | Qual. Speed | 1(A) | 1(B) | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U-1 | Dave Villwock | Miss Budweiser (T-5) | 152.847 | 1 / 130.984 | - | 1 / 124.514 | 1 / 121.027 | 1 / 127.057 | (1) / 123.753 | 2040 |
| U-100 | N. Mark Evans | PICO American Dream 96 | 143.221 | 2 / 124.067 | - | DNS | DNS | 2 / 113.313 | (3) / 100.101* | 855 |
| U-2 | Steve David | PrimeStar/Harvey Motor | 142.113 | DNS | 2 / 113.711 | 2 / 115.105 | 3 / 106.498 | (4) / DNF | 848 | |
| U-9 | Mike Weber | Miss Carpenter Comm | 131.066 | - | 1 / 100.315 | DNF | DNF | DNS | (5) / DNF | 317 |
| U-3 | Mark Weber | Master Tire | 125.287 | - | 2 / 59.336 | DNF | 3 / 86.880 | DNS | (2) / 103.314 | 838 |
| U-14 | Ken Muscatel | Vuarnet/Audio Bahn | Comm. Option | - | DNS | DNF | DNF | W/D | (6) / DNS | -0- |
| U-1 | Dave Villwock | Miss Budweiser (T-3) | 151.007 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| * Infraction (hit buoy) one lap penalty | ||||||||||
(Thunderboat, August 1998)