Tri-Cities Spring Testing session Is A Wrap
Monthly Meeting of the UNLIMITED NewsJournal/Unlimiteds Unanimous
Next Meeting: Sunday July 9th 2:00 pm
Bellevue Public Library - Meeting Room #3
click on library photo for link to directions
The Guntersville Lake Hydrofest Test session will be held on Spring Creek, this Saturday June 17. The best location for viewing is the Guntersville levee.
There will be 3 boats, the U-1 Miss HomeStreet, U-27 Wiggins Racing, and the vintage Gale V, at the test event. Each will be on and off the water testing throughout the day from 9am until 4pm.
The testing session is an opportunity for the H1 Unlimiteds to prepare for the 2017 race season and a chance for further planning and preparations for next years Guntersville Lake H1 unlimited race scheduled for June 22-24, 2018. More information can be found at http://www.marshallcountycvb.com/on-the-lake/hydrofest
MainSource Bank returns for the
2017 Madison Regatta
2016 H1 Unlimited Year In Review
Video by David Cormier, shown at the H1 Champions Gala Banquet
THE LATEST NEWS
MainSource Bank has signed on to sponsor the Madison Regatta for the second-straight year.
MainSource, which has branches in both Madison and Hanover, will join Midwest Tube Mills, which is sponsoring the Grand Prix World race, as major sponsors of this year’s event from June 30 through July 2. The 2017 event will be titled the MainSource Bank Indiana Governor’s Cup Madison Regatta.
This years Regatta will feature H1 unlimited and Grand Prix West Extreme Boat Racing series. In addition to the racing, a week-long festival will also be held beginning June 24. Several events including the annual pageant, fireworks, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament and the inaugural Madison Regatta Music and Food Truck Festival will be held.
J.W. Myers will be the driver of the U-16 Ellstrom Racing entry in 2017. The key to this happening is Erick Ellstrom's pending decision to race this summer. That choice has not been formally announced yet but he has selected J.W. Myers if the boat hits the circuit. At this point, the statement from the U-16 team is "plans are not firm yet" with regards to the 2017 H1 Unlimited season.
J.W. started his unlimited racing career in 2003 and drove for the Ellstrom family in 2005 for his first win in an unlimited. He was part of the group that formed the U-11 URG team and last raced the U-11 unlimited in 2012.
Will we see the return of a familiar face to the seat of an H1 Unlimited?
Four H1 Unlimiteds; the U-1 Miss HomeStreet Bank with Jimmy Shane, U-9 Les Schwab Tires with Andrew Tate, U-21 PayneWest Insurance with Brian Perkins, 440 Bucket List Racing with Dustin Echols plus the vintage 1973 Pay N Pak and the Hopp Racing GPW hydroplane spent the day under beautiful skies on the Columbia River.
All the teams completed multiple runs, trying various set-ups, and testing updates completed over the past winter months. The results of the testing data acquired will be used to develop setups for the upcoming racing season across the country.
Always a popular event the last few years in the Tri-Cities, this year the crowd was at its largest to date. A couple major sponsors were on-hand, several foods trucks, and great weather made it a very enjoyable event.
The 1973 Pay N Pak made it's first formal public debut on the Columbia River. Mary Henley, wife of the late George Henley was on-hand for the champagne christening of the boat before both Dr. Ken Muscatel and Mike Hanson put it through it's paces with several runs throughout the day.
The boats' debut was a success and it is scheduled to return in July for the 2017 HAPO Columbia Cup as a part of the vintage exhibition.
The NewsJournal will have a complete Tri-Cities testing wrap-up in our next issue.