DOHA (Qatar): U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto’s Steve David and U-9 Jones Racing’s Jon Zimmerman snatched victories in the first pair of heats at the 2013 Oryx Cup UIM World Championship in Doha Bay on Friday afternoon.
Nine of the fastest drivers on the planet used day one of the Oryx Cup for testing and qualifying before the first pair of racing heats took place in perfect weather conditions in front of a healthy number of spectators, who enjoyed the excellent on-site facilities and the high-speed action.
David, the defending National High Points champion, fended off a fierce challenge from January’s Oryx Cup winner Jimmy Shane in U-5 Graham Trucking to take victory in heat 1A.
“That was a fantastic start for us,” said David. “We had about 4.8% more power than we had in the Oryx Cup final. That doesn’t sound a lot but it makes a difference with these turbine boats. The fuel flow was perfect and legal. We had a lot more time to get the perfect set-up. It’s a long weekend ahead, but I am delighted with the start we have made.”
Jon Zimmerman held off a fierce challenge from U-95 Spirit of Qatar’s Kip Brown and J. Michael Kelly in U-37 Miss Beacon Plumbing to secure the win in heat 1B. The three drivers produced a scintillating spectacle in the setting sun on Doha Bay, but Zimmerman held on in U-9 Jones Racing to take the 400 points and Kelly inherited second when Brown was forced to run a penalty lap for cutting the final turn in front of Kelly.
“I’ve got a very talented crew and they have worked really hard to get us into this position,” said a delighted Zimmerman. “I made a good start, worked well and got the result we wanted.”
Steve David had set the fastest lap in the early afternoon qualifying session, the U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto driver claiming 100 qualifying points ahead of runner-up Kip Brown and third-placed Jimmy Shane. Brown had been the first driver out on the water in U-95 Spirit of Qatar and ran superbly well on his team debut, his times peaking with a second of three laps in excess of 142mph. Zimmerman was forced to run a second set of laps at the end of the session after a fuel violation and a lost propeller cost him his initial opportunity to qualify U-9 Jones Racing.
The Oryx Cup UIM World Championship is being organised by the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) in conjunction with H1 Unlimited. The QMSF runs under the presidency of His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani.
Heat 1A
Jimmy Shane, Steve David, Brian Perkins and Ryan Mallow lined up in a legal start in heat 1A - the first of the new season of H1 Unlimited racing - but Tom Thompson was unable to fire up the U-11 Peters & May and was forced to pull off the course, as David held that little extra boat speed into the flying start.
The National High Points champion and the defending Oryx Cup winner were neck-and-neck into turn one, but David began to pull away as the four boats headed down the back straight and Mallow began to fall behind. By the end of lap one, David had a boat length advantage and began to edge clear, as Shane also pulled well ahead of Perkins and Mallow. David held on to take the heat win and 400 championship points, with Shane finishing second and both drivers lapping Mallow on the back straight on lap three. Perkins came in a comfortable third.
Heat 1B
U-95 Spirit of Qatar’s Kip Brown, Jon Zimmerman, J. Michael Kelly and Mark Evans were drawn together in heat 1B and it proved to be a cracker. After a legal start, Zimmerman took the outside line and managed to hold his own against Brown and Kelly, as Evans slipped behind the leading trio. They were neck-and-neck down the back straight and Zimmerman held a slender lead heading into lap two from lane three and began to edge clear of Brown and Kelly.
A mere rooster tail separated the leading trio down the back straight on lap two and they held station into the final lap, with Zimmerman gradually pulling clear into the final turn to power home to the heat win. Brown managed to fend of Kelly’s challenge into the final turn, as J. Michael lifted the nose of U-37 terrifyingly into the air. The inaugural Oryx Cup winner somehow managed to keep it in one piece and under control and shadowed Brown to the finish in third, with Evans taking fourth position. But race officials forced Brown to run a one-lap penalty for a lane infringement on the final lap and he was pushed down to fourth place in U-95, his misfortune promoting Kelly and Evans to second and third.
(Saturday)
A second period of testing precedes the running of the second heats from 1pm and the third pair of heats bring the on-course action to a close at around 3.30pm on Saturday. Spectators are welcome to attend at any time and there is a grandstand overlooking Doha Corniche with superb views of the course. Food, trade stands and children’s entertainment will also be on site throughout race day and the pit area will be open to the general public between 4.30pm and 6.30pm.
Oryx Cup - UIM World Championship – H1 Unlimited Heats (Friday – unofficial @ 16.40hrs)
1A
1. U-1 Steve David Oh Boy! Oberto 400 points
2. U-5 Jimmy Shane Graham Trucking 300 points
3. U-21 Brian Perkins Snoqualmie Casino 225 points
4. U-100 Ryan Mallow Miss Fox Plumbing 169 points
U-11 Tom Thompson Peters & May DNS
1B
1. U-9 Jon Zimmerman Jones Racing 400 points
2. U-37 J. Michael Kelly Miss Beacon Plumbing 300 points
3. U-57 Mark Evans Formulaboats.com 225 points
4. U-95 Kip Brown Spirit of Qatar 169 points
No comments:
Post a Comment