Qatar Marine Sports Federation

• Villwock holds off David to claim APBA Gold Cup victory.
• QMSF-backed Villwock wins Heats 1A, 2C and 4B.
• Qatar-backed driver edges Steve David in qualifying session.

MADISON (USA): U-1 Spirit of Qatar’s Dave Villwock claimed his second successive victory in a round of the 2012 Air National Guard H1 Hydroplane Series by winning the APBA Gold Cup on the Detroit River on Sunday.

The most successful driver in the history of hydroplane racing clinched a 67^thcareer win – his second in two weekends - by staying ahead of U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto in a thrilling final held in demanding weather conditions.

The Washington State driver, who runs an Ellstrom Racing hydroplane in the H1 Unlimited series with the backing of Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), duly extended his advantage in the National High Points standings to 465 points, after adding a clean sweep of heat victories to his fastest time in qualifying.

Villwock continued his superb run of form after the victory in Madison last weekend by setting the pace in the qualifying session with an average speed of 162.904mph to collect the 100 extra points. Steve David was second with 161.789mph and Jimmy Shane was third.

The U-1 Spirit of Qatar driver was drawn with David, Jon Zimmerman and J.W. Myers in Heat 1A and he prevailed to secure another haul of maximum points, with Shane winning Heat 1B and Greg Hopp taking 1C after Mike Webster was involved in a spectacular crash in U-22 Great Scott!. Villwock got the better of J. Michael Kelly and Cal Phipps to continue his superb form in Heat 2C.

The QMSF-backed driver was again drawn with David in Heat 3B, with Myers, Scott Liddycoat and Hopp joining the action. Shane won 3A but Villwock was penalised 50 points in Heat 3B, despite setting the fastest average speed of 155.264 mph.

David, the Oh Boy! Oberto driver, secured maximum points in heat 4A, but Villwock redressed the balance in windy conditions with victory in his delayed fourth heat – 4B.

Villwock was drawn with Shane, David, Zimmerman, Kelly and Evans for the final and the U-1 Spirit of Qatar driver managed to stay clear of David after a tense few minutes of racing to reach the chequered flag and claim his 67^th career victory.

2012 APBA Gold Cup final result

Position                Lap Speed                     Boat           Driver

1.                        151.089 mph                     1             Dave Villwock     Spirit of Qatar

2.                        147.04 mph                       6             Steve David        Oh Boy! Oberto

3.                        138.801 mph                    37            J. Michael Kelly Miss Beacon Plumbing

4.                        138.018 mph                      9            Jon Zimmerman Jones Racing

5.                        125.182 mph                    57            Mark Evans   Formulaboats.com

6.                        132.819 mph                      5            Jimmy Shane Graham Trucking

Accumulated Points with Qualifying after APBA Gold Cup

Number - Boat                                                   Driver Points

U-1  Spirit of Qatar 96   Dave Villwock                      3650

U-6  Oh Boy! Oberto   Steve David                           3185

U-5  Graham Trucking   Jimmy Shane                      2073

U-9  Jones Racing    Jon Zimmerman                       1974

U-88  Degree Men    Scott Liddycoat                        1929

U-17  Miss Red Dot    Kip Brown                              1887

U-11  Miss Peters & May   JW Myers                       1775

U-37  Miss Beacon Plumbing J. Michael Kelly           1682

U-100  Leland Unlimited   Greg Hopp                        1607

U-57  Formulaboats.com   Mark Evans                      1514

U-22  Great Scott!    Mike Webster                             510

U-13  Spirit of Detroit   Cal Phipps                               30

Ends

For further information:

Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Mobile: + 44 7831 123153, E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and www.ndp-publicity.com (press releases).

Or

Steve Montgomery, Tel: + 1 206 618 8382, E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.qmsf.org

www.h1unlimited.com