The Albert Lee Appliance Seafair Cup 2015 in Genesee Park from Seattle July 31 – August 2, 2015 is almost here! Witness the World’s Fastest Race Boats go head to head to head on Lake Washington. This race is the largest stage H1 Unlimited Hydroplane drivers will race on all season. Immense crowds, live television coverage on KIRO TV and live radio broadcast of the races make this an event not to miss!
With a majority of the drivers calling the Seattle area home, it’s also a chance to race in front of friends and family in an event many of them have followed since childhood. Here’s a rundown of who you can expect to see out there on the water.
JESSE ROBERTSON
2015 will be Jesse Robertson’s first full season in H1, having gained his rookie ride at the UIM World Championship in 2014. Jesse Robertson qualified as an unlimited driver during the 2013 season, driving Mark Evans’ 57 Fedco in Seattle. He also drove two heats at the 2013 Diamond Cup in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, coming away with a fourth-place finish in the final in his first weekend of competition.
Jesse first cut his teeth in inboard hydroplanes in 2000, starting out in the very competitive 1 liter class, and has moved up the ranks through the 2.5 liter stock, 5 liter, Unlimited Lights and Grand Prix classes. Jesse has also raced outboard hydroplanes and oval race cars with great success. A natural when it comes to racing, he has always been a threat to win no matter what he is driving.
PATRICK SANKUER
Centurion Racing co-owners Jay Leckrone and Denise Garl announced Patrick Sankuer, Jr. of Chesterfield, Mich. as the driver of the ‘U-12, Miss DiJulio’ on the H1 Unlimited Hydroplane circuit for 2015. Sankuer will replace Jesse Robertson who joined Ted Porter and the Graham Trucking team earlier this year. “I am very excited to get this opportunity to race an unlimited hydroplane,” said the rookie Sankuer. “I wanted to race an unlimited since I was five years old when I first started watching the races on the Detroit River.”
The connection between Centurion Racing and Sankuer started a few years ago when Patrick was a crewmember on the Dave Bartush owned U-13 and Leckrone was the crew chief. “We got to know each other quite well and then last year when the boat was damaged in Madison, he called me to help him get the boat repaired in time for the Detroit Gold Cup, “ said Sankuer, who is President of Sankuer Composite Technologies of Sterling Heights, Mich. “We do a lot of work with hydroplanes and we were able to get the boat ready to race in Detroit.” The 45-year old Sankuer, Jr. has been married to his wife Sara for 15 years.
JIMMY SHANE
Jimmy Shane grew up in a boat racing family – parents Stuart and Robin, as well as sister Kelly have all been national champions in various APBA inboard divisions. Shane spent five years as a backup driver for Ted Porter’s Precision Performance Race Team. In 2012, he was given the full-time seat in the 5 Graham Trucking and became an instant front-runner. Just three races into the season, he scored an impressive win in the 2012 Lamb-Weston Columbia Cup in the Tri-Cities.
After strong finishes at the Albert Lee Cup at Seafair in Seattle and Bayfair on San Diego’s Misssion Bay, Shane won a closely contested Final Heat to become the champion of the 2012 Oryx Cup UIM World Championship in Doha, Qatar. Just one month later, Shane found himself holding the Oryx Cup and UIM World Championship trophies again, after returning to Doha and winning the 2013 season opener. Shane went on to finish the season strong with wins in Seattle, Coeur d’Alene and San Diego, edging David for the driver and team titles. He also went on to clinch the H1 Unlimited High Points title at the season-ending UIM World Championship, bringing the prestigious “U-1″ back to the team for the 2015 season.
J. MICHAEL KELLY
J. Michael Kelly signed a multi-year agreement as the primary driver for the Porter Racing team in March 2015, insuring the team of his services for the foreseeable future. Kelly won the first of Team Porter’s five Oryx Cup World Championships in November 2009, claiming the inaugural Doha, Qatar race with the 7 Graham Trucking and backing it up with the 2014 title as well.
Kelly drove for Team Porter as the pilot of the 7 Graham Trucking in 2009-10, when he finished on the podium eight times in 12 races – one first, five seconds, and two thirds. His first career win in the unlimiteds was the 2009 Oryx Cup UIM World Championship victory, starting Porter’s dominance at the Oryx Cup. Kelly has been a fixture among the top drivers in the sport since breaking into the Unlimited ranks.
KELLY STOCKLIN
Kelly Stocklin is a local legend when it comes to boat racing. Stocklin’s racing resume dates back to 1974 and includes decades of competition in the major flat bottom classes – super stock, pro stock and pro comp. He was a long-time record holder in the pro stock category. He is part of the team that has set multiple runabout records in all classes. Kelly has been instrumental in the evolution and implementation of driver safety capsules in these classes.
In the early 1990’s, Stocklin’s first experience in the cockpit of a hydroplane came in the 7 liter class. He was an early participant in the Unlimited Light Class and long-time driver of Thunder Valley Racing’s supercharged UL. At age 61, when most have retired, Kelly Stocklin started his driving career in Unlimiteds and was named the 2012 H1 Unlimited Rookie of the Year.
BRIAN PERKINS
Brian Perkins grew up in the Seattle area dreaming of driving an Unlimited hydroplane like his boyhood heroes. As a fifteen year old, he was a crew member on Bill Wurster’s U-8 Llumar Window Film team. A short time later, he found a ride in a friend’s 2.5 liter and his driving career was underway. Brian and his race boats, with sponsorship from the family business – Perkins Glass – became well known in inboard racing circles.
His Inboard resume includes victories in the Unlimited Light class at Issaquah, Washington in 2006 and at Silverdale, Washington in 2009. Brian’s 2014 season was looking to be the best of his Unlimited career, when he drove the U-21 to 2nd place in the APBA Gold Cup. Unfortunately that season was cut short when the boat was seriously damaged in a blow-over accident during the HAPO Columbia Cup in Tri Cities. Brian works with his family in the glass business and met his wife Erin at the San Diego Race, where she worked as an animal trainer at Sea World. They live in North Bend, Washington with two dogs.
MIKE WEBSTER
Mike Webster began racing at the age of 10 in the J stock outboard classes, driving both hydros and runabouts on the East Coast. He capped off a very successful introduction to boat racing by winning the 1990 J Stock Hydro Eastern Divisionals and a long, successful racing career was underway. In 1994 Mike moved to the Inboard category and was the 1995 National High Point Champion in the Z class at 15 years old.
As Mike passed by the historic Detroit Yacht club, battling two other drivers at more than 200 mph in a boat the team had purchased from the Madison team in 2011, a devastating blow over accident turned Webster’s promising new ride into a badly broken race boat. An extensive rebuild in the team’s Reading, Pennsylvania shop had the boat ready for the H1 Unlimited season and it was faster than ever.
CAL PHIPPS
Cal Phipps began driving a 1-liter hydro in late 1993, won his first Regional title in ’94 and the National High Points title in ’95. In 2008, Phipps was introduced to the Unlimited class as a crewman on Dave Bartush’s U-13. “I wanted to learn as much as I could about turbine engines and ended up helping replacing the bottom of the boat and other major repairs. The team lost a propeller at the Evansville race sustaining major damage, “so I got lots of work in on that boat,” Phipps said. His first test in an Unlimited happened at the Tri-Cities race in the U-13, where he clocked laps within 4MPH of the team’s regular driver, J. Michael Kelly, after only four laps of testing.
Cal’s introduction to Wiggins Racing occurred in 2000, driving the family’s G-10 hydroplane and he has driven for Wiggins Racing in various classes for 13 years to date. The Wiggins’ family has now purchased the U-17 ‘Miss Red Dot’ from Our Gang Racing to run the 2015 H1 Unlimited tour – a boat that Phipps is very familiar with – it’s the same hull he did so well with at the 2011 Gold Cup. He is happy to be back in the “new” U-27 driving for Wiggins, and in a typical Phipps confidence he said, “If you don’t believe me, I will show you.”
JEAN THEORET
Canadian Jean Theoret returns to the driver’s seat of an unlimited hydroplane for the first time since 2009. Prior to an unlimited career that produced six wins from 2005 to 2008, Theoret spent over 25 years in hydroplane racing as a crewmember, an engine builder, a driver and a team owner and manager. Jean was the most successful driver in the history of the Grand Prix class, Canada’s premier inboard hydroplane class with 43 wins and numerous Canadian, American, North American and World Championships and speed records.
Before the 2006 season, Wurster sold the U-8 to Billy Schumacher who rechristened it the U-37, with sponsorship from Beacon Plumbing. Theoret’s sophomore season produced three impressive victories including the APBA Gold Cup in Detroit and wins in Seattle and Nashville. Jean’s sixth win came in Evansville in 2008. In 2011, Jean Theoret was inducted into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame and was hailed as, “Canada’s most successful living hydroplane racer and one of the greatest powerboat racers Canada has produced.”
KEVIN EACRET
Kevin Eacret began his driving career in 2006. With backing from his father, Barry Eacret and Risky Business Racing, he started in the 2.5 stock class, taking 2nd overall in Region 10 in his first season. From 2007 through 2009 Kevin raced in the 5 liter class achieving wins throughout the season and taking the 2009 Western Divisional and ULHRA Championships. Kevin is the only driver in ULHRA history to take both titles in the 4 cylinder and 8 cylinder class before moving up to the UL class.
2014 would see Kevin in the GP 12 sharing piloting duties with Gregg Hopp in the Bob Schellhase “Bob’s 401k” boat. Kevin clinched the 1st place finish for the team in National high points by never giving up despite damage to the boat in the final heat. The bottom of the boat had struck debris in the water, which damaged the escape hatch and forced water inside the cockpit around Kevin. His determination to win for the team that had worked so hard all season pushed Kevin to finish the race no matter the cost to himself. Kevin has always been a team player and will step in to help his team with repairs, work on motors and do whatever needs to be done. Kevin also has a reputation of helping other teams into the wee hours of the morning to get their boats on the water simply because of his love for the sport and the competition.
SCOTT LIDDYCOAT
Scott Liddycoat started racing in 1990 when he took over for his dad at age 19 driving the family owned 5 liter. “If it wasn’t for my dad giving me my first chance and believing in me I wouldn’t be where I am today. Since then I have driven every hydroplane class in APBA, even a Jersey Speed Skiff with my wife riding” said Liddycoat.
In 2010, he won both the Alton Pierson Memorial Trophy and the Eddie Cannon Memorial Trophy for Best Overall 5-Litre class performance, as well as the National High Points Championship in the 2.5-Litre class. He also won series championships in 2007 (both 5-Litre and 2.5-Modified), 2006 (5-Litre), 2004 (National Modified), and 2002 (2.5-Litre Stock). He is an accomplished boat builder and used his experience from time with Jon Staudacher, Carter Parrish and Henry Lauterbach to design and build record-setting hydroplanes for himself and other drivers.
TOM THOMPSON
Tom started racing with his father 31 years ago in the Jersey Speed Skiff class. After one year on the circuit they bought a 2.5 stock and started in the hydroplane class. 2014 will be Tom’s 31st year of racing and for Tom it is a family affair.
He started following in his Dad’s footsteps and now his wife and daughter join him every time he takes the boat out on the water. Tom Thompson is the only driver to have driven in every inboard class and won championships in both Runabouts and Hydroplanes.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
FRIDAY, JULY 31
8:30 a.m. – Gates Open
8:30 a.m. – H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Testing
10:00 a.m. – H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Testing
12:00 p.m. – H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Driver Autograph Session
2:50 p.m. – H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Qualifying Session
6:00 p.m. – Gates Close
SATURDAY, AUGUST 1
8:30 a.m. – Gates Open
8:50 a.m. – H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Testing
11:15 a.m. – H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Heat 1A Presented by Barefoot Wine
11:35 a.m – H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Heat 1B Presented by Kyocera
12:00 p.m.- H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Driver Autograph Session
6:30 p.m. – Gates Close
SUNDAY, AUGUST 2
7:30 a.m. – Gates Open
8:30 a.m. – H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Testing
11:20 a.m – H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Heat 2A Presented by Tulalip Resort Casino
11:40 a.m – H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Heat 2B Presented by Fox Plumbing & Heating
2:55 p.m. – H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Heat 3A Presented by Graham Trucking
3:15 p.m. – H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Heat 3B Presented by OneMain Financial
4:45 p.m. – Albert Lee Appliance Cup at Seafair – H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Final
5:15 p.m. – Awards Ceremony at Stan Sayres Pits Stage
6:00 p.m. – Gates Close
