LLumar Window Film Wins Columbia Cup

By Fred Farley - Unlimited Hydroplane Historian

It was Mark Evans Day on the Columbia River on July 27, 2003. Pilot Evans and owner Bill Wurster claimed first-place in the Tri-Cities (Washington) Columbia Cup with their bright yellow LLUMAR WINDOW FILM (U-8) on the Budweiser Unlimited Hydroplane Series Tour, presented by BOAT SHOPPER MAGAZINE.

The race was competitive as well as controversial. Several incidents of "bumping" occurred in the action-packed Final Heat with half of the boats returning to the dock with hull damage. But HYDRO-PROP Director of Competition Rick Sandstrom allowed the results to stand with no change in the order of finish.

The victorious LLUMAR entry averaged 142.774 in the Final Heat. Defending Columbia Cup champion Nate Brown took second at 140.796 with MISS E-LAM PLUS (U-16), followed closely by Mitch Evans in VACATIONVILLE.COM (U-3) at 140.443. Then came Dave Villwock in MISS BUDWEISER (U-1), Mike Weber in MISS GRAND CENTRAL CASINO ! (U-10), and Terry Troxell in MISS TRENDWEST (U-2) in that order.

Twelve Unlimited hulls and four vintage Unlimiteds set up shop in the Columbia Park pit area on the Kennewick side of the river.

Fred Leland's team showed up with a replacement U-100 hull to stand in for the one that flipped at Madison, Indiana.

The highlight of the pre-race festivities was an exhibition of three different MISS BUDWEISER boats from different eras in tribute to the late owner Bernie Little. These were the 1967 BUD with Larry Fuller driving, the 1980 Griffon BUD with David Williams, and the current MISS BUDWEISER (T-5) with Villwock.

The Allison-powered VACATIONVILLE.COM posted the fastest speed during the time trials with a 2.5-mile lap of 160.915, which is a world record for a piston-powered craft. Then came MISS BUDWEISER (T-5) at 158.864, Mike Hanson in SKYWAY PARK BOWL & CASINO (U-9) at 156.868, LLUMAR WINDOW FILM at 154.950, MISS E-LAM PLUS at 153.940, MI! SS GRAND CENTRAL CASINO at 153.835, Steve David in OH BOY! OBERTO (U-6 ) at 152.710, MISS TRENDWEST at 146.560, Ken Muscatel in KISW MISS ROCK (U-25) at 143.220, Jerry Hale in MISS ROYAL HOTEL (U-19) at 141.573, and Jerry Hopp in TONY ROMA'S (U-100) at 141.507.

MISS BUDWEISER (T-6) posted a speed of 158.089. It was the T-6 hull that the BUD team chose to race in the Columbia Cup.

Heat 1-A, on Saturday, July 26, matched U-1, U-3, U-10, U-16, U-19, and U-25. Heat 1-B, also on Saturday, had U-2, U-6, U-8, U-9, and U-100.

VACATIONVILLE.COM and MISS BUDWEISER were dead-even after lap-one in Heat 1-A. Evans led Villwock by half a roostertail after lap-two with VACATIONVILLE.COM going on to win over BUD, 148.409 to 142.835.

The order of finish was: U-3, U-1, U-16, U-10, and U-25. (U-19 did not start.)

SKYWAY PARK BOWL & CASINO led LLUMAR WINDOW FILM by three boat lengths after lap-one in Heat 1-B. SKYWAY, leading slightly, flamed out and blew the turbine engine on the backstretch of lap-two. LLUMAR then went! on to take the win at 145.169, compared to 140.907 for OH BOY! OBERTO.

The order of finish was: U-8, U-6, U-2, and U-100. (U-9 did not finish.)

On Sunday, July 27, Heat 2-A matched U-1, U-3, U-10, U-16, U-19, and U-25. Heat 2-B had U-2, U-6, U-8, U-9, and U-100.

Mitch Evans made it two heat wins in a row in Heat 2-A, leading from the first turn onward with VACATIONVILLE.COM The first four boats ran two roostertails apart during lap-one with the U-3 pulling away on lap-two and winning at 147.534 for the 10-mile distance.

The order of finish was: U-3, U-1, U-16, U-10, and U-25. (U-19 did not start.)

SKYWAY PARK BOWL & CASINO, equipped with a replacement engine, took the honors in Heat 2-B at 149.045. Pilot Hanson trailed Troxell in MISS TRENDWEST throughout lap-one before overtaking Troxell on lap-two. MISS TRENDWEST eventually faded to third.

The order of finish was: U-9, U-8, U-2, U-6, and U-100.

Heat 3-A matched U! -1, U-3, U-8, U-9, U-16, and U-19. Heat 3-B had U-2, U-6, U=10, U-25, and U-100.

MISS E-LAM PLUS, MISS BUDWEISER, and LLUMAR WINDOW FILM ran together down the first backstretch of Heat 3-A. E-LAM and LLUMAR were dead-even after lap-one. Mark Evans stayed within Nate Brown's roostertail during laps two and three. BUDWEISER faded to third, while VACATIONVILLE.COM ran a steady fourth.

The order of finish was: U-16, U-8, U-1, U-3, and U-9. (U-19 did not start.)

MISS TRENDWEST, OH BOY! OBERTO, and TONY ROMA'S (with J.W. Myers making his Unlimited debut) all jumped the gun in Heat 3-B. TRENDWEST physically "led" from the first turn onward. MISS GRAND CENTRAL CASINO (135.587) and KISW MISS ROCK (132.792) were physically third and fourth on the race course but officially first and second in the record book.

The order of finish was: U-10, U-25, U-2, U-6, and U-100.

The Provisional Heat matched U-2, U-9, U-19, and U-25.

Jerry Hale, in his only start of the weekend, led across the starting line with MISS ROYAL HOTEL but quickly faded to last-place. MISS TRENDWEST led from the first turn onward at an average of 145.787. SKYWAY PARK BOWL & CASINO stayed close to TRENDWEST all the way at a speed of 143.741.

The order of finish for the Provisional Heat was: U-2, U-9, U-25, and U-19. (U-6 and U-100 were eligible to participate but withdrew.)

The six finalists for the 12.5-mile Final Heat comprised: U-1, U-2, U-3, U-8, U-10, and U-16. Unlike Heats 1-A, 1-B, 3-A, and 3-B, there were no lane assignments.

MISS BUDWEISER, MISS E-LAM PLUS, and MISS TRENDWEST all sustained sponson damage during the Final Heat. The BUD came back with damage on both sides of the boat after not one but two collisions with E-LAM, before and after the starting gun. TRENDWEST was missing six feet of decking on the right sponson after an encounter with LLUMAR. Tempers flared over the incidents but no official calls were made.

It was a blanket start with LLUMAR WINDOW FILM first across in lane-five. LLUMAR, MISS GRAND CENTRAL CASINO, and MISS BUDWEISER ran head-to-head down the first backstretch. GRAND CENTRAL and BUDWEISER started well but faded. VACATIONVILLE.COM, after starting in lane-six, advanced to second-place but was passed by MISS E-LAM PLUS on lap-five.

The victorious Mark Evans and LLUMAR reeled off laps of 144, 146, 141, 139, and 141. Second-place Brown and E-LAM did 131, 144, 144, 139, and 145. Third-place Mitch Evans and VACATIONVILLE.COM ran laps of 134, 145, 141, 138, and 141.

The order of finish was: U-8, U-16, U-3, U-1, U-10, and U-2.

The 2003 Budweiser Columbia Cup marked the first victory for owner Bill Wurster since the 1992 Seattle Seafair Regatta, which he won with THE TIDE and driver George Woods.

Mark Evans tallied his tenth victory as an Unlimited driver and his third on the Columbia River, where he won in 1997 with PICO AMERICAN DREAM and in 2000 with MISS E-LAM PLUS.

This is the only time in Unlimited history when brothers have scored victories in! the same calendar year. Mitch Evans won the 2003 season-opener at Evansville (Indiana) with the U-3, which was racing as MASTER TIRE at the time.

With three down and three races remaining on the 2003 Budweiser Unlimited Hydroplane Series Tour, MISS BUDWEISER (the winner of the Madison Regatta) led with 388 points, compared to 359 for LLUMAR WINDOW FILM, 332 for MISS GRAND CENTRAL CASINO, 309 for VACATIONVILLE.COM, and 296 for SKYWAY PARK BOWL & CASINO.